Crossing Cultures In Hollywood

A study states that Hollywood is still lagging behind its audience and the authors suggest, that the industry at large should invest in hiring that is reflective of the U.S. population, which is nearly 40 percent minority and at least 50 percent female according to a CNN article (2018). Minorities consisting of African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and women are all misrepresented through the stereotypes and the restrictions that are placed on them in Hollywood films. The thriller/mystery film “Get Out” by director Jordan Peele, tells a story of an interracial couple who go on a weekend getaway to the girlfriend’s family’s house.

The issue between the interracial couple is that the African American boyfriend named Chris is worried that his white girlfriend named Rose will have a family that will treat him differently based on his race.

Although the plot thickens when the boyfriend realizes his girlfriend and her family have their own family business of helping white rich old people become younger through putting their brain in the bodies of young African American individuals.

This particular film became controversial because of the stigmas, racial profiling, and prejudice that African American individuals face in the United States. One of the stigmas that young African American individuals especially men face are being stereotyped as being portrayed as “The Thug” in films. According to the ThoughtCo. Article, “5 Common African American Stereotypes in TV and Film” stated the disproportionate amount of African Americans playing criminals in Hollywood fuels the racial stereotype that black men are dangerous and drawn to illicit activities.

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In a sense is true because applying the stereotype to the film “Get Out”, there is a specific scene were the main Protagonist Chris is fighting with Rose who tried to kill him.

While fighting with Rose, Chris is on top of her covered in blood and police sirens appear in the scene. At that moment Chris knows that he is in trouble through putting his hands in the air immediately because throughout history African American men have been reprehensive as being dangerous especially towards white young woman. Although throughout the film, Chris wasn’t limited to playing a specific stereotype that is typically placed on African Americans in films but the film in incorporates the stereotypes that African Americans experience. “Sin Nombre” (Nameless in English) is a Latino film by an Asian American director named Cary Joki Fukunaga which follows two stories that eventually become one. The background of one of the stories is about a young Honduran teen who emigrates through Mexico to go to the United States for a better life but meets a ex Mexican gang member who gets caught up in the violence of the gang life. At the end of the story, the Honduran teen eventually makes it to the United States although the ex Mexican gang member was murdered by his own gang. “Sin Nombre” allows the audience to see how undocumented individuals come to the United States rather than the assumption of it being fairly easy to migrate to America.

This film is extremely important because it makes a political statement and an ethical one especially since Donald Trump is the current president who promotes to separate undocumented families and applies stigmas toward the Latino race such as they’re lazy, taking American citizen’s jobs, and living off the welfare system rather then contributing to the economy. According to the Washington post article, Cities have struggled with how to handle white-supremacist groups seeking to hold rallies, and gay rights activists have decried what they describe as the Trump administration’s “all out assault on LGBTQ people, women, and other minority communities.” President Donald Trump has contributed to the stereotypes that are constraining undocumented and Latino individuals based on their racial/ethnicity background. In addition, a majority of films will use whitewashing, which is when a white individual plays a Latino individual in a film.

“Sin Nombre” uses its platform to incorporate a majority of Latino actors/actresses in order to break the historical tradition of not creating diversity in films relating to minorities. The Asian American film “Better Luck Tomorrow” introduced in 2003 follows four young suburban Asian American students in high school and the double life they live by doing various illegal ventures such as stealing, prostitution, and murdering. In between the madness, one of the main protagonists is in love with a girl named Stephanie who already has a boyfriend. At the end, the four Asian American students kill Stephanie’s boyfriend which becomes a shocker to the audience since Asian Americans aren’t portrayed as being killers or ruthless.

Throughout Hollywood films, Asian Americans are typically stereotyped as being portrayed as being highly educated, hard working, and competitive but majority of the time are played by white actor/actress. In the article; The Guardian explains through saying “Asian men said they were often relegated to roles as tech nerds, assistants, doctors – sometimes highly emasculated, desexualized characters. Asian women, meanwhile, regularly go up for parts as masseuses and sex workers or characters described as submissive, fragile or quiet.” The statement goes into depth about the issues that Asian American face in the film community because of the stereotypes that are applied to them. For example in the Efilmcritics article, the author states “However, from what I can see, all they did was take the two most prevalent stereotypes (the anal and brainy straight-A student and the wannabe gangsta) and combined them.” Which supports the concept that Asian American individuals are only given two options as being either well educated or a want to be gangbanger.

Although I believe that statement would not be applied to a film consist of four young white American students since the expectations for Asian Americans are typically being the mold that society has placed on them based on the stereotypes and stigmas. “Well, I gave it to myself, it’s given to me by me” quoted from the main protagonist character in the film named “Lady Bird” directed by Greta Gerwig. The film follows a young woman who is graduating high school and tells a coming of age story that a majority of young woman can experience in their life. Lady Bird also known as Christine experiences hardships such as losing her best friend, fighting with her parents (specifically her mother), and experiencing her “first time” with a boy who already had sex but at the end everything seems to workout eventually.

Representation of women throughout Hollywood has progressed but there are still the misunderstandings and stereotypes that can limit women in society and films. “While men continue to dominate positions behind the camera, a number of female filmmakers have made it their business to alter those stats by employing all-female (or nearly all-female) crews” stated by the IndieWire article. Women would benefit from having more female film directors because they can portray women in a different perspective then male film director. The reason that female film directors can have a difference perspective then male directors is they might have experienced or have a better understanding of a topic relating to women. “Lady Bird” is directed by a female director and consists of the main protagonist being a woman. According to a women and Hollywood article, 24 % protagonist were women in the top 100 films in 2017 and 4.3 % of women directed the top 1,100 films from 2007 to 2017.

Since being a director is a male dominated profession, female directors are often stereotyped as being the costumer maker or the make up artist which is problematic since its constraining them just based on their gender. “Lady Bird” was able to contribute to ending the stereotypes placed upon women in the film industry by having a main protagonist and being directed by a woman. In conclusion, my overall experience with watching films relating to African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and women help to contribute to my own understanding of the issues that they face within society and in the film industry.

Every film that I have watched in class I have appreciated because of the progression of minorities within the movie that include the directors, the actors/actress, and the behind the scenes cast. Each of the films are unique in their own way but one thing they had in common was the misrepresentation and stereotypes that constrain minorities throughout their life experiences. In the film “Get Out”, a majority of African American individuals are represented as being hard-core criminals, while in “Sin Nombre”, undocumented and Latino individuals are seen as being stereotyped as being lazy. Similarly, the film “Better Luck Tomorrow” struggles with the traditional stereotype that Asian Americans are only industrious while women have little representation in the film industry when it came to directing and acting. Altogether, I think that individuals need to be more aware of these issues in order for us as a society and in the film industry to advanced and not limit individuals based on their racial background or sex.