What white washing represents is the way that we consider "white" to be the default position or as being "above" race while people of colour (POC) are defined by their race and are burdened because of this. When white skin is the assumed default setting for human beings, by definition, people of colour are abnormal or "other". This perpetuates an extremely harmful divide between POC and white people and a concept of us verses them in society. This separation or ability to compartmentalise people as "different types" of human is what leads to segregation and discrimination as once a line is drawn it is easier to start finding reasons to reaffirm the line.
The importance of representation in mainstream media could be outlined by any human being who belongs to a marginalised group. Being able to see people and characters like yourself is so vital to the creation of self-image and the affirmation of identity as well as creating feelings of community. When Hollywood removes POC from the foreground a huge part of this representation is lost for POC in the real world, not to mention opportunities for actors of colour. Another extremely damaging aspect of this is segregation in film (barring burden of representation and stereotyping) is the fact that POC are not being seen or seeing themselves as doing great things. Whether it be a historical drama or a superhero flick, the images of strong, capable people of colour are almost entirely absent from our silver screens and when they do appear, its in supporting roles, always not quite good enough for the lead. Ultimately, POC become a backdrop for a white world.
Behind the scenes, all this whitewashing reflects the way that the executives in Hollywood think of how audiences would react to more people of colour in film. It comes from a place of assuming that the majority think POC are not interesting enough to make good stories where as in fact many of the best stories we know today come from the works, experiences, and inspirations of people of colour. As well as this, Hollywood clearly views successful actors of colour as the exceptions rather than the rule which leads to the overwhelming whiteness of the supposed blockbuster "A-Listers" (see Oscar Nominees from 2016 below).
As a mega-corporation, money is a priority in Hollywood which is why they continue to pump out movies on formula however all we can hope for is that as more risks get taken and more directors, producers, and writers aspire outside the box, Hollywood will see risks succeeding and hopefully this will generate a change.
Behind the scenes, all this whitewashing reflects the way that the executives in Hollywood think of how audiences would react to more people of colour in film. It comes from a place of assuming that the majority think POC are not interesting enough to make good stories where as in fact many of the best stories we know today come from the works, experiences, and inspirations of people of colour. As well as this, Hollywood clearly views successful actors of colour as the exceptions rather than the rule which leads to the overwhelming whiteness of the supposed blockbuster "A-Listers" (see Oscar Nominees from 2016 below).
As a mega-corporation, money is a priority in Hollywood which is why they continue to pump out movies on formula however all we can hope for is that as more risks get taken and more directors, producers, and writers aspire outside the box, Hollywood will see risks succeeding and hopefully this will generate a change.
Yeah, I agree that it’s mostly about money, especially considering the “it’s not on purpose, we didn’t know” defense doesn’t really fool anyone now considering the huge uproar around the last two Oscars. I think that Hollywood for some reason assumes white Americans will only watch movies with white main characters. Who knows why, maybe they’re trying to win over that highly sought after KKK audience. It’s probably mainly due to our ingrained Eurocentric views. I.E, western ideals and values just have to be the centre of attention, so that usually involves chucking in a white guy to embody them on behalf of the audience. Even when coloured actors play the protagonist, they very rarely open discussion on culture, in other words the character generally assimilates into western ideals anyway and if the text does involve exploration of culture, there is usually some white saviour lurking around the corner somewhere, ready to be a hero.
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This is and embarrassingly accurate, and well written post. The idea of white being the dominating position, also comes with the idea that all else (people of colour) is merged together as one big flattening of 'other/otherness' or more so the 'best and the rest'. This other is often using actors of one ethnic group, and using them to fulfill a role of another, such as a Maori Cliff Curtis acting as an Indian man. I feel this sort of cultural and ethnic representation contains many flaws of authenticity and false portrayal of what it means to be a part of that true culture. Who can represent a culture better than a person involved with the rituals and behaviours within it? Hollywood somehow fail to gather this. As a whole, Hollywood is a film industry of white privilege and Eurocentric saturated roles, and the 2016 Oscar image is simply cringe-worthy.
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