1 billion hours. That’s the number of hours that 109 million plus subscribers of the streaming service Netflix, spent watching content over the course of one week (Q3 2017 Netflix report). The majority of us seek entertainment when we reach for the remote. There is nothing wrong with that.
However, considering that what you see informs your view of the world, especially when you’ve not had the benefit of first-hand experience, Hollywood’s repetitive failure in the following areas does more harm than good.
1. Casting White Actors/Actresses In Historically Non-White Roles
The storyline and who tells the story are both important aspects of any film that live long after the last credits roll off the silver screen. Hollywood confirms their knowledge of this by casting white actors/actresses in roles meant for people of color (POC) and then modifying their ‘whiteness’ to match the culture the movie represents. This is called whitewashing.
The roots of whitewashing trace back to segregation, a vile practice that denied non-whites the ability to be stars of their own stories. Hollywood’s refusal to reject this practice not only limits opportunities for POC, but it also hinders representation which we all know is everything as people rarely become what they cannot see.
Catherine Zeta-Jones did it in “Cocaine Godmother: The Griselda Blanco Story” (2017) with her portrayal of the infamous…
