Film Industry's Lack of Representation: Race & Gender - Research Paper

Introduction

The general problem to be addressed is the failure of the film industry to provide cultural diversity, resulting in a lack of representation of its employees based on race and gender.

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King (2016) concludes that beliefs within the film industry have played a part in a lack of representation of its employees, specifically in the African American community.

Guzman (2016) concludes that many individuals in the film industry, based on race, who participate in the Oscars are not given a fair advantage; thus, having Hollywood lack the representation of its employees based on race.

Suhling (2017) concludes that the lack of cultural diversity, coupled with the role that casting directors’ have in the film industry, reveal Hollywood lacks the representation of its employees based on race and gender.

The specific problem to be addressed is the failure of the film industry in Hollywood, California to provide culture diversity, resulting in a lack of representation of its employees based on race and gender.

Research Questions

The following research questions (RQs) would be useful to ensure that an in-depth understanding of the study topic "Hollywood and the lack of diversity” obtained.

• RQ1. What is the influence of the African-Americans on the creation of Hollywood Films in the last one decade?
• RQ1a. What characteristics and qualifications discourage African-Americans from appearing in bestselling Hollywood films?
• RQ1b. What characteristics and qualifications encourages white dominance in mystery Hollywood films?
• RQ2. What are reasons of stereotype in mainstream media, should it promote equality and non-discriminative ideologies?
• RQ2a. What roles does the mainstream media and tweeter play in Oscar's awards films?
• RQ2b. What is the relationship between racial prejudice and media in the United States of America?
• RQ3. How does America’s mainstream media compare in terms of African-Americans and white’s composition?
• RQ3a. Is racial disparity of one category in the Hollywood culminate to white dominance in Oscar's award?
• RQ3b. what is the roles of African-Americans in the Hollywood Industry?

Discussion of the Research Questions

The first question would assist in evaluation of the specific positive or negative influence that African-Americans have had on the creation of Hollywood films specifically for the last one decade. King (2016) suggested that despite the roles of African-Americans in the movie, any strategies such as diversifying Oscar's award will not be productive. This statement can be understood better by investigating and comparing the particular qualifications, characteristics or role of both racial groups concerning white dominance.

The second question would then attempt to discover why America's mainstream media promote the USA's cultural ideologies, despite being a nation-wide organ that should promote equality. Specifically, the question seeks to bring to light the place of mainstream media and its influence on Oscar awards. Perhaps, the concept would be more meaningful if the role played by mainstream media, and the extent of relationship or closeness between culture and media in the USA is established. Molina (2016) estimated that media was a typical integration of ideologies and culture. He then found that the white inferiority was supported by media's more concern in non-black ideologies.

Lastly, the third question aimed at obtaining the actual numbers for the whites and African-Americans in the media department and their qualifications. The results obtained would then be used to evaluate whether white dominance is favored by their large numbers in the media agencies (Suhling, 2017). Based on the findings, a discussion can be laid to refute or support USA's media in undermined the roles and contributions of African-Americans in the development of Hollywood films in the last one decade. The question will help in scrutinizing the Hollywood industry and identify the reasons behind the roles which are given to the two races and merit behind the criteria.

Research Methodology

To effectively address the significant problem statements that were outlined in this research topic "Hollywood and the lack of diversity," it is vital to identify the specific research paradigms that will explicitly answer the Research Questions RQs. Creswell (2014) suggested that there are three dominant research paradigms, namely: quantitative, qualitative, or mixed approach, which can be applied on various occasions, depending on the demands and nature of research questions.

Research Paradigm

My research paradigm is positivism. This approach usually refers to the studies within various societies, by extensively depending on the use of scientific pieces of evidence to provide factual reasoning on the issues and problems of that society. Besides, the positivism approach often involves the use of experimental and statistical findings. Because the research questions aim at exploring specifically on the Hollywood films done in the United States of America in the last ten years. Positivism approach, thus would help apply the relevant methodology approach to provide a clear understanding of the culture, place of mainstream media, Hollywood industry, whites, and African-Americans.

Discussion of Research Methodology

This study will be conducted with a mixed approach design, employing both quantitative and qualitative methodology approaches. The mixed-method primarily refers to the process of researching by elements of both quantitative and qualitative design approaches. Quantitatively, the research would perform data collection, analysis, and integrated experiments and survey techniques. Focus groups, interviews, and administered questionnaires would be applied to gain the qualitative variables. This method would be useful in answering the RQs, which requires both qualitative and quantitative findings. Primarily, data from primary sources will be regarded and gathered form the target respondents in the industry to inform the researched outcomes. For instance, qualitative results would address the roles played by media in Hollywood films and also the impacts of African-Americans on the success of the movie for the last one decade. On the other hand, quantitative results would be useful in determining the exact relationship between culture and media and the composition of the American media industry concerning White Americans and African-Americans.

Summary

From the philosophical point of view, the positivism paradigm holds the assumption that research findings can only be factual and trustworthy if collection criterion involves was scientific, by involving measurements and field observations (Zhang et al., 2014). However, Kumar (2005) demonstrated that in a study that requires numerical results and observational results, mixed approach design was most effective. Ideas derived from Kumar (2005) and Creswell's (2014) articles are enough justifications that there is a clear linkage between the positivism paradigm and mixed-approach design, in a societal-based study like the case of Hollywood film in the USA.

Most importantly, the choice of mixed approach methodology was guided by the specific requirements that are depicted by the problem statements and research questions. For instance, King (2016) asserted that more white creators were involved in Oscar's award films; thus it was practically uneasy to manage the white dominance in the Hollywood industry. Using a quantitative approach would help in finding the exact composition ration of the whites and African-Americans in Oscar's award films to have an experimentally guided decision and conclusions. The second problem statement was provided by Molina (2016), who portrayed that despite the rapidly changing world in almost all critical fields, the problems of white dominance in Hollywood films were continuously becoming progressive. For this reason, a qualitative approach would be useful in collecting observations on the roles played by media on the American culture. Finally, Suhling (2017) reiterated that the major challenge with Hollywood films was an underrepresentation of the African-Americans. Ideally, Chow et al. (2010) and Kumar’s (2005) suggestions to implement mixed approach method would be useful in this case, to experimentally discover the roles that African-Americans played in the success of Hollywood movies, and tasks that casting directors in the media industry play on the process of creating Hollywood films. Based on these ideas and manifestations, it is outstandingly imperative that using the positivism paradigm and mixed-approach methodology would accurately answer the problem statement and research questions involved in this study (Dunning et al., 2008).

References

Chow, M. Y. K., Quine, S., & Li, M. (2010). The benefits of using a mixed-methods approach–quantitative with qualitative–to identify client satisfaction and unmet needs in an HIV healthcare center. AIDS care, 22(4), 491-498. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09540120903214371

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach. Sage publications.

Dunning, H., Williams, A., Abonyi, S., & Crooks, V. (2008). A mixed-method approach to quality of life research: A case study approach. Social indicators research, 85(1), 145-158. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-007-9131-5

King, R. P. (2016). Why more Oscar diversity will not solve Hollywood’s whiteness problem. Contexts, 15(3), 64-66. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1536504216662255

Kumar, R. (2005). Research Methodology London.

Molina-Guzman, l. (2016). OscarsSoWhite: how Stuart Hall explains why nothing changes in Hollywood and everything is changing. Critical studies in media communication, 33(5), 438-454. https://nca.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15295036.2016.1227864

Suhling, C. (2017). The Underrepresentation of African-Americans and the Role of Casting Directors. https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/com_undergrad/1/

Zhang, W., & Watanabe-Galloway, S. (2014). Using mixed methods effectively in prevention science: Designs, procedures, and examples. Prevention Science, 15(5), 654-662.