Diversity and Life on Set
Have you ever had the opportunity to visit a set in the film industry? Chances are you’re going to answer “no”. I’m in the same boat. The closest I’ve been to a set was when I went to see Phantom of the Opera at Shea’s Performing Arts Center, a theater near the town I grew up in. I didn’t even know much about how people were expected to act on a set until I started taking a documentary class at the University at Buffalo.
One of my professors, (I will not name them for the sake of their privacy), told all of their students about their many experiences and mistakes during their time working on films. The biggest takeaway I’ve had from these stories was that you should always stand up for minorities, even if it might make your coworkers upset.
Why is this even a problem?
As established in a previous article of mine, the majority of workers in the film industry are white men. They’ve never faced injustices like minorities have, and some of them may have misconceptions about us due to harmful stereotypes. Because of this, many of these men make insensitive jokes on set. Usually, they don’t even realise that these jokes are harmful. Many coworkers are afraid to confront them for fear that they might lose their job.
How else can we educate people on the harmful effects of these misconceptions?
The best way to educate as many people as possible is to create more films full of positive representation. According to writer and producer Tansy Gardam, “narratives of racism and sexism are increasingly being told by those affected by bigotry, rather than those who benefitted from it” (Gardam). The fact that minorities are slowly getting more and more opportunities to speak out against the injustices they have and are currently facing is very uplifting. Over time, this will help reduce the amount of people who grow up to be intolerant, by exposing them to other viewpoints as they mature, eventually leading to less harassment and bigotry.
For more on how to get rid of harmful stereotypes in the media, please read my previous post.
Gardam, Tansy. “Making Bigotry a Thing of the Past.” Rough Cut, 4 Apr. 2019, roughcutfilm.com/2019/04/04/making-bigotry-a-thing-of-the-past.
