The Visionary Screenwriter - Part Three

Framing our film stories begins with who we write about and in what context. 

There are actual facts that reflect the changes happening in America and the world. A good place to start finding them is at the website for the U.S. Census Bureau.  You may think, “So what there are now over 50 million people of Hispanic identification in this country?” So what indeed. I estimate that fewer than 10% of the films and television shows produced by major studios and networks in Hollywood are reflecting the demographics of a rapidly changing America. They seem to be stuck in a nostalgic Jim Crow identity with a few “token minorities.” They are token because, even while they may have leading roles in a movie, white folks inevitably surround them in the story. They are minorities only because they’re still identified that way. America is changing and it is hard to continue going to films that largely exclude the changes that we deal with everyday. 2042 is not very far away, but how many Sci-Fi films have you seen that reflect the coming demographic fact that Hispanic heritage will surge ahead in all of the US the way it already has in major Southwest cities?

It’s not only America that is changing, the way the whole world interacts is changing. We no longer have to rely on the diplomatic corps to communicate with people from other countries. We can Facebook them. We can discover a lot about ourselves by interacting with people all over this little blue globe in a way that Hollywood seems to be unable to absorb and communicate. While we rely less and less on Hollywood to interpret our place in the world, it may simply be because they are not doing a very good job. Seemingly, they would have us return to a simplistic point of view where there is one big enemy and one big hero, but the reductionism just comes off as silly. Thank goodness for shows like “Outsourced” and “NCIS” because they admit that our contextual place in the world is very confusing at best, and we’re usually the butt of the jokes because we are so isolated and sure of our position…until we aren’t. Until we writers realize that a big story right now is our bewilderment in this new world order, we’re not seeing that story very often on screen, but instead see a lot of conspiracy stories that show how we lost our footing. In my opinion, that’s looking backwards.

Some of my new and young friends in places all over Africa are using technology to leap ahead of their parents, and even their siblings. It will not be too long before the changes in leadership, supported by way leaders and entrepreneurs like Dr. Mo Ibrahim of Sudan, make Africa extrapolate an entirely different world scenario with diverse resources and brain power. How do you think a strong Africa will change the way African Americans view themselves, and yet we still have stereotypical black men appearing in films made even by black filmmakers like Tyler Perry. I’m sorry but I don’t get it. I have yet to see films reflect the kind of insanity my dear husband still deals with everyday. It is far past time to call on the carpet the way Hollywood frames life as we know it.

Then there is the story of women. Women who make up 51% of the population, have infiltrated every stratum of society, and are still portrayed by the entertainment industry as being primarily interested in consuming lingerie and extravagant lifestyles rather than changing the world. Even my fourteen year old daughter can see that there is no difference between plastic surgery and a burqa. When will Hollywood wake up? Well in 100 years of film we JUST had a woman, Kathryn Bigelow, win "Best Director" from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences last year. I have so many talented women friends who have endured an unreasonable hazing in the entertainment industry, at every level, and they are still locked out.  As Tyler Perry has sometimes pigeonholed the black family in endless victimhood and violence, there are women who would rather be the only woman in the control room. Even women agents and executives still magnetize stories that portray women as victims or bitches. 

In all cases, it is a question of what is valuable to our culture, and frankly as reflected in Hollywood films we are more often than not found wanting. However, I'm not sure that is a true reflection of our culture and I ask screenwriters to challenge themselves to find the truth. To be a visionary screenwriter in times of chaos is an opportunity to reframe the discussion and the way we will be a part of the world.