One of the hot topics so far in early 2016, is that of racism in Hollywood. The annual Academy Awards and how they're racist. Now of course everyone has their opinion on the subject. Some agree that indeed their is racism in Hollywood, the Academy Awards in particularly and others disagree saying that there is no racism in Hollywood. Still others fall somewhere in the middle, with their views on the subject.
Nevertheless, regardless of where you stand.... the issue of racism in Hollywood is primarily...I could actually get away with saying solely...focused on the black community. Are blacks treated fairly in Hollywood or are they not? Personally, I see why the black community feels discriminated against. However, comparatively speaking, they are not nearly as discriminated against as other minority groups.
If asked to name as many black male and female actors as I can off of the top of my head, I can easily come up with 28 and I can easily put together a top 10 favorite black actors list. Matter of fact, two black actors, Eddie Murphy and James Avery, are easily in my favorite actors of all time list. I will say that male black actors have more of a strong presence and acceptance in Hollywood, than female black actors, but overall compared to other minority groups in America, the only ones who have it better than blacks, are whites.
Which raises this question: Should we take into account that blacks only make up 13.2% of Americans? Does that have something to do with why they are underrepresented in Hollywood? I think it's a fair question to ask.
Now Latinos/Hispanics, I think fall into a similar category to blacks. At 17.4% of the American population, they too have a similar position in Hollywood. Once again, I can come up with a top 10 favorite Latino/Hispanic actor list and I can think of 25 Hispanic/Latino actors off the top of my head without too much effort. Do they deserve more credits and recognition? Absolutely, but again comparatively speaking in regards to other minority groups, they have it not too bad.
So where does racism in Hollywood really rear its ugly head? Against Asians and especially against Native Americans. I can't come up with a top 10 list of favorite Asian Actors. I can only come up with a list of seven. Overall if I really rack my brain and try extremely hard, I can come up with damn near 20 Asian actors altogether.
Native Americans are even worse. I can't even come up with 15. As far as my favorites, I can only come up with six. When it comes to Asian and Native American actors, I'm not going to just throw a name out there because I did a quick google search on "Asian Actors" or "Native American" actors and the names were provided. I'm going to go based on performances I've seen, and thought were very good.
You know what I've noticed? That once again, men, like they did in the black community, also have it better in the Asian and Native American community than women do.
You know what else I've noticed? That even the really good Asian and Native American actors, don't have a lot of major credits to their names. Matter of fact, unlike the Denzel Washington's, the Will Smith's, the James Earl Jones', the Eddie Murphy's, the Whoopie Goldberg's, the Danny Glover's, the Halle Berry's, the Wesley Snipes', and the Louis Gosset Jr's they don't have the respectable list of hit movies, with respectable leading and/or supporting roles. Matter of fact, their acting credits are more of a mixture of maybe one to three larger roles, mixed in with a bunch of minor roles in A list films and then a ton of television show appearances and B films. And this goes for actors who are extremely talented.
Want some examples? Here you go.
Let's start with the Asian community.
Nevertheless, regardless of where you stand.... the issue of racism in Hollywood is primarily...I could actually get away with saying solely...focused on the black community. Are blacks treated fairly in Hollywood or are they not? Personally, I see why the black community feels discriminated against. However, comparatively speaking, they are not nearly as discriminated against as other minority groups.
If asked to name as many black male and female actors as I can off of the top of my head, I can easily come up with 28 and I can easily put together a top 10 favorite black actors list. Matter of fact, two black actors, Eddie Murphy and James Avery, are easily in my favorite actors of all time list. I will say that male black actors have more of a strong presence and acceptance in Hollywood, than female black actors, but overall compared to other minority groups in America, the only ones who have it better than blacks, are whites.
Which raises this question: Should we take into account that blacks only make up 13.2% of Americans? Does that have something to do with why they are underrepresented in Hollywood? I think it's a fair question to ask.
Now Latinos/Hispanics, I think fall into a similar category to blacks. At 17.4% of the American population, they too have a similar position in Hollywood. Once again, I can come up with a top 10 favorite Latino/Hispanic actor list and I can think of 25 Hispanic/Latino actors off the top of my head without too much effort. Do they deserve more credits and recognition? Absolutely, but again comparatively speaking in regards to other minority groups, they have it not too bad.
So where does racism in Hollywood really rear its ugly head? Against Asians and especially against Native Americans. I can't come up with a top 10 list of favorite Asian Actors. I can only come up with a list of seven. Overall if I really rack my brain and try extremely hard, I can come up with damn near 20 Asian actors altogether.
Native Americans are even worse. I can't even come up with 15. As far as my favorites, I can only come up with six. When it comes to Asian and Native American actors, I'm not going to just throw a name out there because I did a quick google search on "Asian Actors" or "Native American" actors and the names were provided. I'm going to go based on performances I've seen, and thought were very good.
You know what I've noticed? That once again, men, like they did in the black community, also have it better in the Asian and Native American community than women do.
You know what else I've noticed? That even the really good Asian and Native American actors, don't have a lot of major credits to their names. Matter of fact, unlike the Denzel Washington's, the Will Smith's, the James Earl Jones', the Eddie Murphy's, the Whoopie Goldberg's, the Danny Glover's, the Halle Berry's, the Wesley Snipes', and the Louis Gosset Jr's they don't have the respectable list of hit movies, with respectable leading and/or supporting roles. Matter of fact, their acting credits are more of a mixture of maybe one to three larger roles, mixed in with a bunch of minor roles in A list films and then a ton of television show appearances and B films. And this goes for actors who are extremely talented.
Want some examples? Here you go.
Let's start with the Asian community.
B.D. Wong
Now, I'd imagine that you are fairly familiar with the actor B.D. Wong, as he's one of the few Asians to be granted a respectable and notable career in Hollywood. I'd say that is strongly because of his work on the highly popular Law and Order: Special Victims Unit television series. Other notable roles that he has played include parts in Jurassic Park and Jurassic World. I personally adore him in Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride Part II. He showed off his versatility to play both serious parts as well as hilariously funny parts. Yet comparatively speaking, even though he's a well known Asian actor, his list of credits pales in comparison to that of any major white actor and even of most major black actors. Why is that? Are parts written primarily for white and black actors, and not for Asian actors? Some like to claim that when they write a character in a film's story, they do not give him/her an ethnic background. So, essentially the part could go to anyone, regardless of their race. If that is the case, then why doesn't this gifted actor have more top notch films on his resume?
Jason Scott Lee
You know who has it even worse than B.D. Wong? Jason Scott Lee. After his Oscar and Academy worthy appearance in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story it would have seemed that JSL would have had an illustrious career full of one major credit after another. Instead, his work has been sporadic and most of the films he has been in have been forgettable to say the least. Personally I don't get it. The guy is exceptionally talented, especially at dramatic acting. He's every bit as good as a Kevin Costner or a Leonardo DiCaprio. So why don't his credentials reflect that? Because he's Asian. There's really no other way around it. He's Asian and because he's Asian those major parts in major films, don't get offered to him.
Other Asian actors I feel are extremely talented and have gotten the raw end of the deal.....
Other Asian actors I feel are extremely talented and have gotten the raw end of the deal.....
Now, we move on to Native Americans, who out of all groups in Hollywood are most certainly the most underrepresented. Now you may argue that statistically and demographically that it would only make sense that they would be. Native Americans only make up 1.2% of the American population. I think that's a fair statement, but once again, there are Native American actors who fall victim to the same fate as B.D. Wong or Jason Scott Lee.
For example....
For example....
Graham Greene
Graham Greene may very well be the most recognizable Native American actor amongst Americans today. In my opinion, he is not only one of the greatest Native American actors of all time, he's plain one of the top 50 actors. His work in Dances With Wolves and The Green Mile help to illustrate that, but it also helps to illustrate the discrimination that is in Hollywood. What else has he really done besides those two films? The lackluster film North exploited him as a novelty and other than that, he hasn't done a whole lot other than work on the television series Northern Exposure. Again, a classic example of someone with immense talent, not being used, simply because he isn't white or black.
Adam Beach
Adam Beach is probably the closest to a B.D. Wong that the Native American population has. He is fairly well know, again ironically because of his work in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and he has had a fairly respectable career in Hollywood with credits to his name such as Squanto and Smoke Signals, but his career does not even come close to reflecting how good of an actor he is. Why? Because once again, he's a Native American and that alone is keeping him from getting parts. If a white man or even a black man, had the talent he possesses as a Native American, that person would have twice to thrice the number of notable credits to his name.
Let's bring up Litefoot. Are you familiar with Litefoot? Here is a picture of him.......
Let's bring up Litefoot. Are you familiar with Litefoot? Here is a picture of him.......
Litefoot
You may not recognize this Native American rapper upon first glance, but I guarantee that if you were a kid in 1995, you most likely know him. He's Little Bear from the hit film The Indian in the Cupboard. It was clear to see from that film alone, that Litefoot had talent and that he should have at least had a working career in Hollywood. Yet, he didn't. And as a result of struggling to find work as an actor, he has since taken his talents into other endeavors. Should he have had to though? Should someone of his talent had to have gotten out of the acting gig and into the rapping gig, partially because of how hard it was to find work? I don't think so. But, it is the way that it is, because opportunities for Native American actors in Hollywood, are few and far between.
Other Native American actors that I feel have gotten the short end of the stick in Hollywood.....
Other Native American actors that I feel have gotten the short end of the stick in Hollywood.....
Now you may think to yourself, "August Schellenberg and Will Sampson are both dead." And that's true, they are. It's also true that Sampson died way too young and may have had another 10-15 years left in Hollywood, if he had not passed away so prematurely. Yet, I still think it's safe to say that his opportunities would have been limited because he was Native American.
So overall I conclude this. Yes, racism, whether blatant or accidental exist. Or perhaps if we don't want to call it racism, we can at least say that it is racially insensitive or in the very least, set up to opportune the white community more than it does any other. We can also say that while members of the black community face oppression and an assortment of other challenges in Hollywood, that it is unfair and irresponsible to primarily focus on the black community on issues of race in Hollywood. The Latino/Hispanic and especially the Asian and Native American communities need to be a part of that discussion as well. The discrimination they have had to endure is far greater in many respects, and it should not be overlooked or ignored.
So overall I conclude this. Yes, racism, whether blatant or accidental exist. Or perhaps if we don't want to call it racism, we can at least say that it is racially insensitive or in the very least, set up to opportune the white community more than it does any other. We can also say that while members of the black community face oppression and an assortment of other challenges in Hollywood, that it is unfair and irresponsible to primarily focus on the black community on issues of race in Hollywood. The Latino/Hispanic and especially the Asian and Native American communities need to be a part of that discussion as well. The discrimination they have had to endure is far greater in many respects, and it should not be overlooked or ignored.
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