Film Final Paper

Representation Of Black Women In Hollywood's Film/Tv Industry Introduction What does it mean for you to watch a movie or a tv show and see someone like yourself being represented? To see someone like yourself is an amazing feeling, to be seen, represented, and appreciated. Movies and tv shows are one of the many ways that reflect one's everyday life. For a long time, black women were rarely shown in films. The history of black women in Hollywood is one of underrepresentation and misrepresentation. When they did make an appearance, it was in demeaningly stereotypical characters. Hollywood's film/tv industry has made a great deal of progress in having diversity and inclusion in movies/tv shows. To see almost every person of color is displayed on the big screen says a lot about the growth of a once largely discriminatory industry. Hoyt(2012) described racism as the prejudice drawn from preconceived beliefs about people of racial groups. The film/tv industry is a major representation of culture and numerous social customs. It is a space that has a great impact on modern society, and it can be used as a platform to influence change in perceptions of some societal issues. However, racism and colorism are prominent issues in the world. Hollywood's film/tv industry plays a big role in keeping these issues relevant. "What I see Hollywood do is feature one or two of us, and they'll ignore the rest of us like we don't exist," Kimberly Elise says. She had to say about black women and their representation in Hollywood. With all of the progress made in the film/tv industry, it seems to have been halted. Black people have been perceived and treated as less than completely human throughout history. Hollywood is no exception. Although black girls and women make up 6.5 percent of the U.S. population, they only makeup 3.7 percent of the leads and co-leads in the top 100 grossing films in the last decade. The tv/film industry has been mentioned as the most discriminatory sector concerning who should be hired and what roles. The