Interview (Parts 1–4): Darnell Hunt

Recently I had the opportunity to speak with Darnell Hunt, professor of sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles and director of the university’s Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American studies. There is perhaps no one more qualified to speak on the subject diversity in Hollywood than Darnell for reasons that are readily apparent in this interview.

Here are links to all four parts of the interview:

Part 1: “If you look at underrepresentation, what we found is among film leads, minorities are underrepresented by a factor of more than 3 to 1; women, by a factor of about 2 to 1. If we look at film directors, we see that minorities are underrepresented by, again, a factor of about 3 to 1, but women, believe it or not, 12 to 1.”

Part 2: “We found that films and TV shows that are more diverse in terms of their cast, particularly those that are from 30 to 40 percent diverse… do the best in terms of box office, and they do the best in terms of ratings.”

Part 3: “The whole idea of what’s good needs to be expanded so the room is more inclusive and more people are participating in the process of deciding what’s good and what’s going to be green‑lit.”

Part 4: “If the industry is going to continue to be viable that you have to find ways to chip away at this old, longstanding structure that’s prevented diversity from coming into the process.”

You may follow Darnell Hunt on Twitter: @darnell_hunt.

To download a copy of the “2014 Hollywood Diversity Report: Making Sense of the Disconnect” mentioned in the interview, click here.