VivirLatino

No hoorays for Hollywood. Hispanic Tips linked to a story today with the headline “Study: Whites get majority of acting jobs” and added “is anyone surprised by these findings?” My answer is no, not surprising. Even with more Latino, blacks and Asians in television and film these days, it’s clear to anyone that whites dominate the entertainment business. According to the UCLA study:

Ethnic minorities were not cast in about 80 percent of first-, second- and third-billed leading roles in Hollywood films last year, according to a study released Wednesday.

This level of representation of Latino, black, Asian-American and American Indian actors is based on a review of the 171 commercially released films in 2005 that reported a gross of at least $1 million.

In addition, the first-time study from the UCLA School of Law and the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center showed that 69 percent of all casting notices for three months this summer specifically asked for white actors. Roles advertised for a specific ethnicity other than whites ranged from 0.5 percent to 8 percent of the total, it found.

Also during that three-month period, white actors could compete with minorities for an additional 8.5 percent of total parts – beyond the nearly 70 percent that specifically sought white actors.

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