Variety is reporting that SAG has released statistics regarding diversity within the entertainment community. As expected, they are pretty dismal. Unexpectedly, they are worse than in the past 2 years.
In a statement released by SAG president Ken Howard, “The diverse and multicultural world we live in today is still not accurately reflected in the portrayals we see on the screen,” DUH. “We will continue to work with producers, hiring executives and industry professionals in accurately portraying the American scene by ensuring equal access to employment opportunities for all of our members.”
The statistics are as follows:
Minority Roles were at their highest in 2007 at 29.3% but have dropped this past year to 27.5%
Breakdown for film/television roles:
72.5% Caucasian
13.3% African-American
6.4% Latino-Hispanic
3.8 Asian-Pacific Islander
0.3% Native American
3.8% other-unknown.
OUCH.
It's hard to know where I stand here. One of my main problems is that because I am so ethnically ambiguous I am not really cast-able unless there is some tailor made part or something similar. I go to auditions looking for a Latina or Hispanic actress and I don't fit the description. But in a White actress audition there is something not quite white enough about me.
Blah.
This is one of the aspects of being an actor that I hate thinking about and in general don't bother with. But when faced with numbers like that it's hard not to take a minute to think about it. I don't really know where I fit in. I always thought my ambiguity was an asset, in life and in my work, and for the most part I do. But it does complicate things on occasion.
In a statement released by SAG president Ken Howard, “The diverse and multicultural world we live in today is still not accurately reflected in the portrayals we see on the screen,” DUH. “We will continue to work with producers, hiring executives and industry professionals in accurately portraying the American scene by ensuring equal access to employment opportunities for all of our members.”
The statistics are as follows:
Minority Roles were at their highest in 2007 at 29.3% but have dropped this past year to 27.5%
Breakdown for film/television roles:
72.5% Caucasian
13.3% African-American
6.4% Latino-Hispanic
3.8 Asian-Pacific Islander
0.3% Native American
3.8% other-unknown.
OUCH.
It's hard to know where I stand here. One of my main problems is that because I am so ethnically ambiguous I am not really cast-able unless there is some tailor made part or something similar. I go to auditions looking for a Latina or Hispanic actress and I don't fit the description. But in a White actress audition there is something not quite white enough about me.
Blah.
This is one of the aspects of being an actor that I hate thinking about and in general don't bother with. But when faced with numbers like that it's hard not to take a minute to think about it. I don't really know where I fit in. I always thought my ambiguity was an asset, in life and in my work, and for the most part I do. But it does complicate things on occasion.
What's most interesting about the data is that according to the census, minority groups are still better represented ratio wise in entertainment than in the country as a whole. The numbers seem a little cooked to me given percentages that were readily available during the presidential election. I don't remember caucasian being 73+ percent of the voting base. I wonder how much impact the cancellation of shows like The Wire and Soul Food had on the percentages. I can't think of a show that employed more minority actors on an episode by episode basis than The Wire. Also it would be interesting to see a breakdown of how many British/Canadian/Australian or other European actors take American roles and influence the Caucasian percentages.
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