For example, I really didn't think black actors in Hollywood was even a problem anymore. But this may be because in whatever movie genres they are discouraged from, I don't watch. . . like rom-com . . . that sounds like a genre that would still be having black friend sidekicks.
Oooooh don't even get me started on how marginalized POC are in Hollywood. (And Blacks and Hispanics are doing a lot better than Asians.) I work in Hollywood, and it's *abysmal.* The casting notices often read to me like we're living twenty years ago.
Okay, I said I didn't want to get started *g*, but just to name a few:
We have properties starring POC that get adapted into movies only to have everyone whitewashed. See
The Last Airbender, Tales from Earthsea. (In general, Hollywood execs don't think actors of color can carry a movie.)
We have real life stories of people of color that are adapted into movies only to have
the real-life people of color played by WHITE ACTORS. See
21, Desperate Measures, Argo. If that's not erasing the contributions of POC in the public consciousness, I don't know what is.
Can anyone name one Asian-American man who's a well-known romantic lead? We can name kung-fu stars, sure, but how surprised would you be if the romantic comedy of the week starred an Asian actor? (Or a Black actor of a Hispanic actor or a Native American actor, for that matter? But Asian men get particularly shafted when it comes to romantic leads.) Action movies get a little more leeway, but Hollywood has very clear rules about romantic comedies, high school comedies, etc. starring a white face.
When casting notices say, "All-American," that's shorthand for, "white." A lot of times roles that have no clear reason for it are listed as "Caucasian" -- usually the lead and the girlfriend of the lead will be specified as "Caucasian" for absolutely no in-story reason.
And incidentally, the roles for
The Last Airbender were listed as "Caucasian or any other ethnicity." For ASIAN CHARACTERS. The role of Katniss, who is described as being multi-ethnic in appearance in the book, was given as "Caucasian" in the breakdown, ensuring that casting directors would almost certainly see no actresses of color for the role.
Aspiring actors of color (and I'm talking the working actors, with no name to speak of) are most likely ONLY going to be called in for roles that fit their ethnicity. Even the ones that say "any ethnicity" are probably going to get mostly white actors called in -- white actors have a lot more opportunities to be seen, to excel, and therefore usually end up with more credits and are seen as better bets and it turns into a whole mad vicious cycle where actors of color can't get a foot in the door. (Note: I'm not an actor, so this isn't a bitter actor thing, though I *am* bitter because I want society to change in this regard.)
A lot of people don't realize that there's this whole
world of independent film where a lot of working actors make their bread and butter as they work up into TV and film. And when most indies that get funding and get made have a white lead with a white girlfriend, it gives actors of color precious few opportunities to show off that they can act. Every so often an indie gets made by POC starring POC, but it's hard for them to get funding in the first place, and also hard for them to market. Making a movie, let alone making a movie that will get seen, is a difficult and complicated process.
Because of the paucity of good opportunities and non-stereotypical roles, a lot of actors of color (speaking anecdotally, but I'm pretty sure I'm right) get out of the business. Hollywood has a ridiculously high turn over anyway; people are constantly getting out in favor of stable jobs and steady paychecks (and I can't say I blame them). I've talked to a number of POC who decided it wasn't worth it.
A lot of actors of color are preemptively barred from trying for a lot of adapted characters (like the superhero characters). Look how the Internets blew up when Idris Elba was cast as Heimdall -- can you imagine what would've happened if a Black actor had tried for Thor? And yet, the studios can get away with turning Aang white in
The Last Airbender.
Ditto for historical characters or historical fiction characters -- either because Hollywood wants to make movies about white historical figures, who won't be played by POC (despite movies like
Argo doing the reverse), or because in historical fiction, a lot of eras and countries are PERCEIVED to be a lot whiter than they actually were, so Hollywood casts all white people so as not to upset that expectation (there were a lot more POC in history than people think there were, but Hollywood thinks people won't know that, so reinforces the false "historical accuracy" perception by casting white people).
Even when actors of color do get cast, it's far too often as stereotypes and sidekicks. To let an actor of color play a protagonist -- is that a bridge too far? Yet a lot of actors of color find themselves hitting that proverbial glass ceiling, even the ones with a lot of star power.
That's why it's so great when actors like Will Smith and Halle Berry get enough name recognition to be recognized as
people rather than
black people. When Will Smith stars in a movie, it's not a "black person" movie with a black lead, it's a Will Smith movie. And that's why I was so excited with the name recognition
The Help gave to Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. I need there to be more actors and actresses of color who get so much name recognition that Hollywood stops seen them as "Black actors" and starts seeing them as actors. (Incidentally,
Star Trek managed to do this quite nicely for Zoe Saldana as well -- but just like with Davis and Spencer, the movie that rocketed her to success and gave her the star power to play not-specifically-black leads WAS a specifically black character that she probably wouldn't have gotten if Uhura didn't HAVE to be black.) But their success hasn't changed the overwhelming systemic prejudice in Hollywood, as much as it seems like it should, as much as it seems like their success should be taken as evidence that people of color can carry movies just fine.
Maybe someday though, if we get enough of them, it'll start to turn the tide.