Lack of Inclusion Progress = Opportunity

It's easy to become dismayed when you read headlines from the graphics in a new report issued by researchers at University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism. Hollywood is Still So White; Film Production is Not Female Friendly; LGBT Characters are Left Behind in Film...

The report released recently examined diversity and inclusion across the 100 top films from 2007 to 2017 and despite the groundswell of activities like #OscarsSoWhite and power players like Reese Witherspoon or Oprah speaking out on the topic of diversity in Hollywood, it appears there is still much work to do.

Balanced with the dismal statistics about the top films of the past decade - like 70% of characters are white or out of 1,100 films, only 43 women worked as directors, the study offers suggestions for improvement. They suggest that studios set target inclusion goals. They also advocate for adding five female speaking characters to every one of the 100 top movies next year. They predict that by repeating this process for 3 years, it will result in gender parity on screen in 2020.

Of course, we at Cinema Ed believe a key step in creating a more inclusive film industry is by empowering young filmmakers. We know they truly are the future of a more diverse film community.

Read the study report from USC's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.