Friday, August 26, 2016

Chong on Hollywood's Blinding Whiteness

ChongChrissy Shu Jien Chong (San Francisco) has just posted on SSRN her article (21 Asian Pacific American L.J. (2016)) Where are the Asians in Hollywood? Can ยง1981, Title VII, Colorblind Pitches, and Understanding Biases Break the Bamboo Ceiling? Here's an excerpted abstract:

Despite America's recent diversity craze, the bamboo ceiling appears stronger than ever in Hollywood. The entertainment industry's lack of racial diversity is disappointing, but the legal system's failure to protect minorities from Hollywood's discriminatory hiring practices is even more depressing. ... [W]hites hold 84% of on-screen acting roles and 94% of behind-the-cameras positions. Asian Pacific Americans only held 3% of on-screen acting roles and 0.8% of behind-the-cameras positions.

[This article] argues that the dramatic under-representation of Asian Pacific Americans in Hollywood is caused by racially discriminatory practices that are fueled by implicit and explicit biases. ... [The article] discusses an array of industry solutions, such as diversity and debiasing programs, colorblind pitches and casting, more Asians in the arts, self regulation, and organizing with other minorities. But the article ultimately determines the best solution to Hollywood's diversity problem is legislative action.

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https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/laborprof_blog/2016/08/chong-on-hollywoods-blinding-whiteness.html

Employment Discrimination, Scholarship | Permalink

Comments

Thank you for sharing my article with the community. If anyone is interested in viewing the results from my research study, then please visit https://2010to2014hollywooddiversityreport.wordpress.com/.

The website breaks down the data for on-screen appearances, behind-the-camera positions, and casting calls. The data is separated by year, by race, and by gender. If you have any questions, concerns, comments, or suggestions, then please contact me at [email protected]. Thank you for the support!

Posted by: Christina Chong | Aug 27, 2016 6:45:36 PM

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