Think of ten white male lead actors and ten white female lead actors. Now think of ten non-white male lead actors and ten non-white female lead actors. This list gets to be more difficult to produce as you go from white male-to non-white female, because scripts are written for white male actors. They dominate the industry all the way from writers, producers, actors to stage help. Minorities are not given an opportunity to be casted just because of their race and gender. Not only is this unfair, but fixing the issue of white washing and male superiority can enhance actor’s careers while challenging society to accept differences. The Hunger Games, Othello, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Harry Potter, The Guardians of the Galaxy and West Side Story are all examples of how whitewashing and male superiority has become a normal practice in the entertainment realm (Reese). The term whitewashing is used in the entertainment industry whenever directors assign roles to white characters to appeal to the money spending mass media (New World Dictionary). Directors are not ignorant to the fact of limited minorities leads. What directors sell is what the mass will buy. Hollywood says it is proven in the profits made by movies that white leads will sell more than non-white actors. Directors are not to blame but they are the mechanism to which this discrimination is continuing. Nontraditional casting would be a solution to this discrimination. The method for nontraditional casting is “the casting of ethnic minority and female actors in roles where race, ethnicity, or sex is not germane” (NONTRADITIONAL CASTING; When Race and Sex Don’t Matter).  In the United States, directors need to use a nontraditional casting method to expand possibilities for more talent based selections and to avoid discriminating against minorities so the careers of actors can continue to grow.

Far too many times there are white only casting calls, automatically casting out other races because the look they have doesn’t meet the criteria the directors know is marketable. This is unfair to anyone who could fulfill the requirements of the job the best, but cannot because of the characteristics they were born with. Consider Ghost in the Shell, DreamWorks casted Scarlett Johansson as Motoko Kusanagi, a Japanese cyborg. This raises questions as to why. Why of all people is Johansson a Japanese cyborg? Yes, she is great actress. Yes, she is popular. Yes, she is beautiful. But when looking at Johansson’s track record she does not have the experience playing the kind of character that is portrayed in Ghost in the Shell. Nor does she portray the same ethnicity that was first intended in the original cartoon. The issue with Johansson is that the way the story will be portrayed will be towards flashy action, like The Avengers. The role of Kusanagi is complex and rich in characterization and would be perfectly suited for Rinko Kikuchi, who auditioned for the role. Kikuchi is a brilliant actress and has already played a role like Kusanagi, in the movie Norwegain Wood (Barder).  And some might say that it is because Johannsson is more well known, but this is also not true because Kikuchi has been in 44 films since 1997 including: Pacific Rim and Babel, and was also nominated for an Academy award for lead actress (“Rinko Kikuchi.”). This role for her would be better suited and come easily to her. While analyzing this, one realizes that Scarlett Johannsson got this role because she is white and more marketable to the American audience. Leaving out the more suited Kikuchi solely because of her race and marketability. This is just others observing trends of inequality and discrimination in the entertainment industry. It is not to say that whites cannot play ethnic roles, if they are more qualified and suited for that role. It is not to say that ethnic people cannot play white roles either. But the fact they are getting chosen just because their ethnicity would sell better to the public and not the fact that they would do a better job playing that role is the issue that actors are facing.

Nontraditional casting would give minorities who would not have otherwise had the chance to be casted a chance. It is not to argue that regardless of the circumstances of a film that any person of any background should be able to play any part that they want. Specifically, with historical films, historical films are produced in very specific circumstances. The argument is not to say that an Asian American should have played a role of a southern slave because the actor was more talented than the black counterpart. Historical and films with specific circumstances should be given leeway to this rule. The argument is more so that if a film is of a doctor and who just so happens to white or just so happens to be non-white is the only difference, then nontraditional acting should take place (Rick). It might even be so that casting a minority enhances the plot of the show.  In this setting, it gives minorities a chance to play a character that would have otherwise been shut off to them just because the director wants to whitewash for the audience. Others might say that the reason for this whitewashing is the abundance of talented white actors. That there are more talented white actors auditioning for these roles and that racial discrimination involved. In 2011-2013, around 85 percent of the lead actors in films were white and 72 percent were male (Hunt). In 2010 the United States, around 72 percent of the population is white and 50 percent is male (“Population Estimates, July 1, 2015, (V2015).”). What this shows is the unbalance of equality in the current practices. There is not an abundance of white actors available, but they are made available by agencies. This is not to argue with facts, yes, it is clear that whites are the majority in the United States, but the percentage of available whites and whites in lead roles should be closer in relation to each other. There are 72 percent in the US then statistically speaking the percentage of white leads should be closer to 72 percent and not over 80 percent. This is not as surprising as the gender statistic for lead roles in the United States. 

Gender inequality has been a growing civil rights issue since the late 1840’s, women have been increasingly becoming more aware and vocal about what they can accomplish. Specifically, women and their representation in the media is the issue at hand. In the United States, females make up 50 percent of the population. The representation of women in the entertainment industry is appalling, 28 percent of the leading roles in films are given to women. Plays are not only being written for men and by men, but roles that could be written as nongender specific are being appointed to men. Many of the leading roles are made with strong characters like CEOs, lawyers, police, and superheroes. All of which that could be easily given to either male or female actors. A good example of this is, Sandra Bullock in the movie Our Brand is Crisis. Sandra Bullock is known to be a great comedian and has starred in numerous of films. Our Brand is Crisis was originally written for a male actor. Sandra Bullock contacted her agent about an interest in expanding the roles that she could audition for (Dockterman). She believed that there was more out there for her; that she should not be restricted by facts that do not change the theme or the plot of the story. She believed that she was just as capable or even better than the male counterparts being considered for the role. The directors and producers came together and figured a way to make the change of gender work. After all, there was no difference in the character that would have obstructed Bullock from playing the role except that it was written for a man. All that was left to do was change the name from James to Jane and correct pronouns. Even with this dramatic change the movie was a hit and Sandra Bullock brought her humor to the screen. This is just to show that it is not impossible to rewrite gender in a play. Even better if it was written genderless and later given when the perfect actor is found for the role. This would open so many more opportunities for women which have closed off for them arbitrarily. Opportunities that do not just make females the supporting actress or the love interest but opportunities that empower and challenge the audience.

Wanting equal and proper representation for women in the media may seem minute on the surface. Many might say that having women in lead roles will not change the perception of them in society. This mindset couldn’t be further away from the truth. The media has quickly become the largest aspects of our lives from how people receive the news to how they entertain themselves. Believe it or not, what one sees in the media impacts how one perceives others and themselves. So therefore, having women take on lead roles will give women in general a way to get society to perceive them with those features not traditionally given to them. There is no reason for the minuscule number of female superheroes. Females can empower, build, lead and be strong. Once nontraditional casting becomes the norm; society will perceive them as capable of accomplishing many things not perceived in the past. Not only that but having this change of mindset would expand to other careers. Women would be considered for bigger and more challenging occupations. This is not to say that women should only be considered for roles that are empowering but to argue that both genders should be open to audition for roles that they normally wouldn’t be considered for based on their gender. Leaving gender out of the process gives each group a better playing field in to which they can expand their talent and the mind of others. 

The current procedure of casting creates issues with inequality and misrepresentation. Allowing directors to whitewash keeps minorities from being able to achieve more than their white counterparts. Others may argue that whitewashing is not intentional and it is all a coincidence. This however has been proven wrong in research conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Resumes of both blacks and whites were sent in to employers that were the exact same and whites received more call backs (Francis). This may not be intentional but it continues to happen and without intentional solutions to the discrimination. The inequality will continue to hinder minority success and manifest to greater issues. Another question that arises is how much does white washing affect society? Are there even issues with whitewashing on a society? In fact there are, the issues with whitewashing is the same as deleting others on Facebook who does not share your political party. There is danger in surrounding oneself with others that are all the same. Not being exposed to diverse and different ideas and people can hinder intellectual growth. Not being able to expose oneself to other cultures can leave people to be very one sided and closed minded. This relates to whitewashing in a sense that media penetrates all of the United States. Having a diverse cast will not only encourage differences but allow others who are normally not surrounded by others who differ from their norm to be exposed to the differences. 

People will argue that gender roles are very specific. That women are the caring child bearers and their jobs include cooking, cleaning, teaching, and being the love interest to a man. Men are leaders and their jobs are to win, build, protect, and bring the money home. But these traditional roles given to gender in the United States are being challenged. Yes, biologically men and women are different physically and mentally but the differences are not so dramatic that each gender can satisfy either of the lists mentioned. In films, gender should not be able to restrict casting. Women can be leaders and men can be caretakers. Depending on the actor and how they embody the traits for the character should be the main source for the decision making process in casting. Ms. Thompson from the National Public Radio said, 

“I'm a Shakespearean, so my knowledge of the Renaissance has shown that, you know, all the female parts were played by young boy actors and any black characters that were in the Renaissance were played by white actors in black face. And, you know, obviously those changed - those kind of casting decisions changed with time. And so it's clear that people - the way they see things changes overtime as well” (“Casting Beyond Color Lines.”).

This goes to show that this method is not impossible but the unsureness about the feasibility of this method is just a part of change in history.

Others might say that movies are meant to portray reality and casting actors not based on gender and race will confuse the audience. Take away historical movies, ones that have a clearly specific history and fact based necessity for the audience to be able to understand. Those kinds of movies are not the issue at hand and should follow different obligations. Films are not reality so when arguing that gender and race casting improves the reality of it is invalid to argue. Movies can be based off true stories, embody the best animation on the market and be completely realistic but they will never be reality. There are ways to get around having a black father and white children, the details for that sense is not important compared to the context. Therefore, race and gender do not have to be a large factor of consideration when casting.

Nontraditional casting is the process in which directors need to cast. This method will improve the careers of minorities and women in the entertainment industry. Decisions will be made based on talent and this will improve the play as well. When having the best actors cast for the character instead of on what will help the reality of the film this will expand the mind and ideas of the audience as well as society. With nontraditional casting whitewashing and male supremacy will be tested and weeded out. Discrimination will play a smaller role in this process if not be completely disappear. As well as the media being able to promote diversity and expansion of ideas. Nontraditional casting will help with talent based casts and lowering discrimination against minorities in the entertainment industry. Society needs to be aware of the means of how media infiltrates our thoughts and actions. People must be on the lookout of whitewashing and inequality of gender and question it. It happens too often that many details are over looked and no one questions the motives behind the actions. Nontraditional casting will solve inequality and expand the mind of others, all that must happen is the awareness and the application. 
