Representation of Black People on Screen

Black Representation on Screen:

What does the evolution of black representation in film, look like over the decades?
How is Netflix trying to rectify the problem with underrepresentation of black people in it's movies?
What happened in 2016 that caused a stir in Hollywood and was a catalyst for change in representation of black people in Hollywood movies?
What sort of representation did people of colour have at the Oscars in 2018?

In an ad campaign, Netflix says when it comes to black leading actors, directors, writers and producers, they are representing, and it's not a moment, it's a movement.
Famous directors Ava Duvernay and Spike Lee introduced the streaming services initiative called "strong black lead"
"We're not a genre because there's no one way to be black."
This initiative is a promise to represent black audiences authentically, which hasn't always been Hollywood's top priority

Early pictures of black people in entertainment included criminals, slaves, nannies and servants, blackface (the practice of wearing make-up to imitate the appearance of a black person), or just plain ignorance
From the mid-1910s to the 1930s Duke University says some film companies had a sort of revelation, and dedicated themselves to creating productions with 'all coloured casts', promising to write positive and diverse roles
After many black people moved from the south to urban areas, Hollywood seemed to be adjusting to the country's changes. In fact, what was called the race movie, genre only displayed black people in a positive light
But eventually, the idea of black people in those roles was no longer marketable. Duke says an all-black production company failed because of the lack of commercial appeal to broader - white - audiences

Commercial appeal like the infamous saviour white complex, as seen in the movie 'The Blind Side', was seen as promoting colonialism, according to Teen Vogue, because people of colour needed white people to save them, bringing about the term 'Oscar bait'
On The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, he said, "I think it sucks that if black people want to win academy awards, we can't just make movies about slavery" to which the reply was "No, we can make any movie we want, we just have to trick white people into thinking the movie is about slavery"

Thus the hashtag #Oscarssowhite came about in 2016. For the second year in a row, USA Today reported all 20 actors nominated for a lead or supporting actor Oscar were all white.
Black actors weren't having this, some boycotted the show, demanding change, and the academy promised to diversify in race and gender by 2020

This was a catalyst for change in the representation of black people in Hollywood movies. The movie 'Black Panther' was proof that diversity sells, making $700 million nationally, and more than a billion worldwide
It seems that black Hollywood is hopeful netflix can represent for black people alongside other big names in the industry working to do the same

Brianna Hodder A2