I've heard some execs use the lie that they're "seeking more diverse voices for this project" as a polite pass on the white dudes they passed on for another white dude. They're gladly fanning the flames.
My first week as a staff writer, the script coordinator told me his manager said the only reason he wasn’t staffed was because he was a straight white man. The message was clear - he deserved that spot instead of me.
I heard it from my boyfriend back when I was in high school and got an interview for a college internship program and he didn't. The narrative never changes...
Somehow I, a white male, ended up being the only writer out of all of Amazon's multiyear open-door effort to get a show greenlit. When I asked Amazon to be sure we had diversity in the writers room they said "hey, we'll just hire the best writers we can find" and eded up with all white people.
I think part of that is that as important and powerful it is creatively, showrunners are kind of invisible to the public. I'm not sure most people know what a showrunner is and that makes it hard to get people to care.
Their logic is probably something like “we want someone a bit more experienced”. Well how can the rest of us build up more experience if you won’t give us the opportunities?
Latinx was created by South and Central American latine (current term) activists exploring ways to eliminate gender from identity, be inclusive. Latine cultures are not immune from transphobia, including English speaking latine people. And Latine people can be white. It's a heritage, not a race.
I didn't even notice that Latine was an option in the Pew poll, but it looks like even fewer Hispanic people prefer it! I'll stick to the terms (Hispanic and Latino) that it appears that the vast majority of those folks prefer.
All these white guys are "creating" the absolute worst shows ever. These people didn't go to film school. They weren't literary majors or screenwriting students. This is cronyism at it best. They aren't creative or brave, they're hacks.
College education has never been a metric for quality and ability in creative spaces. It is systematically requiring college degrees that gets you to stats like this. The purpose is to limit access to only the most elite, privileged in a group. Less degrees = more diversity.
For acting too 🫠 at this point i’m just tryin to tell my own stories on social media because at least i have the potential of getting paid directly lol
I noticed this as an early member of r breadtube on reddit. At first people posted very diverse (and often obscure channels) but engagement and attention blew up over specific white creators, mostly British and mostly men. Eventually Natalie & Lindsey were the only women and L got bullied off YT.
I was personally angry about Kat Blacque, a pioneering YTer whose politics matched the sub, no better or worse than most creators with a unique perspective. She got no oxygen on reddit. (Yes, I'd agree the Contrapoints channel was more high effort than hers...)
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