The glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry can sometimes obscure the fact that behind every script, camera, or distribution deal is a person who needs a job – just like the rest of us. Work is a necessity, part of the meaning of life on this earth, a path to growth, human development, and personal fulfillment. However, for Black professionals trying to build and sustain a career in film and TV, the industry has been a relatively unwelcoming workplace.
Moreover, because arts and entertainment both have such an incredible influence on our culture by amplifying a reflection of both who we are and who we want to be, representation in Hollywood is even more critical to the national psyche than other hidden industries. While some progress has been made with on-screen talent in recent years, as many entertainment companies are intentionally becoming more diverse and inclusive; however, inequity persists and is deeply entrenched across the industry.
Change is challenging as tight-knit, interdependent networks dominate the landscape. Unlike many other industries, a single company’s efforts to change the racial dynamic can only do so much to truly impact the industry. In any given week, let alone an entire career, a professional working in Hollywood might have to traverse multiple entities—agencies, unions, guilds, studios, networks, production houses, financiers, festivals, critics, and awards establishments. This makes achieving equity in entertainment a unique and complex, system-level challenge.
Black executive data
Unsurprisingly, off-screen Black talent is grossly underrepresented. Both film and TV still have very little minority representation among top management. Less than 6 percent of roles with creative control – the creators, writers, directors, and producers of US-produced films – are Black. In some genres, like the superhero genre, representation is even lower.
The handful of Black creatives we currently have in place find themselves primarily responsible for providing opportunities for other Black off-screen talent. Unless at least one senior member of a production is Black, Black talent is largely shut out of those critical roles. Case in point, Netflix commissioned a third-party evaluator to look at how well the streaming giant is doing in diversity, equity, and inclusion. According to the independent report, it turns out that Netflix has the same results as the industry at large.
The report cited low percentages of Black talent in above-the-line roles (creator, producer, writer, or director). Black above-the-line talent made up only 6.6 percent of those roles for films and 7.9 percent for scripted series across 2018 and 2019. Similar to theatrical releases, these above-the-line roles had a profound multiplier effect on representation. When a Black creator was behind a Netflix series, for example, 72 percent of series regulars were Black, while only 15.4 percent were Black when a non-Black creator developed a series.
The broad implication of this phenomenon is that Black creatives carry the weight of Black diversity and inclusion
The report concluded more generally that “underrepresented creatives were primarily responsible for the on-screen inclusion in Netflix films.”
The solution: increasing the representation of Black talent in key off-screen roles—including producer, writer, director, and show creator—will have a multiplier effect – increasing more representation among writers, directors, showrunners, and other talent.
I recognize that Black executives are only one of many underrepresented groups in film and TV. I hope that one day soon, we will be in a position to become more equitable and inclusive for all, including Asian Americans, members of the Latinx community, LGBTQ+ individuals, Native Americans, people with disabilities, and others. If Hollywood is going to represent America, it must reflect the demographic realities of the U.S. population.
Works cited
Representation of Black talent in film and TV | McKinsey. https://www.mckinsey.com/Featured-Insights/Diversity-and-Inclusion/Black-representation-in-film-and-TV-The-challenges-and-impact-of-increasing-diversity