How am I to Pursue an American Film Job?
Hello reader,
My name is Geneva Jagadeesan. I am currently in my 11th standard, an aspiring Hollywood actress, living in Kerala, India. I have always believed the American film industry to be a utopia for me to pursue my acting career.
But fellow teens and tweens,
People of color, women, those a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and other minority groups continue to be underrepresented in front and behind the camera. This can be conflicting, as growing up, children such as I don’t have the opportunity to view someone who looks like them portraying a significant role.
Such representation in positions of power can be incredibly empowering and break down harmful stereotypes, to further encourage children to pursue their creative passions.
One word — Underrepresentation.
More than often, job openings and advertisements are not being presented to wider audiences. This leads to a more select audience having access to these opportunities in the first place — which entails biased hiring practices. Looking back into the history of film, it has been dominated by groups of white men. Now we are seeing audiences leaning against individuals outside of this greatly specific category. And this trend has persisted. So how am I to pursue an American film job?
One example is the popular movie The Hunger Games, an American production that has worldwide audiences — a film that I myself have quite enjoyed. It’s one of my favorite American films, based on a popular book series.
After casting the beloved Rue character as an African-American female, many avid series followers were unsatisfied — pointing to inherent biases.
This is talked about in a report by Ellen E. Moore from the University of Washington Tacoma. She quotes American professor McChesney stating, “…The consistently negative portrayals of African Americans in media invite contextualization within a political economy framework, as shifts toward increasingly profit-driven, concentrated media companies drown out alternate, diverse voices” (Moore, 2015).
Such biases in society can be harmful to both the hiring and progress of non-white actors and actresses in society. Even when roles are specifically written for these underrepresented groups and are necessary to be fulfilled to overcome this obstacle of racism, the societal refusal to hire diverse individuals can easily further escalate this problem. But the blame is not completely on society. It’s also biased casting.
Those pursuing any competitive job are expected to have had exposure to high levels of education, which can be tough for marginalized groups due to the inherent system of discrimination in the educational program admissions process. This places them at a disadvantage.
Even worse, with affirmative action being ruled out of American universities, minorities will further find it difficult to be chosen over their lesser-qualified white counterparts.
As a result, talented and deserving individuals are being surpassed in terms of opportunities. Overcoming these obstacles requires an effort by the industry and society to actively promote equity.
Many positions in the film industry require specialized training and rigorous course credits. But education is becoming a considerable barrier to earning these credits for occupational achievement. Due to this, underrepresented groups are unable to build networks significant for professional advancement in an individual’s occupation. Even basic education can act as a hindrance to opportunities. These systemic barriers can make it impossible for individuals to obtain standard education to compete for competitive film jobs. The limited access to resources and networks further magnifies the obstacles faced by marginalized individuals, hindering their professional advancement and further promoting this lack of diversity.
Therefore, without access to the resources, those applying for jobs are set up for failure. The once-acclaimed film industry in the United States is becoming more and more disappointing by the day.
So, fellow teens and tweens, my solution to this, as this esteemed publication encourages I discuss, is clear:
It is evident that the film industry must address these systemic barriers to promote inclusive practices and provide equitable access to education and employment. Some individuals argue that affirmative action policies are unfair to groups that are not minorities. They may say that it places more priority on marginalized groups to get hired. However, this is far from the truth.
These affirmative action policies and racial “quotas’’ only improve the already broken and oppressive system. Those who are accustomed to these opportunities are unable to recognize their privilege and educate themselves to look past their ignorance. Furthermore, these policies are significant in how they address the historical barriers that have persistently placed minority groups at a disadvantage and other groups at an unfair advantage. Therefore, without these policies, underrepresented groups will continue to be left behind.
Taking such action to bring attention to the economic and social discrepancies brought upon by underrepresentation, we can enable film industries to create a more equitable environment that reflects film culture. And it is up to us kids to come together and change this because the adults are not seeming to care.
Yes, together.
Underrepresentation is an issue present in film industries that require action such as education awareness and hiring policies put in place. Minority children deserve to see representation in a lot of these creative roles so that other children can believe that they can achieve the same success in this industry.
In hopes of pursuing a job in the States, I truly hope to see some reform in this sector. I believe America to be the “land of the dreams” for one’s career. But in order for this to remain true, the USA film industries must continue to create and represent characters of minority background so audiences as a whole can educate themselves further to accept them in mainstream media.
Therefore, it’s extremely imperative for film industries in America, and a us as young individuals to consider the importance of diversity and take the necessary steps to ensure diverse stories are represented.
Thanks for listening.
Works Cited
Stenberg, Amandla. “Rue | The Hunger Games Wiki | Fandom.” The Hunger Games Wiki, https://thehungergames.fandom.com/wiki/Rue.
Moore, Ellen E., and Catherine Coleman. “Starving for diversity: Ideological implications of race representations in The Hunger Games.” The Journal of Popular Culture 48.5 (2015): 948. https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1785&context=ias_pub
McMillen, Brad, Kevin Gilleland, and Juliana Muli. “Dropout Rate for WCPSS: 2012–13. Measuring Up. D&A Report №14.04.” Wake County Public School System (2014) https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED559219.pdf
Catanese, Brandi Wilkins. The Problem of the Color[blind]: Racial Transgression and the Politics of Black Performance. The University of Michigan Press, 2011. https://www.press.umich.edu/368267/problem_of_the_colorblind
