This Just In: Hollywood screenwriting is white male bastion!!!
October 14th, 2005
According to a new study, white males dominate Hollywood screenwriting. White males dominate Hollywood period. So whose fault is it? You know, I'm not a big fan of such studies as they ignore things like the very fact that other races (and the opposite sex) simply are not attempting to become screenwriters. Oh wait, that's because they don't feel they will make it!!! Access for me is no different than anyone else. LET ME ASK YOU, WHEN YOU SEND YOUR SCRIPT IN DOES IT SAY, "HEY I'M A WHITE GUY" ON THE COVER!? We have to go on merit. We have to try people, not give up... don't be a quitter!
You know if my memory does serve me, seems that the first Hollywood studios were created by Jews who could not break into the publishing world in New York -- they were not accepted and were not allowed -- so they started movie theaters and eventually got into production. They thrived because they worked hard. I think we might be better served by looking at quality and merit, and not political correctness. - Chris.
Here's some of the article I am referencing:
Hollywood television and film writing is still dominated by white males, according to a study released Wednesday by the Writers Guild of America West.
In 2004, minorities accounted for about 10 per cent of 3,015 employed television writers and just six per cent of film writers, despite constituting 30 per cent of the U.S. population.
Women made up 27 per cent of TV writers and 18 per cent of film writers.
The number of women and minorities employed as writers was almost unchanged since 1998, when a similar study showed that they had fewer opportunities in scripting the stories that the world sees.
The 1998 study put pressure on studios, production companies and networks to improve diversity.
The current study, titled Catching Up With a Changing America?, found that the difference in pay scales between white male writers and women or minorities had widened in the intervening eight years.
The median annual income for white male TV writers was about $8,500 US more than the median income for minority TV writers in 1998. By 2004, the gap had grown to nearly $18,000 U.S. The study also found that women TV writers made about $12,000 less than men in 2004.
Writers from racial minorities congregate on African-American themed situation comedies, Patric Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America West, wrote in his summary of the report, saying the industry should work to end this kind of typecasting.
Only networks and cable operators that use union members were surveyed, which leaves out some networks such as BET and Telemundo which may have a larger representation of minority writers.
Industry observers noted that the television and film industries tend to be insular, with producers more likely to hire people they know.
The NAACP and other groups have been sharply critical of Hollywood for the lack of minorities writing for the screen.
(Source: http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/10/13/Arts/minorityreport_051013.html)
You know if my memory does serve me, seems that the first Hollywood studios were created by Jews who could not break into the publishing world in New York -- they were not accepted and were not allowed -- so they started movie theaters and eventually got into production. They thrived because they worked hard. I think we might be better served by looking at quality and merit, and not political correctness. - Chris.
Here's some of the article I am referencing:
Hollywood television and film writing is still dominated by white males, according to a study released Wednesday by the Writers Guild of America West.
In 2004, minorities accounted for about 10 per cent of 3,015 employed television writers and just six per cent of film writers, despite constituting 30 per cent of the U.S. population.
Women made up 27 per cent of TV writers and 18 per cent of film writers.
The number of women and minorities employed as writers was almost unchanged since 1998, when a similar study showed that they had fewer opportunities in scripting the stories that the world sees.
The 1998 study put pressure on studios, production companies and networks to improve diversity.
The current study, titled Catching Up With a Changing America?, found that the difference in pay scales between white male writers and women or minorities had widened in the intervening eight years.
The median annual income for white male TV writers was about $8,500 US more than the median income for minority TV writers in 1998. By 2004, the gap had grown to nearly $18,000 U.S. The study also found that women TV writers made about $12,000 less than men in 2004.
Writers from racial minorities congregate on African-American themed situation comedies, Patric Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America West, wrote in his summary of the report, saying the industry should work to end this kind of typecasting.
Only networks and cable operators that use union members were surveyed, which leaves out some networks such as BET and Telemundo which may have a larger representation of minority writers.
Industry observers noted that the television and film industries tend to be insular, with producers more likely to hire people they know.
The NAACP and other groups have been sharply critical of Hollywood for the lack of minorities writing for the screen.
(Source: http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/10/13/Arts/minorityreport_051013.html)
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