It is painfully obvious that Hollywood has a race problem. Hit movie after hit movie features lead characters who are phenotypically White while movies with diverse casts are categorized as “race-themed” movies. Dylan Marron, a self-described “Neo Futurist” and performer, sliced up a few top films which perfectly highlight this point.

‘The Fault in Our Stars’ comes in at 00:41 seconds because there is literally only one character of color in the entire film, Dr. Maria.

The acclaimed film, ‘American Hustle,’ manages to come in at 00:53, the totality of which are stereotypical and problematic. They even have a Latino American posing as a South Asian person to add insult to injury.

The Disney movie ‘Maleficent’ only lasts 00:18 seconds when reduced to only actors of color. The one person of color in the film only has two scenes and two lines which include a moment where he is violently slapped across the face.

One of the funnier edits is ‘Into the Woods.’ The musical featured many characters, from witches to princesses and even to giants. But, the 00:08 second trailer shows that, even with all of that diversity, they managed to have zero characters of color.

While these movie edits are laughable, they are also indicative of a continued lack of roles for actors and actresses of color in Hollywood. These films continue to do extremely well at the box office while managing to exclude faces which reflect the diverse audiences who view them. Hopefully, this type of satirical approach to critiquing current cinematic practices will induce change. But, until then, these films will continue to at least get us laughing about this very unfortunate problem.

To see more films from Marron, visit his YouTube channel.

 

Jenn M. Jackson is the Editorial Assistant for The Black Youth Project. She is also the Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of Water Cooler Convos, a politics, news, and culture webmag for bourgie Black nerds. For more about her, tweet her at @JennMJack or visit her website at jennmjackson.com.

Author

  • Jenn M. Jackson was born and raised in East Oakland, California, a fact which motivates her writing and academic ambitions. She is a scholar, educator, and writer whose writing addresses Black Politics and civil and public life for young Black people with a focus on policing and surveillance. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of Water Cooler Convos, a culture platform for Black millennials. Her writing has been featured in Washington Post, BITCH Magazine, Marie Claire, EBONY, The Root, Daily Dot, The Independent, and many others. Jackson is a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago studying American Politics with a focus on political participation and engagement, public opinion and social movements. For more about her, tweet her at @JennMJack or visit her website at jennmjackson.com.