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Danielle Driscoll
Dr. Steffen Guenzel
ENC1102H-0205
26 April 2016
The Milennial Sorority Racism of Hollywood
Anyone who knows about the entertainment industry knows that the most prestigious day
in Hollywood is the night of the Oscars. The Oscars are the Emerald City at the end of the
Yellow Brick Road, or in the Oscars case, the red carpet. It has been a reknown day full of class
and prestige. The prestige can be seen in Figure 1, where the 2016 Oscars were held in an
imaculate theater, and in Figure 2, where the coveted, golden Oscar is everyones aim. So, when
Chris Rock delivered his controversial opening monologue as host of the Oscars, the entire
media industry blew up with Americas rage. Rocks monologue slammed the Academy with his
opening lines, Im here at the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the White Peoples Choice
Awards. You realize if they nominated hosts, I wouldnt even get this job. So yall would be
watching Neil Patrick Harris right now. Neil Patrick Harris, a white man, was the host of the
2015 Oscars, and in 2014, Ellen Degeneres was the MC of this awards ceremony, who is also
White. When looking back at the past decade of Oscar hosts, the only host of the Oscars that was
Black was Chris Rock, when he hosted in 2005. Since his hosting debut in 2005, it has been only
White actors hosting the Oscars until this year, when Chris Rock hosted once again. That is an
11-year gap, 11 Oscar shows, 11 hosts, where no minorities were given the opportunity to lead
this prestigious show (Grouch). The reason behind this racially focused opening to the show, is
that zero nominees were Black. In fact, every nominee was White, with no minorities nominated

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for an
Figure
1

award,
which was
a shock in
comparison to past Oscar shows.

Figure
2

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It is in fact shocking that in the year of 2016, the most
entertainment hub is criticized under the spotlight for discriminating
minority talent. There have been numerous reasons for this racism,

respected
Figure 3

against
which

Chris Rock likes to call sorority racism. In Rocks monologue, which he can be seen delivering
in Figure 3, he stated sorority racism in a clever way, Is it burning-cross racist? No. Is it fetchme-some-lemonade racist? No. No, no, no. Its a different type of racistHollywood is sorority
racist. Its like We like you Rhonda, but youre not a Kappa. Hollywood is selective in their
casting and nominating, but somehow the nominations and jobs never fall into the hands of
Black actors, or minorities in general for that matter. Thus, in my following research, I examine
the viewpoints from White Actors, Black Actors, and Latino Actors, and how Hollywood reacts
to each group of entertainers. Thereby ultimately examining the problem here: In a milennial
generation where equality is in
constant progression, the most
influential industry in the world is
reversing this effort, and the
movie-goer audiences are
involuntarily falling suspect to this
sorority racism of Hollywood as well.

African American Actors

The 2015 Oscars on the other hand nominated the movie Selma for Best Film, a movie that
traces the historical movement Martin Luther King Jr. started. This movie had nothing but
African American actors, with David Oyewolo starring as Martin Luther King Jr., (seen in Figure

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4) and although it didnt win Best Film, it was also nominated for Original Song, and won the
award for their song Glory. The year before that, the 2014 Oscars, there was an

Figure
4

overwhelming amount of African American nominations in comparison to this

years, and even 2015s nominations. In 2014, the movie 12 Years A Slave, won 9 nominations
and took home 3 awards: Best Picture, Writing (Adapted Screenplay), and Best Actress in a
Supporting Role, which was won by Lupita Nyongo, a Black Actress (seen in Figure 5)
(oscars.org). Not only is Lupita Nyongo African American, but she is a woman as well, which is
unfortunately a rare occurence at the Oscars. Thus, its obvious the 2014 Oscars nomination list
was even more diverse nomination and winner list than in 2015! Thus, when the 2016 list of
nominees came out and not a single African American actor was found on this list, the world of
Hollywood ignited an outrage. This is due to the frightening and apparent shift away from
minority talent appraisal, with a driven focus on only Caucasian actors. The outrage was among
the thousands of famous, most talented minority celebrities that were not properly being
represented at the biggest event in Hollywood.
Many Black celebrities chose to boycott, aka
refusal to attend, the Oscars, all expressing a
strong disapproval for the Academys lack of
diversity integration.

Will Smith
Figure
5

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In an interview with Good Morning America, Actor Will
Smith (Fig. 5) opened up about his reasoning for boycotting
the Oscars.
When I look at it, the nominations reflect the Academy.
The Academy reflects the industry, reflects Hollywood and
then the industry reflects America. It reflects a series of
challenges that we are having in our country at the moment.
There's a regressive slide towards separatism, towards racial and religious disharmony and that's
not the Hollywood that I want to leave behind. That's not the industry, that's not the America I
want to leave behind (McDermont). This statement reflects on the idea that the audience of
these movies are also a reflection of these ongoing
prejudices.
Figure
6

Jada Pinkett Smith

Jada Pinkett Smith was the leader of this boycott as
she released a video expressing her grave disapproval
for the list of nominations and called for unity to
stand up agains this. Oppositional reports to her
boycott claimed that her reaction was an emotional

response to her husband, Will Smith, not being nominated for the movie, Concussion,
which had a lot of spurring conversations about Oscar nominations. However, Will
assured McDermont in his interview with Good Morning America, that Jada would have
posted the video had he won a nomination, yet there were no other African American

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nominations. In support of her community, she released the video on Martin Luther King
Jr.s birthday, inviting her fellow Black actors to take a stand against their frustrations
with the Academy. In her video she says, I cant help but ask the question Is it time
that people of color recognize how much power, influence that we have amassed? We no
longer need to ask to be invited anywhereThe Academy has the right to acknowledge
whoever they choose. To invite whoever they choose. And now I think that it's our

Figure
7

responsibility now to make the change (Lee & McRady).

Idris Elba
This year, it came as a shock to many when British actor Idris Elba was not nominated for
an Oscar for his role as an African Warlord in the critically aclaimmed film, Beasts of a
Nation. Idris Elba also felt this disappointment as he stated, The reason I went to
America is because the USA has the most famous diversity policy of all, and its called
the American dreamThe problem is the gap between the dream and the reality to
champion diversity is to champion the American dream. Thats the guarantee I want here

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in Britain. Wheres the British dream? (Lee & McRady). Thus, it is evident that many of
these Black entertainers feel that this problem extends beyond just Hollywood, but it is a
direct reflection of America as a whole, of the audience and what they want. Instead of
moving towards diversity, which is what the United States is built on, the country and
attitudes of the people seem to be digressing away from equality among minority and
majority.
The Effects on African American Reputation
When these jobs do fall into the hands of these talented celebrities, they often are cast as
supporting roles that are detrimental to improving the all-around stereotypes pinned on Black
people. In movies like Compton, the Blacks are seen as violent, drug-addicts with their pants
sagging low and no respect for women. In other movies such as Django: Unchained, Jamie Foxx
plays a runaway slave that kills a lot of people. The Black characters in almost all movies,
excluding comedies, are supporting roles where they die in the end or they fulfill the negative
stereotypes against their race. Zoe Williams writes in her article, The Oscars Whiteout Is Driven
by Racism and Greed, that this image of Black characters in films are a direct result of the
moviegoer audience. In the past few years, reports have shown that over 60% of the ticket sales
at movie theaters were bought by Caucasian people (Nielsen). This, Williams claims, leaves the
stereotypical Black actors characters with a negative connotation: We accept that the black half
of any given duo is less likely to get the girl, more likely to be killed in a comical or tragic
accident, less likely to say something deep or droll, more likely to have been disposed of by the
end of the film. This not only creates a negative archetype for Black actors, but it also puts what
roles the Black actors do get as secondary or very unimportant to the main plot. Then, when

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these Black entertainters do get their rise at stardom, it is for a movie that is historical and that
race is necessary to the success of the film, not just a comedy that wants to cast the lead role as
Black or Latino or Woman.

White Actors Perspective

However, it was not solely the Black community that felt a boycott was necessary. People such
as George Clooney, Donald Trump, Matt Damon, and Steven Spielburg (all White figures), felt
the communityof minority entertainers were not properly represented in the industry (Lee &
McRady).

George Clooney
George Clooney is one of the most popular actors in Hollywood. He decided to take a
stand as he believes
you think back 10

Figure 8

in the regression of diversity in Hollywood as well, If

years ago, the Academy was doing a better job. Think

about how many more African Americans were nominated. I would also make the
argument, I dont think its a problem of who youre picking as much as it is: How many
options are available to minorities in film,
particularly in quality films? (Lee & McRady).
Donald Trump
Donald Trump has been undeniably racist in many
political campaigns in his pursuit for the 2016
Presidency. He has bashed Mexican immigrants, and
been called out for being a White Supremacist. However, he actually agreed in the lack of

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representation in the industry when he said, it would certainly be nice if everybody could
be represented properly. And hopefully that's the case, but perhaps it's not the case. It's a
difficult situation, (Lee & McRady).
Steven Spielburg
This sly racial
by way of these
selective casting

discrimination in movies,
Figure
9

stereotypical characters and

of minorities, then leads

White consumers to resonate more with actors of their own

skin color. Since the typical moviegoer audience is predominatly White, it makes White actors
much more profitable to these large corporations than a Michael Duncan Clark. Even other
minorities such as Latino actors acknowledge that diversity is a problem in Hollywood due to
greed. Steven Spielburg is one of the most well-respected names in Hollywood. He has directed
countless iconic films, and he too made a statement on the nominations of the 2016 Oscars, I
was surprised at some of the individuals who were not nominated. I was surprised at [the
exclusion of] Idris [Elba] I was surprised at that. I think that was one of the best performances
in the supporting actor and the actor category, was Idris. I've seen Straight Outta Compton my
wife and I saw it when it first opened, the first weekend, and it just rocked our world. It was
incredible. I was very surprised to see that omission, (Lee & McRady).

Latino Actors
Gina Rodriguez

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Gina Rodriguez, a Latina actor in the hit TV series, Jane the Virgin, commented on this
greed, Hollywood isnt about racism, its about money, (Moreno). That is why they cast more
White actors than say a George Lopez or a Kerry Washington for many roles, because the biggest
movie consumer group (Whites), will want to see a Brad Pitt as the lead of the film over Will
Smith.Race resonates with race (Williams). Therefore, if you ever were to walk into a Tyler
Perrys Madea Jones movie, you would see practically the entire audience is Black. However, if
you were to go to a screening of The Trailer Park Boys Movie, you would see that nearly
everyone is of caucasian race. Latinos are cast out in fact cast out in Hollywood. Latinos and
Blacks alike feel that their racial groups are not being properly represented in the media, which
in turn creates a negative image of that entire race. Not only does it influence the White audience
to shy away from minorities as lead characters and resonate with solely White talent, but it
negatively affects the self-esteem and mindset of these minority actors. In Carolina Morenos
interview with actor Gina Rodriguez, the actress shown in Figure 10, Rodriguez discusses her
desire to change the way media approaches and views diversity and minorities: I want to change
the idea of minorities in the mediaGrowing up, I never saw my home life reflected on screen,
and that made me feel a certain way about myself. Its not only about my ethnicity; she
continues, It made me feel a certain way about my beauty. Not seeing a woman like me as a lead
made me feel like Id never by skinny enough, Id never be pretty enough. This statement from
Rodriguez, the lead character in Jane the Virgin, proves that the sorority racism in Hollywood
is negatively affecting the minds of those minorities watching these TV shows and movies where
they are not present or represented in a stereotypical manner. Thus, this goes to show that the

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images portrayed of these minorities continue to stimulate these stereotypical prejudices. Not
only that, but it also affects the young minds of the audience members watching,
Figure
10

with about 30% of the moviegoer audience being aged 12-24, the critical brain
development time. If the youthful generation is being exposed to these negative
archetypes in relation to other cultures, or are
simply not exposed to any minority entertainer at
all, they will be influenced to adapt these same
negative mindsets involuntarily.

Why Are White Actors Valued So Much

Over Other Races?
It is evident: Hollywood has a fetish with the White race. Not only does Hollywood feen over
White actors, but specifically White Male actors are the Alphas of the industry.
Hollywood is believed to have this obsession with White men as the biopics and lead
characters for movies. A biopic, is a biographical movie, or a movie that dramatizes the life of a
non-fictional or historically based person. Popular article writer, Kelsey McKinney did a survey
in which she studied the lead roles in 120 famous high-grossing biopic films that have received
over $3 million in box office profits and also have appraised criticism. She provides a chart,
which can be seen in Figure 11, that shows that of these 120 movie roles, 78 of these movies had
White men as the lead, followed by 21 White women, then 18 movies with Black men as the lead
and only 3 Black women having substantial roles in these movies. This means that 65% of
biopics are about White men. This is not to say that these men do not deserve their roles,
paychecks, and praise, because they do. However, what is frustrating to the women and minority
actors, is how little these White men have to do to receive such love and approval from the

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audience in comparison to a female or minority actor. A Hugh Jackman can simply take their
shirt off, flex their extremely toned muscles, and they get
Oscar. Black actors on the other hand have to be slaves in an old

Figure
11

nominated for an
Western film or

sacrifice themselves in some subservient,

inhumane fashion in order to receive any type of
attention: positive OR negative. However, Black
actors are not the only minority receiving the
short end of this racism stick.
Latinos and women can also be seen as
minorities within the film industry. Going back
to McKinneys statistics she states, Its amazing
that in a society that is 50 percent women and 40
percent people of color, that 65 percent of
biopics are about white men, to which she then continues to say, When we look at this data, the
wealth of stories about white men becomes overwhelming. Not only are people of color rarely
portrayed in major theater releases (17.5 percent), but women too are very overlooked (20
percent). This means that only 17.5% and 20% of Blacks and Women are portrayed as important
characters in critically acclaimed films. The problem with this is that the audience becomes
desensitized to the sorority discrimination against Blacks, Latinos, and women. Thus, change
within the industry becomes very hard. This is because Hollywood responds to what they think
the audience wants. As the predominant White audience continues to buy movie tickets for highgrossing White actor movies, (which means that all important characters of of Caucasian race),

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Hollywood and major production corporations will keep funding millions and billions to create
more
you

Figure
12

White actor movies to meet the demand. If you take a look at figure 12,
can see the breakdown of ethnicities in correlation to the typical
moviegoer audience. In all three years of 2010-2012,
Women were had a higher attendance rate to the theaters
than men, which is ironic considering women are
underrepresented as lead roles in movies. This statistic
can be used to conclude that women like to watch these
White Male Biopic movies, because of the sexy lead
Chris Hemsworth or Channing Tatum. Not only that, but all
three years, the Caucasian race accounted for over half of
the moviegoer audience, with Latinos in second place
with under 20% accountability for movie goers, then
African Americans, then Asians. Due to this astounding

statistic on the racial profiles of movie audiences, it has provided evidence for why Hollywood
continues to cast White talent, specifically Male white talent. Hollywood has fallen into the
money quicksand and they cant seem to find their way out of White men prejudices. Not only is
this undeniable racism affecting the actors that need employment within the industry, but it also
affects those watching these shows that do not receive proper representation in all facets of
acting: TV Shows, Movies, Musicals, etc.

Efforts To Reverse the Curse

Before the 2016 Oscars even took place, there was an outrage against the
Academy due to the early release of the nominees. When the nominees were released and no

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Black or Latino actors were listed on the ballots, there was an uproar amongst every day
consumers and celebrities alike. Hollywood tried to react to this by making almost all of the
award presenters Black, such as Kevin Hart and of course the host of the Oscars, Chris Rock.
Hollywood and the Academy obviously deny any type of participation in racial tendencies. Yet,
if they are so adamant about the fact that they are promoting diversity in the industry, why did it
take an outrage against the nominees for them to hire all Black presenters?
Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Figure
13

Sciences, released an official statement on Academy

commentaries in USWeekly, composed Esther Lee and
Rachel McRady, about the outrage regarding the
Academy and their lack of integration:
"Id like to acknowledge the wonderful work of this years
nomineesWhile we celebrate their extraordinary
achievements, I am both heartbroken and frustrated about
the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important
conversation, and its time for big changes. The Academy

is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership. In the coming days and weeks
we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed
diversity in our 2016 class and beyond."
It is ironic that there is a lack of diversity within the Academy, and that the President is
Cheryl Boon Isaacs. Why? Because, if you take a look at Figure 13, you can see a picture of
Cheryl Boon Isaacs. One might take the time to recognize that she is both a woman and of Asian
descent. This is ironic given the fact that women and minorities, ESPECIALLY Asians, are

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highly underrepresented in the industry. Yet, the highest chair in the Academy falls ownership to
a person that belongs to both of these minority categories Hollywood.

Conclusion
In conclusion, Chris Rocks monologue for the 2016 Oscars created the largest
controversy against the Academy to this day. He attacked the Academys reputation by calling
them out for their sorority racism habits, that is, their selectiveness and exclusivity of
nominations and overall lack of diversity in Hollywood movies today. While women and Latinos
also fall victim to this racism, it is mainly the Black population that feels undermined by this
years Oscar nominations. This problem has been ongoing for almost half a century, and the
Academy is just now deciding to respond to the hate and backlash, because they know that they
are in fact participating in prejudicial behaviors. The reason behind these behaviors and
involuntary racism, is due to the bankability of the White male as a lead role in a movie. White
people are the largest audience in terms of watching movies at a theater. Therefore, White males
are cast more than any other person (female, Latino, Black), due to the fact that more people will
go watch a movie with Will Ferrel in it than Samuel L. Jackson, aka due to the bankability and
profability of White Actors over any other race. Hollywood claims that they are not racist and are
making strides to incorporate more diversity into the industry. However, this quick and
exaggerated reaction to the criticism against the Academy shows the racism taking place,
otherwise they wouldnt feel obligated to make Chris Rock the host of the 2016 Oscars, as well as
compiling a large group of Black presenters, such as Common, Kevin Hart, Whoopi Goldberg,
and Morgan Freeman (Donnelly). This sorority racism in Hollywood however, is a direct result
of the audiences decisions and preferences. If the audience members became more aware of

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these involuntary indulgences into these prejudices, Hollywood production studios would cast
more minority entertainers, more frequently, and for larger roles. Again, Like Chris Rock said in
his monologue, Hollywood is racist. Are they burn-them-at-the-stake-or-lynch-them racist?
Absolutely not. However, Hollywood, the richest industry in the world, after almost 50 years
after integration and equality laws for Blacks and Whites, is still racist; sorority racist, which is
equally as powerful and detrimental to society as any other form of racism.

Works Cited

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Carter, Evelyn R., and Mary C. Murphy. "Group-Based Differences In Perceptions Of Racism:
What Counts, To Whom, And Why?." Social And Personality Psychology Compass 6 (2015):
269. Academic OneFile. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.
"David Oyelowo On Racism in Hollywood, Ugandan Film and Queen of Katwe." All
Africa 2015: General OneFile. Web. 14 Mar. 2016
Donnelly, Jim. "Oscars 2016 Presenters and Performers: The Complete List!" The Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 28 Feb. 2016. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
Grouch, Oscar. "All Oscar Hosts." Ranker. Ranker, 2014. Web. 01 May 2016.
Lee, Esther, and Rachel McRady. "Oscars 2016 Boycott: Every Celebrity Who's Weighed in on
#OscarsSoWhite." Us Weekly. Us Weekly, 24 Feb. 2016. Web. 03 May 2016.
McDermott, USATODAY Maeve. Will Smith Joins Oscars Boycott: Its Going in the Wrong
Direction USA Today. Gannett, 21 Jan. 2016. Web. 1 May 2016.
Moreno, Carolina. Why Jane the Virgin Star Gina Rodriguez Says Latinos Are Not Limited By
Their Culture. Huffington Post. 04 Dec. 2014. Web. 29 March 2016.
POPCORN PEOPLE: PROFILES OF THE U.S. MOVIEGOER AUDIENCE. Nielsen, n.d.
Web. 2 Mar. 2016.
The Oscars Whiteout Is Driven by Racism and Greed;. Gaurdian Newspapers Ltd., 24 Jan
2016. Web. 2 March 2016.
The 86th Academy Awards 2014. oscars.org. Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences,
n.d. Web. 03 April 2016.

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