Presentation: Hollywood, American Culture and Discrimination
Hollywood and its Influence in American Culture, Identity, and Discrimination
Figure 1: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
Hollywood has continued to play a significant role in shaping American culture and identity throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. American societal beliefs including; the right to gun ownership; ultra-masculinity, a white male patriarchy, and the American dream, have often stemmed from their depictions in the media. Gun ownership in America has always been a large part of American identity, with many Americans still holding the revolutionary war close to their hearts and with it celebrate American Independence Day.[1] Hollywood depictions of such, including The Patriot starring Mel Gibson in which he portrays a musket toting all-American hero with no quarrels in killing significant amounts of British colonial soldiers, help highlight how events like the American Revolutionary War can still be relevant to this day, whilst also spreading ideas of traditional American values to a modern American audience, although somewhat inaccurately.[2]
Furthermore, Hollywood has played a large part in the development of numerous societal values from its depiction of the American frontier and the “Wild West” of which it became known. The portrayal of ultra-masculine gunslingers in films such as The Good the Bad and the Ugly (see Figure 1) and True Grit led to a more romanticised view of gun ownership in modern American society, and subsequently a growth in gun ownership and violence in modern America.[3] [4]
Figure 2: Mad Men (2007-2015)
Additionally, Hollywood has been influential in the growth of the central American ideology of the American Dream. Films such as the Great Gatsby are an excellent example of how wealthy and successful one could hope to be, therefore inspiring hope and the concept that anyone, no matter of economic circumstances or backgrounds, could be successful and achieve the American Dream.[5]
Finally, many Hollywood films and TV programmes from, or set in, the 50s and 60s have become important in the portrayal of the strong nuclear family and the dominant male role within such, e.g. the cleaver family in Leave it to Beaver, or the Drapers in Mad Men (see Figure 2). [6] [7] Consequently, the inherent belief in a white male patriarchy in the 50’s and 60’s, which saw women act in a subservient manner and have little to no rights in the household and or at work, can be seen to have been significantly influenced through Hollywood production and consumption.
Gender Discrimination in Hollywood
Figure 3: The Lion King (1994)
Throughout classic Hollywood male and female characters were consistently portrayed to conform to cultural stereotypes and ideologies, based on the patriarchal perceptions towards women as second-class citizens and the subordinate of their male superiors. Therefore, male characters were often portrayed as powerful, heroic, self-assured individuals, whilst female characters were defined by their beauty, emotionality, and need of protection and love from their ultra-masculine male counterparts. Consequently, many of these gender stereotypes and cultural ideologies have transcended into contemporary cinema, on and off screen.
Firstly, there is a significant lack of female talent within Hollywood, on screen and behind the camera, with less than a quarter of behind the scenes roles being occupied by women.[8] This can be attributed to the fact male production executives feared the inability for audiences to relate to a new female driven cultural ideology whilst also through their lack of belief in female writers to write for male characters.[9]
Furthermore, female filmmakers that were involved in Hollywood film production were generally typecast into genres on account of their gender. As a result, women tend to work in the more emotionally centred; comedy, romance, and drama genres, through the cultural stereotype that women were more emotional than men and hence more equipped to deal within these genres.[10]
Click on this link to an article listing The Top 100 Action Adventure Movies and it will become clear the severe lack of a female voice in action cinema.[11] Moreover, by clicking on this link listing The 25 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time the strong female presence within the romantic comedy genre is highlighted as opposed to other male dominated genres.[12] The perceptions of women in the mass media and Hollywood is clearly reflective of the treatment of women based on their gender throughout the 20th century. As women were consistently discriminated against by men in the workplace through men in superior positions almost exclusively choosing to hire men over women in promotions.[13] Moreover, women were encouraged to stay at home to look after their family and carry out domestic roles, allowing full support for their hard-working husbands which women were effectively pushed into surrendering their lives in aid of.[14]
LGBT Discrimination in Hollywood
Figure 4: Protesters take to the streets in the aftermath of the Stonewall riots.
The portrayal of the LGBT community in the media throughout the 20th century was overtly negative as homosexuality was commonly associated with mental illness and disorder. Consequently, in Hollywood productions homosexuality was often disguised and distorted through use of innuendos and the lack of sufficient and honest portrayals of such.
It is clear the that Lawrence of Arabia, the first Hollywood film to openly depict homosexuality in a more honest light, was important in signalling a break away from the stigmas society held of homosexuality, however it did not have a stark impact on the societal consciousness, with homosexuality still commonly being portrayed as a mental illness.[15] [16]
On the other hand, the 1969 Stonewall Riots had a profound impact on the LGBT community, not just within Hollywood but throughout American society, with many earmarking it as the start of the gay rights movements (see Figure 4[17]). [18] This lead to a distinct change in laws and attitudes towards the LGBT community, with various Hollywood films subsequently being marketed to this consumer demographic. Check out this link to explore more of the crucial impacts the Stonewall Riots have had on the homosexual community throughout the 1960s and into contemporary America.[19] Furthermore, the revival of a strong right-wing conservative ideology in 1985 did somewhat act as a disturbance to positive portrayal and inclusion of the LGBT community in Hollywood.
In contemporary America, Hollywood has stopped attributing mental illness to homosexuality and instead has began to portray more and more LGBT figures on-screen, all in a positive light. The development of Hollywood productions and their relationship with homosexuality throughout the 20th century therefore clearly reflects the changing dynamics between the LGBT community and societal consciousness, indicating Hollywood was integral in the development of this societal stereotype and discrimination.
Racism in Hollywood
There has been a long history of racism within Hollywood which has deeply impacted society and the way that African Americans and other minority groups are represented. The representation of the civil rights movement in film are also mostly based on biased notions and incorrectly present how certain events were experienced by those at the face of the issues.[20]
Figure 5: The Birth of a Nation (1915)
Throughout the early 20th century, cultural stereotypes based on race were often depicted incorrectly and were clearly discriminating to blacks. This was achieved through creating characters with racist stereotypes at their base and consequently, to some extent, enabling racism to flourish in American society, as large proportions of white audiences connected with what they were shown. subsequently normalising segregation and racism.[21] To find out more about the racial stereotypes overt in Hollywood check out this BBC article discussing the most common racial stereotypes in Hollywood productions.[22]
As a result of this, Hollywood consistently misrepresented the real experiences and injustices African Americans faced in their daily lives. Moreover, it is thought the racism present in Hollywood productions is reflective of the opinions of white males in executive positions of power, whom, through their desire to remain powerful and wealthy, would allow the popular medium of cinema to emanate a discriminatory ideology.[23] Consequently, leading to Hollywood cinema providing good reason to enact racist sentiments, violence and extreme discrimination upon vulnerable minority communities.[24]
Thus, it is clear through exploration of Hollywood and groups whom faced discrimination throughout American history, that Hollywood has had a large influence on American culture through the 20th century and continues to influence many parts of American culture in society today.
Bibliography
[1] Burke Davis, The Campaign that Won America. (Yorktown, Dial Press, 2007)
[2] The Patriot. dir. by Roland Emmerich. (Sony Pictures Releasing, 2000)
[3] The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. dir. by Sergio Leone. (Produzioni Europee Associate, 1966)
[4] True Grit. dir. by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. (Paramount Pictures, 2010)
[5] The Great Gatsby. dir. by Baz Luhrmann. (Warner Bros., 2013)
[6] Leave it to Beaver. (NBC Universal Television Distribution, 1957-63)
[7] Mad Men. (Lionsgate Home Entertainment, 2007-2015)
[8] Maryann Erigha, Race, Gender, Hollywood: Representation in Cultural Production and Digital Media’s Potential for Change. Sociology Compass. Volume 9. (2015) p. 78-89 (p. 83)
[9] Ibid, p. 85
[10] Ibid p. 84
[11] Rotten Tomatoes, Top 100 Action Adventure Movies. (no date) Available at: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt/top_100_action__adventure_movies/ (Accessed 07/04/20)
[12] Vanity Fair, The 25 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time. (2018) Available at: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/08/best-romantic-comedies-list (Accessed 07/04/20)
[13] Alexander Bloom & Wini Breines, “Takin’ It The Streets” a sixties reader. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995) p. 414
[14] Ibid, p. 408
[15] Daniel Mangin, The History of Lesbians and Gays on Film. Journal of Film and Video. (1989) Vol. 41 (3).
[16] Lawrence of Arabia, dir. by David Lean. (Columbia Pictures, 1962)
[17] Coleen Walsh, Stonewall then and now. (2019) Available at: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/06/harvard-scholars-reflect-on-the-history-and-legacy-of-the-stonewall-riots/ (Accessed 07/04/20)
[18] Jason Baumann, The Stonewall Reader. (London: Penguin Books, 2019)
[19] Stonewall Staff, The Stonewall Uprising: 50 years of LGBT history. (2019) Available at: https://www.stonewall.org.uk/about-us/news/stonewall-uprising-50-years-lgbt-history (Accessed 07/04/20)
[20] Scott, Ellen C. 2015. Cinema Civil Rights: Regulation, Repression, and Race in the Classical Hollywood Era (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers Univ. Press)
[21] Ellen C. Scott, Cinema Civil Rights: Regulation, Repression, and Race in the Classical Hollywood Era (New Brunswick: Rutgers Univ. Press, 2015)
[22] Ellen E. Jones, From mammy to MA: Hollywood’s favourite racist stereotype. (2019) Available at: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20190530-rom-mammy-to-ma-hollywoods-favourite-racist-stereotype (Accessed 07/04/20)
[23] Moonlight. dir. by Barry Jenkins. (A24, 2016)
[24] Ellen C. Scott, Cinema Civil Rights: Regulation, Repression, and Race in the Classical Hollywood Era (New Brunswick: Rutgers Univ. Press, 2015)
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