Barriers to Diversity in Film – A Research Review – Aug 07

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East Enders was not well portrayed, confusingly being categorised as Muslim and Hindu (Campion 2005). Representation on screen of under-represented groups is poor and portrayal does not always deal with all groups equitably (Murphy 2000). At an event organised by the Cultural Diversity Network in 2005 the audience argued with executives that black filmmakers were neglected in television, since executives tended to reproduce themselves when making programming and employment decisions (Small 2005). According to Brunsdon, women are sometimes represented as ‘having it all’ as a post-feminist response and lesbians are often portrayed as criminals (Brunsdon 2000). In any case sexuality is more often portrayed in art house films, and disability is invisible (Murphy 2000). 5.5.1 Sexual orientation Analysis of portrayals of lesbians and gay men in film have focused on how such depictions marginalise and silence them (http://www.media- awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/gays_and_lesbians/index.cf m). Organisations in the US, such as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), argue such films as Basic Instinct (1992) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991) demonise gay men and lesbians by portraying them as psychopaths. C:\Documents and Settings\mcorless\Desktop\Intranet\Barriers to Diversity in Film_DS_RB 20 Aug 07.doc 116
Russo analysed representation of gay men and lesbians in Hollywood films from the 1890s to the 1980s and argues that these show a history of homophobia. These characters are often defined by their sexual orientation and lack complex character development. From the 1890s to the 1930s homosexuality was presented as an issue of ridicule and laughter. From the 1930s to 1950s religious and women’s groups criticised Hollywood for encouraging immorality, so gay and lesbian characters could not be featured overtly. Even though the 1960s and 1970s represented a historic moment in gay rights, gay characters were shown to be dangerous, violent and murderous (Russo 1987). Since the 1990s, portrayal has improved, but most films are still designed to appeal to large portions of the audience and to potential investors, making producers cautious about a focus on gay and lesbian characters. A study on lesbian and gay portrayal on the BBC analysed 168 hours of programming over eight weeks. It concluded that gay lives were presented positively for just six minutes out of a total of 38 minutes of representation, both positive and negative. Gay men and lesbians were five times more likely to be described or portrayed in negative terms than in positive ones, with these references most likely to be in entertainment programmes. Over half of all such references were designed for comic effect, most revolving around stereotypes of sexually predatory or camp and effeminate gay men, with lesbians being invisible. Issues of homosexuality were rarely tackled in factual C:\Documents and Settings\mcorless\Desktop\Intranet\Barriers to Diversity in Film_DS_RB 20 Aug 07.doc 117
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Barriers to Diversity in Film A Res
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CONTENTS Executive summary 7 1 Intr
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3.4 Barriers to progression through
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6.2 The business context 106 6.3 Th
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Executive Summary The review has in
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• Young people need advice on the
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• Disabled people are under-repre
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• Monitor sexual orientation, but
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1.1 Aims 1 Introduction: aims and s
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This review brings together researc
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The Select Committee on Culture, Me
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2.2 Cinema audiences and film relea
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including tackling social exclusion
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2.4 The changing population The UK
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2.5 Diversity and equality of oppor
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The Act also has implications for c
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A new inclusive equalities agenda t
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sectoral and labour market change.
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critical of the failure of equality
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• If the film sector increased th
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3: The film workforce Getting the r
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3.2 Workforce data on under-represe
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Table 3.1 Film and video industry w
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data in these statistics on gender
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London 2006 s 2006 London 2002 e (L
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Other 65 35 All 61 39 Source : 2006
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ecause film professionals from mino
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male respondents earned £50,000 or
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Of 106 applications to the New Cine
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South West 6 23 Source: Skillset an
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Most employees are recruited inform
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and minority ethnic people tending
Page 65 and 66: 3.3.7 Qualifications The 2005 Featu
Page 67 and 68: very small numbers reported going o
Page 69 and 70: over their future finances. They al
Page 71 and 72: women experience ageing differently
Page 73 and 74: stereotyped as working class, even
Page 75 and 76: 3.4.9 Commissioning and ‘ghettois
Page 77 and 78: older than the rest of the workforc
Page 79 and 80: Social benefits from the projects w
Page 81 and 82: for women who have caring responsib
Page 83 and 84: involved in a regular dialogue abou
Page 85 and 86: population, though the regional dis
Page 87 and 88: Table 4.1 Cinema audience by gender
Page 89 and 90: Table 4.3 Cinema audience by gender
Page 91 and 92: Cinema goers 13.1 86.9 PPV buyers 1
Page 93 and 94: general population (perhaps excludi
Page 95 and 96: 4.4 Audiences for film on televisio
Page 97 and 98: Science fiction 1.7 7.1 1.8 7 1.1 3
Page 99 and 100: they were charming and displayed a
Page 101 and 102: ‘Respectable cinema’ including
Page 103 and 104: 4.6 Barriers to cinema attendance B
Page 105 and 106: launched an online Diversity Toolki
Page 107 and 108: • Half of people over 55 never go
Page 109 and 110: o initiatives to improve the distri
Page 111 and 112: All these debates are considered be
Page 113 and 114: 5.3 Employment and portrayal Does e
Page 115: 5.5 Stereotypes The stereotypical p
Page 119 and 120: than homosexual (Cover op.cit.). Ho
Page 121 and 122: ecause she is lesbian specifically
Page 123 and 124: analyses 150 films and concludes th
Page 125 and 126: The reasons for this under-represen
Page 127 and 128: Reasons behind the illnesses and th
Page 129 and 130: In a major report on the black and
Page 131 and 132: national stereotyping such as funny
Page 133 and 134: indiscriminate killing implies that
Page 135 and 136: people who live abroad like to hang
Page 137 and 138: However, a study in Sweden analysed
Page 139 and 140: the ways these film types have deve
Page 141 and 142: and ethnicity, and in any case, mon
Page 143 and 144: • A study of on-screen representa
Page 145 and 146: occupational groups, people from di
Page 147 and 148: Our society has changed dramaticall
Page 149 and 150: 6.3 The business case - an overview
Page 151 and 152: 2007). The Commission for Racial Eq
Page 153 and 154: eing disabled. The importance of th
Page 155 and 156: in Western style holidays, but UK t
Page 157 and 158: this specific audience and making a
Page 159 and 160: Positive actions on race equality i
Page 161 and 162: For example, women’s presence in
Page 163 and 164: 6.3.7 Legal compliance Companies ha
Page 165 and 166: • Studies on the business case in
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Access to employment in the sector
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cinema tickets and rental films, an
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have children. Women scientists are
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teams encourage creativity. Recruit
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minority ethnic women writers or pr
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7.5.7 Decision makers’ attitudes
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There is also a need for policy int
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has rarely been evaluated for its l
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The Leadership on Diversity Forum,
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as the key intervention in diversit
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housing management. Trainees felt c
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voice to otherwise marginalised and
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targeted funding for black and mino
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Bhavnani R (1994) Black Women in th
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Cowan K and Valentine G (2006) “T
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European Commission (2005) “The B
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199 Institute for Employment Studie
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Murphy R (ed.) (2000) British Cinem
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Skillset and Equity (2006) “Analy
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UN (2000) “Gender and Racial Disc
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Barriers to Diversity in Film – A Research Review – Aug 07

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