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

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emotion. More interestingly, after the film was released, there was an increase in boys applying to ballet schools, suggesting that film can encourage different perspectives of masculinity and femininity and has the power to influence real-life decisions. 5.5.3 Disability A study carried out for the British Film Institute indicated that disabled people have questioned many aspects of their representation and participation in film (BFI: 2003). The central issue is the lack of disabled people as actors or filmmakers. Another, later study argues that disabled representation is at its lowest since 1998, with no evidence of improvement in recent years. It found the highest representation of disabled people in film was 1.8%, but only one UK production appeared in this sample, Live and let Die (1973). The paucity of disabled characters is notable and the majority of films cluster them in incidental roles, so that only the more identifiable disabilities are noted in their brief appearances. Where disabled people are significant characters, disability is presented as a defining attribute and overwhelmingly treated in a negative manner. Disabled people are likely to be associated with criminality and as being older. There is a notable lack of portrayals where disability is an ordinary, everyday phenomenon, similar to the way that can be achieved by colour-blind casting of minority ethnic groups (Cumberbatch and Gauntlett 2006). C:\Documents and Settings\mcorless\Desktop\Intranet\Barriers to Diversity in Film_DS_RB 20 Aug 07.doc 124
The reasons for this under-representation are said to include: scripts often need actors to be normal and disabled; audiences will not accept a truly disabled actor; insurance issues; a lack of training (BFI 2003). However history shows that actors and directors with disabilities have been on both sides of the camera in Hollywood and in the UK since the 1920s and 30s, but journalists and writers have been unable to deal with or speak about such issues. In fact disability is present in most genres, the BFI argues, and disabled people appear in more films than other marginalised groups. The BFI report makes several points about disability stereotyping in film. Firstly, it argues that films usually show disability as a medical issue rather than a social one. Extreme impairment also plays a fundamental role in films that exploit ‘body horror’, going back to films made in 1932, such as Freaks and a later film The Elephant Man (1980). Freak shows generally were outlawed in the late 19 th century, as being of bad taste and against the public interest. Freaks as images in film are usually stories of abnormality, used to reinforce ideologies of normality, such as motherhood, morality and individualism. These ideas are also supported in another study by Darke (1994a), who argues that The Elephant Man reinforces the notion of normality as ‘common sense’ and abnormality as inhuman and unbearable. The ‘freakness’ of Merrick in the film is ‘carnivalesque’ and he is portrayed as more to be pitied than treated as an equal. At the same time, one could also argue that the film encourages an understanding of how C:\Documents and Settings\mcorless\Desktop\Intranet\Barriers to Diversity in Film_DS_RB 20 Aug 07.doc 125
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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
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3.3.7 Qualifications The 2005 Featu
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very small numbers reported going o
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over their future finances. They al
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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 and 116: 5.5 Stereotypes The stereotypical p
Page 117 and 118: Russo analysed representation of ga
Page 119 and 120: than homosexual (Cover op.cit.). Ho
Page 121 and 122: ecause she is lesbian specifically
Page 123: analyses 150 films and concludes th
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
Page 167 and 168: Access to employment in the sector
Page 169 and 170: cinema tickets and rental films, an
Page 171 and 172: have children. Women scientists are
Page 173 and 174: 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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