Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Wednesday 28 February 2018
New study finds diverse audiences drive blockbusters

By JAKE COYLE and "Fences."
NEW YORK (AP) — Just as But researchers found the
"Black Panther" is setting overall statistical portrait of
records at the box office, a the industry, while slightly
new study finds that diverse improving on many counts,
audiences are driving most still trails far behind the en-
of the biggest blockbust- tertainment audience.
ers and many of the most-
watched hits on television. “With each milestone
UCLA's Bunche Center re- achievement, we chip
leased its fifth annual study away at some of the myths
on diversity in the enter- about what’s possible and
tainment industry Tuesday, what’s not,” said Hunt. “Ev-
unveiling an analysis of the ery time a film like this does
top 200 theatrical film re- really well, every time we
leases of 2016 and 1,251 see a TV show like ‘Empire,’
broadcast, cable and it makes it harder for them
digital platform TV shows to make the argument that
from the 2015-2016 season. you can’t have a viable
Among its results: minorities film with a lead of color. Or
accounted for the majority you can’t have a univer-
of ticket buyers for five of sally appealing show with
the top 10 films at the glob- a predominantly minority
al box office, and half of cast. It’s just not true any-
ticket buyers for two more In this Feb. 15, 2018, file photo, Emanuel Lawton, left, and his family dressed in Wakanda-inspired more because the main-
attire arrive to see Black Panther in Silver Spring, Md.
of the top 10. Associated Press stream, itself, is diverse.”
Researchers found that mi- Some of the largest dis-
norities remain underrep- resent some modest gains, only slight or no improve- they make up 15 percent parities for minorities de-
resented in film leads (13.9 especially when viewed ment. of frequent moviegoers. tailed by the UCLA report
percent), film directors across five years. (Minor- "There has been some UCLA found that films with were in roles like film writers
(12.6 percent), film writers ity leads on broadcast TV progress, undeniably. casts that were 21 to 30 (8.1 percent of 2016’s top
(8.1 percent), broadcast shows increased from 5.1 Things are not what they percent minority regularly films), creators of broad-
scripted leads (18.7 per- percent to 15.7 over the were five years ago," said performed better at the cast scripted shows (7.1
cent), cable scripted leads last five years, according Darnell Hunt, co-author of box office than films with percent) and creators of
(20.2 percent) and digital to UCLA's studies.) But other the report and director of the most racially and ethni- cable scripted shows (7.3
series leads (12.9 percent). areas — especially behind the center, which focuses cally homogenous casts. percent). Hunt blamed the
Many of those totals do rep- the camera — have seen on African American stud- Hunt believes that the lag behind the camera on,
ies, at the University of Cali- wealth of data, as well as among other factors, ex-
fornia, Los Angeles. "People box-office successes like ecutive ranks that are still
are actually talking about "Black Panther," has made overwhelmingly white and
diversity today as a bot- obvious the financial ben- male.
tom-line imperative as op- efits of films that better re- “It’s a white-male con-
posed to just the right thing flect the racial makeup of trolled industry and it hasn’t
to do. We've amassed the American population. yet figured out how to
enough evidence now that "I think the industry has fi- incorporate other deci-
diversity does, in fact, sell." nally gotten the memo, at sion-makers of color and
Minorities make up nearly least on the screen in most women into the process.
40 percent of the U.S. pop- cases, if not behind the So you have these mo-
ulation, but Hispanic and camera," said Hunt. "That's mentary exceptions to the
African-American movie- where there are the most rule,” said Hunt, pointing
goers over-index among missed opportunities." to “Black Panther,” which
moviegoers. According to The report, titled "Five Years has grossed $700 million
the Motion Picture Asso- of Progress and Missed Op- worldwide in two weeks
ciation of America, Latinos portunities," covers a period of release. Such films, he
make up 18 percent of the of some historic high points said, show the consider-
U.S. population but ac- for Hollywood, including able economic sense of
count for 23 percent of fre- the release of the best pic- making movies and televi-
quent moviegoers. Though ture-winning "Moonlight," sion series that don’t ignore
African Americans are 12 along with fellow Oscar nearly half of their potential
percent of the population, nominees "Hidden Figures" audience.q

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