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The Privilege of Representation

by Mynette Louie on March 2, 2012 in Casting

There’s been a lot of chatter about race and representation lately — “Linsanity,” the Pete Hoekstra campaign debacle, the overwhelmingly white makeup of Oscar voters and nominees alike, Billy Crystal in blackface at the Oscars, the lack of Asian American actors on the New York stage, the controversy over the white savior complex in The Help, the difficult development path of Red Tails, the whitewashing in films like Akira and Hunger Games, Spike Lee’s declaration at Sundance that Hollywood knows nothing about black people, and so on. I’m thankful for all the recent attention given to these issues, but for many minority content creators such as myself, race and representation always loom large.

We know why Hollywood doesn’t like to cast minority actors in lead roles: allegedly, they aren’t “bankable.” But why not? Could it be because Hollywood doesn’t like to cast minority actors in lead roles, so there’s little chance of them ever breaking out and becoming bankable? Vicious cycle alert! So, it’s largely up to us indie filmmakers to discover the Gabourey Sidibes and Adepero Oduyes, and to hope that they will someday be able to trigger a project’s greenlight.

In my own experience, I have to admit: casting minority actors is generally harder than casting white ones because the pools of minority actors are much smaller. Whether this is because of socioeconomic limitations or cultural priorities or other reasons, the fact is that there just aren’t as many minority actors to choose from. Filmmakers and casting directors often have to make a special effort to seek them out.

For example, when we were casting Children of Invention, which has two Chinese American child leads, the director Tze Chun and I went to schools in Chinatown, Flushing, and Sunset Park to audition hundreds of Chinese kids. But our efforts were a bust, and we ended up bringing on the wonderful Susan Shopmaker to help us fill our fourteen Chinese roles. It was particularly difficult to find older Chinese actors. At one point, Susan said to me, “Mynette, I think you and I just have to go down to Flushing one day and pull Chinese grandpas off the street.” Tze and I did in fact troll through Chinatown’s Columbus Park in an attempt to recruit older Chinese folks to audition. Unfortunately, they all thought we were crazy.

Community casting may not have worked out for us in the end, but it does sometimes result in amazing discoveries—like Harmony Santana of Gun Hill Road, Algenis Perez Soto of Sugar, and Alejandro Polanco of Chop Shop.  But is that really worth the trouble of trekking to the far, non-gentrified corners of the five boroughs and beyond to post flyers, talk to community groups, and audition hundreds, even thousands of non-actors?  Yes, it’s absolutely worth it.

It’s worth it not only because putting complex minority characters on screen can help shatter stereotypes, but also because—you producers are gonna love this—it might save you money!  I’m talking about the SAG Diversity-in-Casting Incentive, which allows you to use the modified low-budget or low-budget agreements even if your production budget exceeds the typical maximums for those agreements.  This can free up tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on extra shooting days, more equipment, better music…you name it!

I’m not just talking to minority filmmakers here. This goes for all you white filmmakers too, especially the ones who live in big cities like New York and Los Angeles, where you interact daily with people of all stripes. Many indie films are as whitewashed as Hollywood ones, and there’s no financial excuse for that because most of the actors in such films are unknowns anyway.  Maybe it’s because white filmmakers are afraid of offending minorities so they’d rather just not cast them at all, or maybe it’s simply because they want to depict a culture with which they are familiar.  If the former, I would say: don’t be afraid, just be sensitive (contrary to popular white liberal belief, we don’t live in a post-racial society). If the latter, I’d say: that’s totally understandable, but if your films are set in big cities with diverse populations, try not to be lazy and just cast white actors; look at actors of all races for your roles. (But please, no more ethnic-sidekick-as-hipster-novelty-acts!)

And remember: having a minority character doesn’t mean that your film has to be about racial issues, or that you have to explain the significance of the character’s race. In fact, it’s better if you don’t call any attention to it. After all, interracial interactions and relationships are normal, natural, everyday things. And minorities are normal, natural, everyday folks.

I hope that all filmmakers will make a conscious effort to open up their casting pool to underrepresented minorities. Ask your casting directors to go outside their comfort zones and expand their call lists. Attend Latino, Asian American, African American, Native American, and other such film festivals to discover minority talent. These festivals screen many good films that often get overlooked by the big festivals.

Don’t get me wrong, no artist should have to bear the burden of representation if he or she doesn’t want to, and filmmakers should always pick the best actor for the role, regardless of race. But for me, representation is not a burden; it is a privilege. We as writers and directors and producers have the privilege of representing underrepresented groups, which gives us the potential to change people’s prejudices and perceptions, and ultimately, the power to change the world. So let’s use our power for good, okay?

About the Author

Mynette Louie

Mynette Louie currently serves as the president of Gamechanger Films, an investment fund that exclusively finances women-directed features. She is the winner of the 2013 Independent Spirit Piaget Producers Award. She produced Martha Stephens & Aaron Katz's "Land Ho!" (Sundance 2014, Sony Classics); Tze Chun's "Cold Comes the Night" (Sony/Goldwyn 2014) and "Children of Invention" (Sundance 2009); Marshall Lewy's "California Solo" (Sundance 2012); Patricia Benoit's "Stones in the Sun" (Tribeca 2012); and Doug Karr's "Art Machine" (Woodstock 2012). She also was the consulting producer on Olivia Silver's "Arcadia" (Crystal Bear Award, Berlin 2012); executive produced Ishai Setton's "The Kitchen" (Gen Art 2012 Closing Night); and co-produced Andrew Bujalski's "Mutual Appreciation" (SXSW, Top 10 films of 2006--EW, Village Voice, Film Comment, Artforum, etc.). Mynette serves as an advisor to IFP, the Sundance Institute, SXSW, and A3 Asian American Artists Foundation, and has been a consultant for international sales agent Visit Films. She was named as one of Ted Hope's inaugural "21 Brave Thinkers Of Truly Free Film," featured in Indiewire's "Futures" column and Crain's New York Business, and name one of Indiewire's "100 Filmmakers to Follow on Twitter." She previously worked at the Hawaii Film Office, where she authored the state's production tax credit, and in business development and marketing at SportsIllustrated.com, Jupiter Research, and Time Magazine. A native New Yorker, Mynette graduated from Harvard University, where she studied Chinese literature and film. Visit her blog at mynettelouie.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter: @mynette

View all Mynette Louie's blog posts

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Comments

  • Angela Tucker
    on 03 02 2012

    My favorite line in this blog entry: “Many indie films are as whitewashed as Hollywood ones, and there’s no financial excuse for that because most of the actors in such films are unknowns anyway. ” So true! I wonder this all the time. Great job Mynette!

  • Pingback: California Solo website etc. | Marshall Lewy

  • Gordon Mathieson
    on 03 28 2012

    A great and timely article! You covered important and poignant points. As a Caucasian I am sadly repelled at the behavior of the human race(s). And as an author/screeenwriter of Chinese American books/film scripts, I am disappointed that no film producers have connected to my reaching out—- to provide opportunities for Asian talent to perform in front of the camera rather than limited to only work behind it. My scripts provide contemporary roles for Asians and present something new and refreshing on TV or big screens. A good part of my life has been helping Chinese students at Yale University to assimilate into the western language and culture. Film making is my final goal tol help so many of us broaden our minds and hearts. I will keep searching for interested people in the film industry. Becuase I know, once it has begun, it will continue to flourish and through entertainment and talented Asian performers, we can open the minds of the audience around the world.

  • Pingback: The Privilege of Representation | MILLIONS

  • gerwinters
    on 05 26 2012

    Why are we even having a conversation about the fraud called “race?” We are 100% identical in human DNA with a scant particle of that denoting variations in colors, height, hair etc., this separation by trite criteria must end!!!! Culture is what separates more than any physical trait. Lets end the racist stereotyping and designation of humans by such absurdities! If we stop it will go away I promise! To discuss ‘race” reinforces separation of the “other.” Have we not moved beyond that self degradation as a species yet??

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