In the crumbs of leftover minutes, with two young children home-schooled under quarantine I’ve managed to watch one show from beginning to end. Fortunately, this show brought unexpected restoration to my otherwise depleted faith in the current order of things. I’m referring to “Hollywood” on Netflix.
By paying homage to the still standing landmarks of major film studios and the noir-evoking Spanish architecture in Los Angeles, “Hollywood” rewrites the post-war age of cinema by carefully curating a pan-inclusive gamut of characters, most of whom are gay, aging and/or non-white. In this world, outsiders are welcomed, acknowledged and righteously included; not in spite of their differences, but because of these. Flawed human beings are not publicly shamed, but they get a second chance.
Yet, something is missing.
Seemingly, this series has forgotten about a community that is both, indigenous to the entire Californian geography, and that still today suffers the displacement by the very same film industry that is otherwise glorified in the show for its alternative, corrected version. The social tapestry of Los Angeles crafted in Ryan Murphy’s seven-episode drama stands out not only for its inclusivity, but also for a major absence: In this version of “Hollywood” there are no Hispanics. Not just in lead or co-lead roles. In any role.
Throughout history we can find numerous examples of high power interests influencing choices in the film industry through blacklists, cold-war agendas, etc. The current administration’s decision to discontinue its diversity training program deeming it “un-American” is undoubtedly a huge setback. But today’s biggest shortcomings in the entertainment landscape are not a result of conspiratorial government pressure, but rather our own inability as individuals to see the world through someone else’s perspectives.
So in the case of “Hollywood” I don’t attribute such overlook to any conscious neglect, but to a structural shortage of Hispanic presence in key leadership roles throughout the entire production process.
According to a study conducted by USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Division, in 2017-2018 only 4% of TV directors were Latinx, out of the 1,335 holding top jobs. Only 3% of films featured leads or co-leads with Latinx actors. 5 of those 17 female roles went to one female actress (Cameron Diaz). Summing across protagonist types, the most frequently hired Latinx actors were Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Eugenio Derbez, and Jessica Alba.
DGA Annual Director Inclusion Report
Having recently made a documentary for a major studio, featuring multiple ethnicities, geographies and genders, I experienced firsthand the importance of having diversity in the rooms where decisions are made.
I’d like to share an anecdote:
After a tech screening of my film ”Ordinary Gods,” one of the top executives requested that a hospital scene be cut shorter for pacing. The film was lagging and the request made sense. The original scene portrayed “Ramina” (the wife of one of the protagonist soccer-players struggling with injury) trying to FaceTime with her son while her husband was lying on a gurney behind her. Throughout the scene —and in a confessionary tone— she shares her recent dilemma of having to leave her child in order to be present with her husband. In her voice we infer the non-explicit guilt associated with such sacrifice.
Once the scene was cut shorter (with my approval, but in my absence) the resulting version showed no character dilemma whatsoever —only her unequivocal choice of standing by her man.
Still unable to put a finger on why exactly something was wrong I showed both versions to my wife, who immediately explained back to me what I knew was missing, but hadn’t been able to phrase myself: the original scene was told through Ramina’s point of view, the reduced version was told through a masculine perspective. Despite Ramina’s voice-over still being the driving spine in the scene, the new cut had reduced her to the role of ‘wife,’ an adjunct of her husband.
I presented the case to the studio, explaining that it was imperative that this scene show, and stress, the sacrifice made by Ramina (one without which the player could not have the professional career that he does). Although one of our editors was indeed a woman, she had not been present during the original discussion. I elaborated on how common these oversights can be, when there is no woman in the edit room where the footage is being judged. Fortunately, studio executives understood and agreed. The material was restored.
Ramina Zobnin, “Ordinary Gods”
Roman Zobnin, “Ordinary Gods”
When the Director’s Guild of America published its annual TV Director Inclusion Report, which featured FX Networks among the lowest ranked networks in diverse hiring, Jonathan Frank (Executive Vice President of FX Current Series) gathered his team the following morning and asked, “How do we fix this?” Female-identifying representation in television went up from 25% to 31% in just one year.
Latinx filmmakers have not seen similar growth, with representation in television directors going from 5% to only 6%, from 2018-2019.
Implicit biases run through us all, and I am not sure they can necessarily be “fixed.” They can be brought to awareness, counterbalanced through multiple points of view, and therefore, interrupted. Hopefully not through public shaming, but through thought-provoking observations, compassionate guidance and a curious attitude. I bring up show’s like “Hollywood,” not only because I truly enjoyed watching it, but because I believe in its powerful message: No one should be marginalized for being different.
If television creators can imagine a version of Tinseltown where no one is an outsider, and where we as people look out for one another, we can all easily imagine a world in which Hispanics are respectfully portrayed on screen, and honored for playing the same vital roles we play in society, everyday.
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Pascui Rivas is a writer/director and editor. For over a decade he has been shaping the U.S. Hispanic advertising market, winning “Lions” in Cannes and being named “Best Director -US Hispanic” runner-up, at El Ojo de Iberoamerica Advertising Festival. His feature documentary debut “Ordinary Gods” had its international premiere at the 2020 Shanghai International Film Festival, and world premiere at the 2019 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
References:
DGA 2018-19 Episodic TV Director Report
Special Thanks to John P. Aguirre.