How will Hollywood respond to the Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 18 June 2020
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Why is the movie business having trouble representing the world’s population on and behind the big screen? A rising share of the U.S. population are black, more than half of the demographic are female – so why is it so difficult to translate this into cinema?
Hollywood has found itself red-faced in an era of Black Lives Matter and MeToo movements. From #OscarsSoWhite to criticism of who’s behind the films we see, the pressure to change is stacking up.
Charmaine Cozier discovers the issues within the industry and what movie bosses prioritise over diversity. But will activists, actors and data be enough to convince big studios that the revolution is here – or will it just be business as usual?
Guests: April Reign, Diversity and Inclusion Advocate and creator of the #OscarsSoWhite movement Naomi McDougall-Jones, a film producer, writer and women in film activist Darnell Hunt, Dean of Social Sciences at UCLA and Professor of Sociology in African American Studies. He is co-author of the UCLA Hollywood Diversity report Bonnie Greer, a writer and critic
Presenter: Charmaine Cozier/ Producer: Bethan Head
(Actor John Boyega raises his fist in protest at a Black Lives Matter march in London, UK (Credit: Daniel Leal-Olivas /Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the inquiry. I'm Charmian Kosea. Each week one question, four experts and an answer. A challenging crowd of thousands around a black man in a London park. |
| 0:18.0 | He wipes away tears as his gloved hands raised a loud haler to his mouth. |
| 0:24.0 | To be reminded every day that your race means nothing. |
| 0:30.0 | He also says something else. |
| 0:32.0 | I speak to you from my heart. |
| 0:34.0 | Look, I don't know if I'm going to have a Korea after this. |
| 0:37.0 | The park is the venue for a Black Lives Matter rally for George Floyd, |
| 0:40.0 | who died in Minneapolis, |
| 0:42.0 | after a white police officer melt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. |
| 0:47.0 | The speaker is the Star Wars actor John Boiega and the career he mentions is in Hollywood. In the hours that follow |
| 0:56.5 | actors directors and producers tweet and post their support for John. But if you look at the opportunities available to |
| 1:05.5 | black people in the film industry it's clear that for the fine words there is a |
| 1:10.7 | diversity problem in Hollywood. |
| 1:13.8 | We've seen similar public backing for women who spoke out for the Me Too movement |
| 1:18.8 | but not much has changed in the industry. |
| 1:27.6 | So this week we ask how will Hollywood respond to the Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements? How can Hollywood become more diverse? |
| 1:35.0 | Part 1, The Gatekeepers. We know that the scripts, the directors and the producers are all there. |
| 1:55.0 | There is talent out there. |
| 1:57.0 | April Rain is a diversity and inclusion advocate and creator of the Oscar So White Movement. |
| 2:06.0 | I had no nexus to the entertainment industry at all |
| 2:09.0 | other than the fact that I was a very avid movie goer |
| 2:12.0 | and consumed a lot of entertainment through movies and TV and |
... |
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