Hollywood to ban stereotypes?
August 15th 2010 16:42
In what looks to be one of those "I'll believe it when I see it" scenarios, a major Hollywood studio is said to have banned the stereotyping of certain nationalities in their upcoming films, in an effort to stop offending their foreign audiences. According to Britain's Sunday Times, Paramount Pictures has specified in its marketing notes to prospective filmmakers that they will be more likely to give a film the go-ahead if its villains don't correspond to a particular nationality.
While the move by Paramount could be written off as being an exercise in PR, it should go some way towards appeasing certain groups who are sick of being portrayed in the same stagnant, negative light in every Hollywood film they see.
Given how many racial stereotypes currently exist in Hollywood (the fiendish Brit, the Indian taxi driver, the magical black man, the silent-but-deadly Asian and many, many more) it's fair to say that the movie studios have their work cut out for them. Helen Mirren and Slumdog Millionaire's Dev Patel are two actors who have spoken out against the Hollywood stereotyping of their own nationalities in recent months.
"It's unfortunate that the villain in every movie is always British," Dame Helen Mirren said in April this year. "We're not the snooty, stuck-up, malevolent, malignant creatures as we are so often portrayed."
Said Patel, "I’m likely to be offered the roles of a terrorist, cab driver and smart geek… I want to show that I have versatility. Hopefully the industry is changing and the casting directors will be less focused on colour so that people like myself can get through the door."
There's no denying the power of the Hollywood stereotype: even when it's more annoying and off-base than it is negative, it can last for decades in the minds of the movie-going public (Crocodile Dundee, anyone?)
And while Paramount's move towards eliminating stereotypes is undoubtedly a positive one, it remains to be seen whether it will have any real effect, and if other movie studios will eventually follow suit. I'm all for diversity of representation in films but I suspect that, like with sex, it's stereotyping that sells when it comes to making movies. As such I believe that this is just the tip of the stereotypical iceberg, and that any major changes within the industry are still a very long way off.
The days of the Soviet femme fatale are (apparently) numbered.
While the move by Paramount could be written off as being an exercise in PR, it should go some way towards appeasing certain groups who are sick of being portrayed in the same stagnant, negative light in every Hollywood film they see.
Given how many racial stereotypes currently exist in Hollywood (the fiendish Brit, the Indian taxi driver, the magical black man, the silent-but-deadly Asian and many, many more) it's fair to say that the movie studios have their work cut out for them. Helen Mirren and Slumdog Millionaire's Dev Patel are two actors who have spoken out against the Hollywood stereotyping of their own nationalities in recent months.
"It's unfortunate that the villain in every movie is always British," Dame Helen Mirren said in April this year. "We're not the snooty, stuck-up, malevolent, malignant creatures as we are so often portrayed."
Said Patel, "I’m likely to be offered the roles of a terrorist, cab driver and smart geek… I want to show that I have versatility. Hopefully the industry is changing and the casting directors will be less focused on colour so that people like myself can get through the door."
There's no denying the power of the Hollywood stereotype: even when it's more annoying and off-base than it is negative, it can last for decades in the minds of the movie-going public (Crocodile Dundee, anyone?)
And while Paramount's move towards eliminating stereotypes is undoubtedly a positive one, it remains to be seen whether it will have any real effect, and if other movie studios will eventually follow suit. I'm all for diversity of representation in films but I suspect that, like with sex, it's stereotyping that sells when it comes to making movies. As such I believe that this is just the tip of the stereotypical iceberg, and that any major changes within the industry are still a very long way off.
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Comment by think past
Think Past
The MEDIAtor
Comment by Journeywoman
Great Hair Style Tips
I Dream of Hollywood
Fashion Peach
But that was 50 years ago, so yes, it's clear that massive progress has already been made, but it needs to go further again. Cheers for dropping by think past.