#HollywoodSoWhite:

A Critique of BIPOC Representation

in the Golden Age and 21st Century

Presented by Nicole Condez

Foundation Course Film 100 - Professor Schulz

Fall 2020 Honors Humanities 101 - Professor Mangin

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

3

4

5

16

27

28

KEY TERMS

INTRO

CLASSICAL

HOLLYWOOD CINEMA

THE NEW

MILLENNIUM

CLOSING

WORKS

CITED

KEY TERMS TO KNOW:

• #OscarsSoWhite: an internet hashtag started in 2015 by April Reign, as part of a bigger social media movement to call out the lack of diversity in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ nominations and membership (Ashagre)
• BIPOC: Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
• White Saviorism: when “whites save the day with exceptional ability that exceeds that of foreigners” (Thom)
• Racial Prototypicality: “where someone who looks authentically like a certain race is unconsciously given a label based on stereotypes” (Thom)
• White Assimilation: a subset of racial protoypicality similar to whitewashing which associates minority actors with stereotypes that would make them “unfit to be actors” (Thom) and assimilated to white attitudes and culture

WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT TO EXPECT

• Since the birth of the Academy Awards in 1929, otherwise known as the Oscars, only about NINE percent of ALL award recipients for acting were people of color (Megan).
• Even in much of Hollywood’s attempt to consolidate a more diverse industry, both on and off screen, the results are often disappointing due to white savior storylines and misrepresentation.
• And in spite of progressive efforts to exhibit authentic representation, BIPOC still continue to see issues in the way they are depicted and acknowledged in the film industry.
• The following presentation is a critical analysis of just a few actors and films that have been recognized for their particular representation of racial minorities.

Classical Hollywood: The Golden Age

1910s - 1960s

THE CLIMATE:

POST CIVIL WAR TENSIONS

• In the early decades of Hollywood’s upbringing, this era pioneered the most influential advancements in cinema including…
• New storytelling techniques, linear plotlines, obvious primary conflicts, and the drastic shift from silent movies to talkies to technicolor pictures
• HOWEVER,
• With the abolishment of slavery in 1865, African Americans were immediately forced to endure the harsh Jim Crow laws of segregation for another century thereafter.
• Meanwhile, Chinese laborers were banned from immigrating into the United States after the establishment of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.
• Even Native American Tribes were negatively hurt by the disguised attack against them that was the 1887 Dawes Act which broke up their communal land.
• One thing is clear:
• As this post-Civil War period the repercussions of these key historical tragedies and post-Civil War climate, it’s race relations were anything but equitable.

.Gone with.

.the WiNd.

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(1939) Directed by Victor Fleming

SUMMARY: ”Petulant Southern Belle” Scarlett O’Hara is the star of this four hour epic directed by Victor Fleming. The film goes over Scarlett’s privileged life as the daughter of a plantation owner and her captivating love affairs with Rhett Butler and Ashley Wilkes amidst her survival of the Civil War and Reconstruction period.

SHE’S NOT A SLAVE, SHE’S MY FRIEND!

• With its 8 Oscar wins and 13 nominations, Gone with the Wind has always been highly celebrated for both its sensational romance and depiction of race relations, yet it’s also one of the most infamous white savior films in cinema.
• Its portrayal of white owners and black slaves engaging in a respectable, endearing friendship doesn’t just downplay the brutality of slavery, it glorifies it too.
• Scarlett’s witty and comfortable relationship with Mammy, her house servant, is made to feel as though slavery, let alone slavery in the Confederate south was not all that gruesome.
• Scenes in which they share playful humor and affection misrepresents slavery and moreover, puts their history in “far too positive of a light for comfort” (Thompson).
• Why? Because the film wants audiences to see them as friends, not a white owner and a slave.

watch the scene here!

HAPPY MAMMY: A RACIST TROPE

• Furthermore, Mammy’s character is already a historically offensive and racist media trope:
• She’s deeply black-skinned, very happy, loves her white children, is faithful to her white family, and is also overweight to suggest desexualization (Pilgrim).
• As mammys are meant to be socially and physically unattractive, implying that there is no understandable reason why a white man would eroticize them, this depiction harmfully undermines and erases the trauma of female slaves who frequently endured sexual assault.
• The trope is inaccurate as well being that mammys were pretty rare; and only the wealthiest whites could afford to have in-house female slaves. But even then they were skinny, young, and mixed raced.

*Even though Hattie McDaniel did go on to be the first African American woman to win an Oscar for this particular role, her character in the movie as a well respected slave was nowhere near the cruel segregated reality she lived; for the very Awards show she made history at, she was barely allowed admission to accept her trophy. … Proving how far off the film was when looking at white attitudes toward black people.

.Anna may wong.

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(1905-1961) Actress

SUMMARY: An icon for many Asian-Americans today, Anna May Wong was the first Asian American movie actress with a career spanning over the silent era, talkies, stage, radio and television. All while doing so in a period in which “Chinese protagonists in Hollywood movies were typically performed by white actors in yellow face” (The First Asian).

“THERE SEEMS LITTLE FOR ME IN HOLLYWOOD”

• Though Wong was highly admired as a talented Chinese-American actress, starring in classic films such as the 1922 Toll of the Sea, The Thief of Bagdad (1924), and Shanghai Express (1932), many of her roles were sexually charged and eroticized,
• Subjecting her to play stereotypical characters and tropes like the “Dragon Lady” or “Butterfly Madame” that carry deceitful, sexually alluring, exotic, and overbearing qualities
• Heavily critical of the “unsympathetic portrayals of Asian characters” (Because of Her Story), she was met with limited opportunities to act outside of these molds, forcing her to continue playing stereotypical roles to maintain her career.
• Despite her premier status as an actress, she was still passed over for the lead in The Good Earth (1936) for a white woman in yellowface (Unladylike).
• At the roots of Asian-American representation in the industry, Wong was not given the chance to diversify her roles regardless of her fame. She was celebrated, not for Asian authenticity, but her conformity to the white Industry’s standards.

watch this!

.ramon.

.NOVarro.

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(1899-1968) Actor

SUMMARY: Famously known for being the next male sex symbol in Hollywood following the death of Italian actor Rudolph Valentino, Ramon Novarro was a Mexican-American actor with a successful career on film, stage, and television especially throughout the 1910s-1930s. He was considered one of the greatest romantic leads in his day.

THIS JUST IN: HOLLYWOOD’S NEW SEX SYMBOL

• One of the top box office attractions of the 1920s, Ramon Novarro was once the face of the Latin Lover trope, a common stereotype for Latin men who are typically exhibited as passionately romantic, mischievous, and a player.
• Starring in lead roles of silent movies including Ben-Hur (1925) and The Student Prince of Old Heidelberg (1927), Navarro’s image as an exotic Latin Lover began to lock down. (S. Lea).
• But when talkies became popular, his Mexican accent inhibited his success, subjecting him to supporting roles and then cameo appearances (de Souza).
• Likewise Anna May Wong, Navarro dealt with the repercussions being Mexican as his physicality was eroticized and sexualized forcing him to take on roles that suited only those stereotypical characteristics.
• His natural Mexican accent alone was enough to result in the slow decline of his career.
• Obviously an important figure for Mexican representation today, his endurance of not being given the opportunities to diversify and add facets to his career is the beginning of a stronger resistance to a White industry.

.Peter.

.PAN.

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(1953) Directed by Clyde Geronimi,

Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske

SUMMARY: This memorable Disney animated film illustrates the story of Wendy and her two brothers -- living in London, circa 1900 -- following magical boy, Peter Pan, and his fairy friend, Tinkerbell, back to their far-off home called Neverland, an island where children stay young. As troubles arise with Peter Pan’s nemesis, Captain Hook, the kids become homesick and plan to return home where they will continue to grow up.

“WHAT MAKES THE RED MAN RED”

• Though the creators at Disney recognize the unjust portrayal of the indigenous now, Peter Pan was widely celebrated at the time for its flamboyance and enchantment.
• Yet, it fails to put Native Americans in a positive light due to its broadly stereotypical and dehumanizing depiction of them.
• FOR EXAMPLE:
• They reside in Neverland amongst the mermaids, fairies, “and other fantastical figures, demonstrating the white man’s dismissal of their very existence” (Rosewood).
• They’re illustrated as unattractive, caricatured, red-skinned “Indians” with “sharp, angled noses, and black footprints” who speak in broken English and are often referred to with racial slurs by the white characters.
• These characters moreover justify their actions with a nearly explicit motive to exploit the Native Americans and their cultures
• More stereotypes include drumming, chanting, demonstrating their “language”, and living in tee pees (Rosewood).
• As these offensive depictions were normalized in the 20th century media, it massively contributed to the everlasting lack of sensitivity, increased racism, and monolithic perception towards and of Native Americans.

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21st Century: The New Millennium

2000 - Present

THE CLIMATE:

SOCIOPOLITICAL POLARIZATIONS

• The arrival of the 21st century introduced a RICH profusion of technological and digital advancements in not just Hollywood, but the rising media in general (i.e. Iphones).
• YET:
• Having started off with the terrorist attack of 9/11, several natural disasters, and an economic recession…
• The 2000s were already experiencing an overwhelming amount of change.
• As the sociopolitical climates continues to evolve and the nation is divided now more than ever, the past decades have seen an admirable increase in liberal activism.
• The new improvements in technology, social networking platforms, and even streaming services may have swept audiences off their feet, but in spite of these reformations, the moment in which one can affirmatively say “Hollywood is diverse is still a long way from now.”

.GReen BOOK.

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(2018) Directed by Peter Farrelly

SUMMARY: This Best Picture winning biopic centers on Tony Vallelonga, a provocative Italian-American bouncer who gets hired by Dr. Don Shirley, a sophisticated world-class black pianist, to be his tour driver. As they embark on their journey in the Deep South in 1962, two years before the end of segregation, both Don and Tony are met with challenges of racism and xenophobia. Throughout the film, they develop an unexpected friendship in spite of their own racial divergence.

“I’M BLACKER THAN YOU”

• Peter Farrelly’s Green Book (2018) is yet another film to poorly illustrate race relations due to its use of the white savior lens.
• Much of the story demonstrates that without Tony, Don is not able to survive nor identify with his own blackness.
• FOR EXAMPLE, TONY:
• Pushes Don to eat fried chicken, alluding to the African American stereotype that all black people love fried chicken
• Retaliates when Don asserts that he’s endured far worse discrimination than him, to which Tony claims he’s “blacker than” Don and that he doesn’t know anything about his own people’s lifestyle
• Yet, the irony shows when Tony uses his privilege to protect Don from potential robbers and sitting in jail
• AND gets to sleep in a clean whites-only hotel whereas Don is subjected to sleep in a rundown colored-only motel.

watch the scene here!

SAME OLD, SAME OLD

• As the film paints Tony as Don’s lifesaver for enabling him to go back to his Black roots, stereotypical or not, proper Black representation still has a long way to go.
• Though it’s a segregation piece, the positive reception it’s earned as a white hero story upon the height of modern and extremely zealous social justice activism is disappointing.
• PLUS -- Tony’s flat character development goes from him being racist to only slightly less racist, beginning to end
• Rather than celebrating Black history, the film does a better job at warping it.
• Like its precursor, Gone with the Wind (1939), Green Book shows Hollywood hasn’t advanced all that much if this underwhelming reincarnation of Driving Miss Daisy (1989), another racial reconciliation film, is deemed more Oscar worthy than actual honorably representative movies for minorities.

watch the scene here!

.THE. .FAREWELL.

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(2019) Directed by Lulu Wang

SUMMARY: In this sentimental comedy drama film, Chinese-American Billi and her family schedule a gathering back in China to attend a cousin’s wedding. Little does Billi’s grandmother know that the family gathering is for her relatives to say their final goodbye to her and the wedding is fake. For Nai Nai (the grandmother) is dying, and in tradition to not be notified about it, she’s the only person who is unaware she has a few weeks left to live.

NOMINATED FOR NOTHING: AN OSCAR SNUB

• Unlike films that earn tremendous praise and recognition for their depiction of race even though it’s not accurate, Lulu Wang’s The Farewell “raises the bar much higher for future Asian representation” (Hathaway).
• With an all Asian cast and an authentic depiction of Chinese culture, this film takes “every moment to remind its audience that it refuses to cater to Westerners” by creating a sense of familiarity with Asian viewers (Hathaway)
• As captured in the various scenes in which Billi’s family is centered around big traditional meals or when she receives a form of Chinese medical therapy known as cupping.
• But in spite of this phenomenal experience, it earned zero nominations from the Academy.

• As of 2019, Asian actors accounted for only 5% of all film roles, while their white counterparts constituted a whopping 67.3% (Hunt).
• Though it beautifully trumps stereotypes and white assimilation, Asian representation in Hollywood is not far off from the days Anna May Wong’s incredible talent was consistently overlooked by the Academy because of her race.

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.COCO.

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(2017) Directed by Adrian Molina & Lee Unkrich

SUMMARY: This Oscar winning motion picture tells the story of a young mexican boy named Miguel who, in spite of his family’s ancestral ban on music, is secretly an aspiring musician who idolizes Ernesto de la Cruz, a famous musician he believes is his great-great-grandfather. Desperate to prove his talents, Miguel lands himself in the outstandingly colorful Land of the Dead on Mexican holiday, Dia de Los Muertos. There he meets and befriends Hector, a charming trickster that ultimately aids Miguel in unraveling the truth behind his family’s history.

A LATINO THEMED MOVIE THAT GETS IT RIGHT

• Though the Latinx community accounts for only 4.6% of all film roles (Hunt), the culturally celebratory film with an almost all Latino voice acting cast that is Coco paves the way for future filmmakers and stars who finally get to see themselves authentically reflected on screen.
• Director Lee Unkrich, though not Mexican himself, made sure to be culturally conscious and assertive that the film didn’t “lapse into cliche or stereotype” (Ugwu).
• Produced with Latino consultants, team members, and Mexican-American co-director Adrian Molina, the film was reviewed in all its detail to make sure it represents the Hispanic community right
• By evolving particular character behaviors in the script such as the Grandma’s disciplinary tool being changed from a spoon to her slippers (las chanclas) and having Miguel’s sidekick be a familiar Mexican breed of a hairless dog.

• Mexican-American relations INTENSIFY, HOWEVER:
• Under Donald Trump’s US Presidency, more than ⅓ of American support building a wall between the US and Mexico, causing a divide between the people (Suls).
• In spite of this, Coco contributes in its own way, a small part in dissolving those barriers (Ugwu).

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.Wind. .River.

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(2017) Directed by Taylor Sheridan

SUMMARY: When wildlife officer Cory Lambert, discovers the sexually assaulted body of an 18 year old woman on a snowy Native American reservation in Wyoming, FBI agent Jane Banner comes to investigate the possible homicide. As Lambert and Banner team up together to uncover the mysterious death and rape of the teenage girl, they endure the danger of dealing with troublesome suspects. This chilling film ultimately serves as a message to raise awareness about the undocumented cases of missing Indigenous women.

ERASING THE INDIGENOUS

• The UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report states that in 2019, Natives made up only .5% of all film roles.
• Having been recognized by several award associations including Cannes Film Festival, this heavy film not only admirably includes a cast with native-descendent actors, but it also raises awareness for the untalked about missing Native women.
• YET, it’s still a mere example of another white savior film because:
• “The Native actors are relegated to supporting roles -- an ineffectual reservation cop, the near-suicidal father of the victim, and some drug-addicted suspects. Most of them don’t survive the film; the two white heroes [Lambert and Banner] do” (Memories).

• The film’s concept is a step in the right direction away from stereotypes movies like Peter Pan (1953) are saturated in.
• But having the Indigenous characters die out while their white counterparts achieve justice for them is not enough to represent the Indigenous community who are capable of voicing their own issues without need a white character to provide them with a platform.

CONCLUSION:

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT MATTERS

• As we see in the representative films today a more celebratory attitude for minorities as opposed to that of erasure, there is a clear drive amongst the industry workers to defy stereotypes and restrictive, one-dimensional character tropes.
• The social atmosphere has undoubtedly evolved since the birth of Hollywood, but the progress for complete diversity being portrayed and recognized in the film industry is a slow and rocky journey, consisting of failed attempts of proper representation or simply being overlooked by award shows.
• Some things may have changed for the better, but alike its precursors, most of the newer films continue to explore minority experiences through a harmful white savior lens.
• Where there is more diversity and a genuine will to learn about other cultures behind the camera, there will be diversity reflected in front of it as well -- not just for cast members, but audiences who are proud and inspired by realistically accurate portrayals of them as a whole person and not the subjection of a bland supporting role

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WORKS CITED

“Anna May Wong.” Because of Her Story, 28 Jan. 2020, womenshistory.si.edu/herstory/object/anna-may-wong.

“Anna May Wong: The First Asian American Movie Star.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 3 Nov. 2020, www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/anna-may-wong-first-asian-american-movie-star-bfnigk/13978/.

“Anna May Wong.” UNLADYLIKE2020, Unladylike Productions, 23 Nov. 2020, unladylike2020.com/profile/anna-may-wong/.

Ashagre, Aggi. “A Conversation With The Creator Of #OscarsSoWhite.” NPR, NPR, 25 Jan. 2016, www.npr.org/2016/01/25/464244160/a-conversation-with-the-creator-of-oscarssowhite.

Hathaway, May. “Farewell to Mediocre Asian Representation.” The Spectator, He Spectator Web Department, 2019, www.stuyspec.com/ae/farewell-to-mediocre-asian-representation.

Hunt, Darnell, and Ana Christina Ramón. “Hollywood Diversity Report 2020: A Tale of Two Hollywoods.” UCLA Social Sciences, UCLA College Social Sciences, 2020, socialsciences.ucla.edu/hollywood-diversity-report-2020/.

“The Movie Wind River and White Saviors: A Review of Reviews.” Memories of the People, 11 Mar. 2018, memoriesofthepeople.wordpress.com/2018/03/05/the-movie-wind-river-and-white-saviors-a-review-of-reviews/.

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WORKS CITED

de Souza, Noël. “Forgotten Hollywood: Ramon Novarro, a Bona Fide Silent Movie Idol.” Golden Globes, 2020, www.goldenglobes.com/articles/forgotten-hollywood-ramon-novarro-bona-fide-silent-movie-idol.

Pilgrim, Dr. David. “The Mammy Caricature.” The Mammy Caricature - Anti-Black Imagery - Jim Crow Museum - Ferris State University, Oct. 2000, www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/mammies/.

Rosewood, Polina. “Disney's Racist History of Native American Caricatures.” Medium, The Curiosity Cabinet, 20 Aug. 2020, medium.com/the-curiosity-cabinet/disneys-racist-history-of-native-american-caricatures-7ef3298130d7.

S., Lea, et al. “Ramon Novarro, ‘Latin Lover’ Of The Silent Screen.” Silent, 23 Mar. 2019, silentology.wordpress.com/2019/03/22/ramon-novarro-latin-lover-of-the-silent-screen/.

Suls, Rob. “Most Americans Continue to Oppose U.S. Border Wall.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 30 May 2020, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/24/most-americans-continue-to-oppose-u-s-border-wall-doubt-mexico-would-pay-for-it/.

Thom, Jacqueline. “Hollywood's Misrepresentation of Asians.” The Spectator, The Spectator Web Department, 9 Sept. 2017, www.stuyspec.com/ae/culture/hollywood-s-misrepresentation-of-asians.

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WORKS CITED

Thompson, Stephanie. The Thorny Problem of Mammy. 18 Oct. 2015, sites.psu.edu/slthompson/2015/10/18/the-thorny-problem-of-mammy/.

Ugwu, Reggie. “How Pixar Made Sure 'Coco' Was Culturally Conscious.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Nov. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/11/19/movies/coco-pixar-politics.html.

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