Post by Eλευθερί on May 25, 2021 20:29:10 GMT
Here are examples of how systemic racism works (that is, the people making the decisions about casting and which film or tv projects get produced don't have to be Ku Klux Klan members to be making decisions that collectively result in racial or ethnic discrimination).
www.buzzfeednews.com/article/maryanngeorgantopoulos/sony-producer-says-world-is-racist
Sony Producer Says Black Actors Shouldn’t Have Lead Roles Because International Audiences Are Racist
December 18, 2014
An unnamed producer wrote in an email to Sony chairman Michael Lynton that films with black actors — using Denzel Washington in The Equalizer as an example — don't perform well because the international audiences are "racist," according to documents found in the Sony hack.
The producer suggested that the two-time Oscar winner should not star in big-budget films as the international audience will not accept him in a leading role because of his race.
"I believe that the international motion picture audience is racist -- in general pictures with an African American lead don't play well overseas. When Sony made Equalizer they had to know that Denzel opens pics domestically, however the international gross would be somewhat limited," the producer wrote in an Oct. 27 e-mail.
...
The Equalizer grossed about $191 million worldwide. Approximately $90 million was earned overseas. The producer said this figure would have been higher if a black man wasn't in the lead role.
December 18, 2014
An unnamed producer wrote in an email to Sony chairman Michael Lynton that films with black actors — using Denzel Washington in The Equalizer as an example — don't perform well because the international audiences are "racist," according to documents found in the Sony hack.
The producer suggested that the two-time Oscar winner should not star in big-budget films as the international audience will not accept him in a leading role because of his race.
"I believe that the international motion picture audience is racist -- in general pictures with an African American lead don't play well overseas. When Sony made Equalizer they had to know that Denzel opens pics domestically, however the international gross would be somewhat limited," the producer wrote in an Oct. 27 e-mail.
...
The Equalizer grossed about $191 million worldwide. Approximately $90 million was earned overseas. The producer said this figure would have been higher if a black man wasn't in the lead role.
Nov 14, 2014
(email from Oscar- & Emmy-winning writer Aaron Sorkin to Sony Pictures top exec Amy Pascal)
... If I turned in a draft of Flash Boys, why would it have a better chance of getting made than Steve Jobs? The protagonist is Asian-American (actually Asian-Canadian) and there aren't any Asian movie stars.
(email from Oscar- & Emmy-winning writer Aaron Sorkin to Sony Pictures top exec Amy Pascal)
... If I turned in a draft of Flash Boys, why would it have a better chance of getting made than Steve Jobs? The protagonist is Asian-American (actually Asian-Canadian) and there aren't any Asian movie stars.
The recent movements to encourage the inclusion of more women and members of other groups that have been excluded from top roles is rooted in the recognition that there is no reason to expect these kind of casting & production practices will change unless active interventions are made to produce those changes.
An example of active interventions is for A-list actors to demand "inclusion riders" be incorporated into their contracts before they agree to work on a project, as suggested by Frances McDormand in her Academy Awards acceptance speech in 2018.