Diversity's next frontier in Hollywood

If you haven’t been living in a cave, you might have noticed that there’s been quite a conversation about diversity in the film industry.

Be it on or off-screen, we see a push towards more representation of “minorities”: women, PoC - notably African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino and to a lesser extent Native-Americans - but also other categories which don’t fit the usual “beauty standards”: unconventional weight, height, skin condition, style, etc.

However, one specific population fails the diversity-Bechdel test: foreigners. As a famous manager once told a caucasian Argentinian actor friend of mine: “you don’t fit into the diversity criteria, and you’re gonna have to change your accent if you wanna make it in Hollywood". Diversity quota, yes. Diversity spirit, no.

Movies implying foreigners are still the exception in the US. Yet, the Academy Awards might make history this week-end by awarding a foreign-language film Best Picture. What exactly would that mean for the future of Hollywood?

Do foreigners belong to the Hollywood narrative?

As of now, the United States haven’t shown great interest in foreign language-content. Foreign-language movies account for 1.1% of the national box-office. But also, within US English-speaking films, foreigners are barely represented.

Think about it. When you watch films, even recent ones, how often do you see people with a foreign accent? How many foreign filmmakers are in Hollywood (and no, the British and Australians do not count!)?

The reason justifying it: it’s difficult for American audiences to understand the characters, or they don’t relate to the storyline. While this can be true, it’s also the same argument that has been pushed against minorities in the past. Also, there are tons of real-life American stories including foreigners.

In a country where immigrants account for 13.6% of the population, that’s a lot of underrepresented people, and the box office might gain from showcasing the importance of foreigners in the XXIst century American society - not to mention that immigration is part of the United States’ DNA as we know it.

But also, foreigners’ stories enrich the narrative. If you’ve ever traveled outside of your state or country, you’ve noticed how amazing different outlooks on the world can be. That’s why I’m a personal fan of foreign films: they show a world I’ve never seen and ask questions I’ve never asked. Diversity and creativity work hand in hand.

Netflix has made the move already

That’s something production-giant Netflix understands well. With over 100 foreign-language series and strong pushes towards more foreign productions, Netflix has crunched the numbers and found evidence that catering to the world means creating with the world.

In the golden years of Hollywood, US films counted for up to 95% of productions worldwide. But in the last decades, content has increased in…diversity…and the US share in the world’s box office sank from 90% to 71% in 10 years.

Even in the US, the success of Parasite this year and Roma last year shows a shift towards non-English speaking productions. American audiences might finally be getting ready to watch films with subtitles (as the rest of the world already manages to…)!

What are Hollywood’s ambitions?

Moreover, the main question remains: does Hollywood wants to position itself as a domestic production industry or an international one?

I’ve always watched Hollywood movies and, as for many people around the world, it can represent film at its best. That’s why I decided to move here, and I haven’t been disappointed: no matter its flaws, it is also the most diverse film hub as of now. As such, it might as well embrace the world’s diversity, unless it wants to sink into an incestuous bro culture and lose its power to inspire people around the globe.

There must, and always will, be films wired towards the domestic market. However, Hollywood is more than a local production house. If it wants to keep creating magic around the world, it may as well embrace the mutations we live in and welcome the burning diversity of international storytellers and filmmakers, be it on its soil or abroad.