Hollywood Won’t Learn: It’s a White Summer Again
Okay, so TheWrap details one of the major reasons for the success of Fast Five:
The Universal sequel exploded onto theater screens last weekend, raking in $86.2 million with an ethnically diverse cast that attracted an equally diverse audience.
Latinos represented almost as many moviegoers as whites (33% versus 35%), while African-Americans also turned out in force, according to studio figures.
The multi-racial cast starred Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, featured a Rio de Janeiro backdrop and was directed by Justin Lin, who scored the biggest-ever domestic debut for an Asian director.
“‘Fast Five’ is a great example of Hollywood getting it right,” Craig Detweiler, professor of film history at Pepperdine University, told TheWrap. “Its multi-racial cast matches the multi-racial audience. The Rock and Vin Diesel reflect the browning of America, that there is more blurring across races and cultures than ever before. The box office take reflects that.”
So in its infinite wisdom, Hollywood made sure to take the same multicultural approach with all its upcoming summer movies, right? Wrong!
But after that auspicious start, the summer derails quicker than one of Diesel’s sports cars. A quick scan of the major films hitting theaters over the next few months shows that Hollywood is about to flood the marketplace — again! — with four-quadrant fare almost exclusively by and starring the ever-shrinking white plurality.
Don’t look for anybody ethnic to save the world or make it safe for democracy in “The Green Lantern” or “Cowboys and Aliens.” For that matter, “X-Men: First Class” may preach inclusion, but its cast isn’t exactly a rainbow coalition.
I don’t get it. Thinking multiculturally would seem to be Filmmaking 101 at this point, if only due to the burgeoning international market. Throw in the changing demographics in the United States, how hard can it be to put this consideration near the top of story development considerations?
I know I posted on it at some point — can’t find the article — but it behooves screenwriters to be cognizant of multiculturalism when ‘casting’ their story. Obviously it helps if the combination of characters per gender, race, and sexual orientation arises authentically within the context of the story universe you create, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give your thought process a bit of a shove in that direction from the get-go.
What do you think? Is it important / smart / necessary for movie studios to think multiculturally when it comes to the characters they present in their movies? Or perhaps you think it doesn’t matter?
For more of TheWrap article, go here.