Hashtag Calls Out Hollywood’s Lack Of Diversity
A new hashtag is trending for all the right reasons.
#FirstTimeISawMe aims to keep a spotlight on the diversity issue Hollywood still seems to have, even after awareness of the problem has been raised.
The hashtag is being used on various social media platforms by women who recalled the first time they saw a character they could relate to.
#FirstTimeISawMe i grew up with lots of ❤️ and admiration for goofy black kids being goofy black kids pic.twitter.com/wyP1R0PMnW
— willow ✨🌸 (@dickersnoodles) August 2, 2017
Examples include female leads like America Ferrera in “Ugly Betty,” and Disney’s “Mulan.” But the pickings seem to be slim, especially when it comes to women of different ethnicities being represented in TV and film.
According to a recent study by Dr. Martha M. Lauzen titled “It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World: Portrayals of Female Characters in the Top 100 Films of 2016,” women made up only 29 percent of the protagonists in top grossing films in 2016.
The increase in female leads is up 7 percent from 2015, a victory that still comes with a few downfalls.
According to the study, most viewers still prefer to see a film with a male lead, and women only made up 32 percent of all speaking characters, a 1 percent decrease from 2015.
Women of color were represented even less, making up a small percent when it came to women characters in TV and film.
Recently, CBS received backlash when their fall TV show lineup was released having no female leads in any of the shows, according to NowThis Her.
But women are taking charge and insisting Hollywood not push them into the background. More actresses are taking matters into their own hands by writing characters they want to portray, and women viewers are craving to see.
The #FirstTimeISawMe was in the Culture Shock episode of The Proud Family. I'll never forget how emotional it made me at age 10. pic.twitter.com/mYrGYmTtv1
— Fatima (@fatimapuri) August 1, 2017
Today, most individuals are a mix of various ethnicities. Having proper representation not only connects to a wider audience, but it accurately reflects today’s society and culture.
And people are loving the actors, writers, and showrunners who are daring enough to get real.
Hits like HBO’s “Girls” catapulted to fame when writer Lena Dunham insisted on casting women who looked like real people and not super models.
And the summer blockbuster “Wonder Woman” beat out other top grossing superhero films, the first to do so with a woman lead and woman director.
Hopefully Hollywood will take notice that diversity and strong female leads actually do equal box office success.
