Where does it come from, and why should we be paying attention?
The idea behind diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the media and entertainment industry is nothing less than demonstrating respect for other people and cultures, recognizing the creative talents of a global community, and establishing equal opportunities for everyone. With more than 12,000 titles produced yearly, it's fair to presume there should be plenty of opportunities to go around, right?
DEI is worth the effort. For the third consecutive year, UCLA's 2022 Hollywood Diversity Report shows that most opening weekend audiences are people of color and films with a higher percentage of minority casts performed better at the box office worldwide. How can producing content that looks like your audience, reflects their cultures, and makes more money everywhere be bad? Why isn't this welcome news everywhere?
Hold my beer.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Despite producing positive audience and revenue results, DEI has met fierce criticism from those who insist it is built upon ulterior motives. One oft-cited critique of DEI published earlier this year on Substack titled, " Hollywood's New Rules ," laments industry changes its authors say are creating "an ideological and cultural transformation" destined to end in a "giant class-action lawsuit." The column's central premise is "The old boys club is dead. But a new one—with its own litmus tests and landmines—is rapidly replacing it." The new club comprises women and people of color. The litmus test is that story ideas must now compete with creators whose ideas weren't considered 10 years ago. The landmines are fears that DEI will lead to discrimination claims of " reverse racism " made by " white male s " against " woke Hollywood" for stifling their opportunities.
This isn't the first time the murder of DEI has been attempted by irony and it won't be the last. Many people and groups are more than willing to rain on any well-meaning, still-in-progress parade for change occurring in the M&E industry.
For example, following the publication of the Substack article, dozens more were posted on multiple platforms in agreement. One questioned whether "The English Patient," "The Silence of the Lambs," "Lawrence of Arabia," and "Gone with the Wind" could be made in Hollywood's "woke" environment. Another complained about Hollywood's "endless virtue signaling and preachy acceptance speeches." In a June interview, author James Patterson told The Times of London he worried "it is hard for white men to get writing gigs in film, theater, TV or publishing." Following a broad and instantaneous backlash against his statement, Patterson walked back the comment . Still, his apology received shade from DEI critics, including one that used a photo of Patterson with a gun to his head to emphasize the point.
Facts, Content, and Audiences Matter
What's lost in translation are facts demonstrating the need for DEI, such as these from the 2022 Hollywood Diversity Report:
- People of color constitute 43% of the US population
- Diverse audiences are a significant majority of audiences streaming content and watching first-run releases in theaters
- Two-thirds of the top screenwriters in 2021 were white and over half were white men
- One in four television scriptwriters were people of color (e.g., 75% were not)
- White playwrights wrote 90% of Broadway shows
Sadly, the positive impact of DEI risks being overlooked and unappreciated because news or social media debates on DEI tend to miss the point and devolve into a back-and-forth shouting match about history, race, politics, whose ox is being gored, and why the other side isn't worthy of equal treatment. Opponents' claims are distractions purposefully intended to further divide and inflame sentiments against communities within M&E simply looking to have the same opportunities to tell their stories in an industry with plenty of them.
DEI is Change Worth Making
DEI isn't "us versus them," it's "all for one." For DEI to be impactful, the purpose and facts of DEI must be presented to the public so they can see why it's an important and necessary change. Especially when so many of them look exactly like those our industry is working so hard to include. Efforts like these are among the things that make Spherex proud to be part of this essential, creative industry and support this critical cause.
