On February 28, 2016, the list containing the nominees for the Oscars 2016 was released. The fact that the list contained no people of color ignited the conversation of diversity in Hollywood. This list angered many actors and actresses of color as well as the public. The popular hashtag "OscarsSoWhite" was created in response to the issue. As conversations began about the lack of diversity, people of the industry began to speak out, some even went as far as saying that he or she would be boycotting the Oscar Awards this year. However, others proposed solutions. The most effective solution was that the change had to begin at the top where decisions were made (Villarreal). By looking at the past and recent reviews of the entertainment industry as well as the organization of the academy, people can see that in order for diversity to be more widespread, it must begin at the top; this is important because for everyone to be included, everyone has to be represented.

To be in the entertainment academy, one must first be nominated for a category. Once someone is nominated, they now have the ability to vote for future nominees in the running for the category that they were nominated for. This is an issue because the entertainment academy is greatly skewed in favor of White Americans. Ninety-four percent of the academy is white as well as seventy-seven percent is predominantly male as of 2012 (Williams). In the academy African Americans only hold 3 percent as of 2012 (Williams). Now knowing these statistics, it is not a major surprise that the nominee list has not been very diverse in the past year. In 2005, five out of the twenty nominations were for African American actors (Williams, Brennen). This was record breaking for the Oscars. This is the second year in a row that there was no people of color on the list of nominees and the president of the academy is under fire. She has claimed to have a five-year solution in place, but that does not seem to be soon enough for the public. 

Though there are major changes that are needed to change those demographics, the award shows are the final steps in the journey of a movie. For real change to happen, it has start at the beginning before the film is even made. This means changes have to be made with directors and casting. This is where a movie starts to come alive and the perfect opportunity for diversity to be implicated. For diverse people to actually get a chance, there has to be roles for them. Viola Davis said in her acceptance speech for her Emmy that, "The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity." For the entertainment business to have diverse award shows it has to be diverse movies available to judge. 

This is not a problem of there being a shortage of diverse actors and actresses, the problem lies with the fact that there are not enough roles for them to portray. The roles that are there are not being given to people of color, but are instead being switch around to fit the director's ideal actor or actress. Most of the time the ideal person is a White American. This idea is now known as Whitewashing. Whitewashing is when a film or leading role that is originally written for a person of color is changed to fit a White American. This causes a lot of issues within the industry because not only are the roles being rearranged, but the movie is as well. Instead of choosing someone of color that the film was originally about, some directors find it easier to switch the role and hire whom they seem fit. As a result of this, people of color are without jobs and never get the recognition they deserve even if they are working just as hard as their white counterparts. 

Whitewashing does not just occur in film, it also happens in theaters. Diversity was also a problem in theaters and as a solution casting directors started using a colorblind casting method. In this method the casting director would completely disregard the actors and actresses race and cast them solely off of talent. This did not go well considering there have been many articles to come out expressing a dislike for this style. In one written by Teresa Eyring, she stated," This news came right on the heels of Katori Hall's eloquent objection to the production at Kent State of The Mountaintop that featured a white actor playing Martin Luther King Jr."  This in fact is another example of whitewashing. This article also brings up the problem of blackface and brownface. The white actors and actresses had to paint their faces brown or black in order to portray the character they were casted as. 

Though some people in the theater business see colorblind casting as a solution to the lack of diversity it is not. Colorblind casting takes out race as an identifier altogether. If the public eliminates race, then we are actually taking out the thing that makes us diverse in first place. Colorblind casting is also a way for the public to say that whitewashing is acceptable. Colorblind casting says that when a white American plays a nontraditional role it is okay, but when a person of color plays a role that was originally written for white Americans it is not okay. This has been shown with the recent Star Wars movie and the actor John Boyega. When the preview for the new movie was released with him in it, it was an uproar in the media. On the contrary, when the movie Gods of Egypt came out featuring an all-white cast, nothing was said even though Egypt is in Africa. This as well is an example of whitewashing and how opportunities are being taken from people of color. Though people see colorblind casting as a solution it too has problems within it. Many people have argued that colorblind casting is a one-way street and only favors white Americans even when it goes against the playwrights. There have been playwrights that specified that they would want a person of color to be casted for certain parts, but because of the colorblind casting those desires were not put into place (Beck). This is another reason colorblind casting is not a solution to the problem of diversity. It actually adds to the fire.

Actors and actresses are not the only ones that need opportunities. There are directors of different ethnic background that also need opportunities to get their work out. This is where the Sundance Film Festival comes in. The Sundance Film Festival is a major event for filmmakers to showcase their work. It has been around for years, but still does not have the platform it needs to take it's show casers to the big screen. The Sundance Film Festival is very diverse and even has programs for specific identifiers. Some of these programs include Latino Screenwriting Project, Asian American Feature Film Fellowship, and Women in Sundance Program (Castillo). The Native American and Indigenous Program has aided about 300 Indigenous filmmakers with grants, lab fellowships, training, and mentoring since it began in 1981 (Castillo). These programs thrive when it comes to helping minorities, but the festival can only push so hard. Though some of the films that get shown at the Sundance Film Festival get moved to the big screen, there are more that end their journey at the festival. The festival does not have the platform to push all the movies that are shown to big screen. "' At the end of the day, the industry as a whole is still broken,' she says. 'The talent is there, but they have to work twice or three times as hard to generate the kind of interest that leads to distribution and further opportunity'." Huffington post culture writer, Zeba Blay, said this when asked about the Sundance Fil Festival's platform (Castillo).

In contrast to the hardships of getting a diverse film out to the public, television shows are at in high with diversity everywhere. In the past the number of shows with all-white casting have outweighed the more diverse shows on television, but now there are shows with African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans. These shows showcase good qualities of each ethnic group and not the negative stereotypes that get showcased in movies. There are shows like "Empire" that express a broken African American family that is still successful and knows how to stick together. There is also the "George Lopez" show that shows a Hispanic family living together and going through life with a comedic twist. Diversity on television has come a long way. "Gone are the days of 'Full House' and 'Friends,' when white actors dominated the screen. From 'Scandal' to 'blackish,' and 'Jane the Virgin'; from 'Empire' to 'The Mindy Project' to the hacker series 'Mr. Robot,' networks and streaming services alike have begun to embrace the value of diversity  --  at least in terms of attracting audiences that boost ratings" (Mendoza). 

The television industry has begun to understand that diversity sales, but when will the movie industry? Though there are many diverse television shows, the number of movies still lacks. This issue goes back to how the people of color are not being chosen to play characters of color. There are countless movies that have been released that were great opportunities for the entertainment business to embrace diversity, but instead the roles where given away.  Many people do not see this as well as diversity as a problem. One author expressed the problem of diversity comes from globalization (Varma). Globalization is when multiple cultures come together in one location and begin to blend. Though globalization does happen in Hollywood there are still aspects of different cultures that define them. Some actors and actresses believe there is not a problem as well. For example, British actress Charolette Rampling who said boycotting the Oscars meant that you were also boycotting white people. This comment was brought up in an interview of Miki Turner with CNN Live. Turner was being asked about diversity in Hollywood and how she felt about it. During this interview another actor was brought up name Michael Cane. He said, "Black actors should be patient and wait their turn". In response to this statement, Turner expressed how people are tired of waiting for others to believe that it is their turn. This is true, because if the decision of diversity remained in the hands of the entertainment industry now, we will continue to see no changes.

 There is no more time to waste and sit by while the issue of diversity continues to grow. Besides the Oscars there are multiple award shows that showcased diversity and became a part of the solution instead of the problem. The SAG Awards, which was the first aired after the Oscars nominee list was released, began the showcase of diversity. "True to its core values of diversity and inclusion, SAG-AFTRA was ever so subtly shining a light on the increasing importance of multiculturalism and language variety on American television" (Nogales). This article expressed the importance of inclusion and diversity. After the SAG awards, the Grammys came and raised the bar with memorable performances and tributes. They had diversity of all kind such as race, gender, age, and sexuality (Lewis).

Many award shows are taking a stand against the lack of diversity and it is time for the public to do so as well. We cannot sit around and allow people to be under represented. Actress Sanaa Lathan said it best in her acceptance speech at the Def Jam Movie awards, she stated, "Hollywood is About to Wake the Fuck Up". They can no longer pretend that people of color do not exist. It is time for us to start creating movies and television shows that include everyone and every group. It is time for children of color to be able to look at the television and go to the movies to see people that look like them represented in a positive way. No more African American movies with drug dealers and drug abusers because those are the only roles characterized for them. No more Asian drug lords and liquor store owners because those are the only roles that do not get whitewashed.  It is past time for movies that actually include a black president instead of a black mistress. No more movie that only show Hispanic girls as exotic dancers or the pretty girl on the arm of a rich white man. It is time for women to be seen as forces to be reckoned with no matter the race, size, or age. 

People have been waiting for years to be recognized for the same acts that white Americans are getting awarded for yearly. Colorblind casting and whitewashing will only carry on this problem. There is no need for roles to be changed and scripts to be manipulated for others when there are actors and actresses of color that are willing and better fit for the job. People of color should be able to portray roles about their history and not just have to watch them portrayed by people who are just made up to understand the story they actually had to endure. It is not okay for African Americans to get casted as slaves with no problem, but not be able to receive the roles of kings and queens. It is not okay for Hispanic Americans to get roles of workers and cooks and not be able to have the role of a business owner. Things have to change so that everyone feels included and equal. Our children should be able to be friends with other children of different ethnic backgrounds and not feel as if he or she will be less successful than them because of any reason. It is time for us to be color-brave instead of colorblind (Hobson).

Diversity in Hollywood is a problem that needs to be solved and though it may not happen in a day, it has to start somewhere. Viola Davis made a great point during her acceptance speech for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor, she said, "'When I tell my daughter stories at night, inevitably, a few things happen,' Davis said. 'Number one, I use my imagination. I always start with life, and then I build from there. And then the other thing that happens is she always says, 'Mommy, can you put me in the story?' And you know, it starts from the top up'" (Williams). When we tell our children stories, who will be our leading characters? Will there be roles of stereotyping like the "damsel in distress" or the "little boy that got bullied"? Let's start making stories of triumph and prosperity for all races and genders. It is time to make a difference for the future actors and actresses by giving them a voice and an opportunity.

