Roommates, have you guys ever grown frustrated watching some writers and directors vie for the attention of predominantly white companies? For instance, the whole point of the Oscars Boycott was the fact that there was a lack of diversity in the nominees.
The real issue is that many people of color were not included in the conversations about these films, so Selma director, #AvaDuVernay and mogul #OprahWinfrey spoke to Hollywood Reporter about why it’s important to talk inclusion, rather than diversity, and the steps they’re taking to eliminate systemic exclusion in the film industry.
DuVernay told HR that she refuses to spend time begging for opportunities that she could create herself or collaborate with others who have her same vision.
“Even though I have more folks, more money and more infrastructure around me now,” she explained, “I made a decision [long ago] to work from a place of protecting my own voice by collaborating with people who nurture and value that — and not trying to spend my time knocking on doors that were closed to me, begging people for things that put me at a disadvantage because they had it and I didn’t.”
The fact that the director said this is very profound, because it eliminates the excuse for people of color not to create the projects that they want to see.
As you can see, DuVernay hasn’t played into the hands that won’t feed her and that is why success has found her — she’s created it for herself.
Oprah Winfrey went on to explain how she has decided to stop using the term ‘diversity,’ because it doesn’t get the point across that people of color need to be included.
By being included, we then have an opportunity to make decisions that will ultimately affect our culture and how it’s represented.
“I used to use the word “diversity” all the time. ‘We want more diverse stories, more diverse characters.’ Now I really eliminated it from my vocabulary because I’ve learned from her that the word that most articulates what we’re looking for is what we want to be: included. It’s to have a seat at the table where the decisions are being made.
When Sidney Poitier came to my school [in South Africa], he gave a gift of 550 movies to the girls. He thought if you watch these 550 movies, they’ll be your education for life. He wrote to the girls that his dream for them was to be able to sit at the table of the future where the world’s decisions would be made. I realize now that what he was saying is to be included, to be valued as a person who has something to contribute.”
This dynamic duo has partnered up to bring Disney’s ‘A Wrinkle In Time’ to life. The project has been given a budget of $100 million, making DuVernay the first woman of color to head a live-action film of that caliber. However, she says ithat the huge figure doesn’t change the way she tells a story.
“The way I tell a story is the same at $100-plus million as it was for my first movie [I Will Follow], which was $50,000. I have more tools to do it and more planks to build the house now, but ultimately if the story is not solid, it doesn’t matter how much money you have.”
TSR STAFF: Talia O. @theclosetratchet on Instagram & @tallyohhh on Twitter!
