Inequality in 800 Popular Films:

Examining Portrayals of Gender, Race/Ethnicity,

LGBT, and Disability from 2007-2015
Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Marc Choueiti, & Dr. Katherine Pieper
with assistance from

Ariana Case & Justin Marsden

Media, Diversity, &

Social Change Initiative
September 2016

Inequalityin800PopularFilms:
ExaminingPortrayalsofGender,Race/Ethnicity,LGBT,andDisabilityfrom20072015

Dr.StacyL.Smith,MarcChoueiti,&Dr.KatherinePieper
withassistancefrom
ArianaCase&JustinMarsden

Yearly,theMedia,Diversity,&SocialChange(MDSC)Initiativeexaminesinequalityonscreenand
behindthecameraacrossthe100topgrossingdomesticfilms.Todate,wehaveevaluated35,205
charactersacross800ofthemostpopularmoviesfrom20072015.Everyindependentspeakingor
namedcharacteronscreenwasassessedforgender,race/ethnicity,andLGBTstatusaswellasa
varietyofdemographic,domesticity,andsexualizationmeasures.In2015,webeganassessingthe
portrayalofcharacterdisabilityaswell.Clearly,thisisthemostcomprehensiveandrigorous
intersectionalanalysisofindependentspeakingandnamedcharactersinpopularmotionpicture
contenttodate.

KeyFindings

Gender.Outof4,370speakingornamedcharactersevaluated,68.6%weremaleand31.4%werefemale
acrossthe100topgrossingfilmsof2015.Thiscalculatesintoagenderratioof2.2malecharactersto
everyonefemalecharacter.Therehasbeennomeaningfulchangeinthepercentageofgirlsandwomen
onscreenbetween2007and2015.
Ofthe100topfilmsof2015,32%depictedafemaleastheleadorcoleadoftheunfoldingnarrative.This
isan11%increasefromlastyear.Fiveofthesefilmsportrayedfemaleleads/coleads45yearsofageor
olderatthetimeoftheatricalreleasein2015.Instarkcontrast,26moviesin2015featuredleadsorco
leadswithmales45yearsofageorolder.

Femaleswereoverthreetimesaslikelyastheirmalecounterpartstobeshowninsexuallyrevealing
clothing(30.2%vs.7.7%)andwithsomenudity(29%vs.9.5%).Girls/women(12%)werealsomorelikely
thanboys/men(3.6%)tobereferredtoasphysicallyattractive.

Femaleteens(42.9%)andyoungadults(38.7%)weremorelikelythanmiddleagedfemales(24.7%)tobe
showninsexualizedattire.Asimilarpatternemergedfornudity(41.2%,36.9%,and24.4%,respectively).
Asageincreased,femaleswerelesslikelytobereferencedasattractive.

Ofthe1,365directors,writers,andproducersofthe100topgrossingfilmsof2015,81%weremenand
19%werewomen.Of107directors,92.5%weremaleand7.5%werefemale.Thistranslatesintoa
genderratioof12.4maledirectorstoeveryonefemaledirector.Womenfareslightlybetteraswriters
(11.8%)andproducers(22%)butfarworseascomposers.Only1femalecomposerbut113male
composersworkedacrossthesampleof100moviesof2015!

Across800filmsand886directors,only4.1%werewomen.Thistranslatesintoagenderratioof24males
toevery1female.Only3Blackand1Asianfemaledirectorsworkedonthe800filmsexamined.Even
moreproblematic,only1.4%ofallcomposerswerewomenfrom2007to2015(excluding2011).This
translatesintoagenderratioof72malecomposerstoevery1femalecomposer.

Dr.StacyL.Smith

September2016

Race/Ethnicity.In2015,73.7%ofcharacterswereWhite,12.2%Black,5.3%Latino,3.9%Asian,<1%
MiddleEastern,<1%AmericanIndian/AlaskanNative,<1%NativeHawaiian/PacificIslander,and3.6%
Otherormixedrace.Together,atotalof26.3%ofallspeakingcharacterswerefroman
underrepresentedracial/ethnicgroup.TherewasnochangeinthepercentageofWhite,Black,
Hispanic/Latino,AsianorOtherraces/ethnicitiesfrom2007to2015.

Only14ofthemoviesdepictedanunderrepresentedleadorcolead.Nineoftheleads/coleadswere
Black,oneLatino,andfourweremixedrace.NotoneleadorcoleadwasplayedbyanAsianactor.

Onlythreefemaleleads/coleadswereplayedbyfemaleactorsfromanunderrepresentedracial/ethnic
group,theexactsamenumberin2014.Justoneoftheseactorswasanunderrepresentedfemale45
yearsofageorolder.

Afull17%offilmsdidnotfeatureoneBlackorAfricanAmericanspeakingornamedcharacteronscreen.
Thisnumberisidenticaltowhatwefoundin2013and2014.Evenmoreproblematic,Asiancharacters
weremissingacross49films.

In2015,only4ofthe107directorswereBlackorAfricanAmerican(3.7%)and6wereAsianorAsian
American(5.6%).Across886directorsfrom2007to2015(excluding2011),only5.5%wereBlackand
2.8%wereAsian.

LGBT.Only32speakingornamedcharacterswerelesbian,gay,bisexualortransgenderacrossthe
sampleof100topfilmsof2015.Thisisanincreaseof13portrayalsfromour2014report.Justone
transgendercharacterappearedsamplewide,aswellas19gaymen,7lesbians,and5bisexuals(3males,
2females).

NotoneleadorcoleadwasLGBTidentifiedacrosstheentiresampleof100topfilmsof2015.82ofthe
100topmoviesof2015didnotdepictoneLGBTspeakingornamedcharacter.

Moreracial/ethnicdiversitywasfoundacrossLGBTcharactersthansamplewide.Justover40%ofLGBT
characterswerefromanunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgroup.Oneteenagedcharacterwasdepictedas
gayacrosstheentiresampleandonlytwolesbianparentswereportrayed.

CharacterswithDisabilities.Only2.4%ofallspeakingornamedcharacterswereshownwithadisability.A
full45ofthemoviesfailedtodepictonespeakingcharacterwithadisability.Mostoftheportrayals
appearedinactionadventurefilms(33.3%).Only2%ofallcharacterswithdisabilitieswereshownin
animatedmovies.

61%ofthecharacterswerefeaturedwithaphysicaldisability,37.1%withamentalorcognitivedisability,
and18.1%withacommunicativedisability.ThesedesignationswerebasedonU.S.Censuslanguageand
domains.

Only19%ofcharacterswithadisabilitywerefemaleand81%weremale.Thisisanewlowforgender
inequalityinfilm.NotoneLGBTcharacterwithadisabilitywasportrayedacrossthe100topfilmsof
2015.

Thereportalsohighlightsmanyotherresultsongender,race/ethnicity,LGBT,anddisabilityinfilmaswell
assimpleandstraightforwardsolutionstoHollywoodsinclusioncrisis.
Dr.StacyL.Smith

September2016

MEDIA, DIVERSITY, & SOCIAL CHANGE INITIATIVE

USC ANNENBERG
nitiative

FEMALES ARE GROSSLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN FILM

Prevalance of female speaking characters across 800 films,
in percentages
32.8

29.9

32.8

30.3

28.4

29.2

28.1

31.4

Percentage of
800 films with
Balanced Casts

12%

Ratio of males
to females

2.3 : 1

Total number of
speaking
characters

35,205

FEMALES ARE SELDOM AT THE CENTER OF THE STORY IN FILM

And of those Leads and Co Leads*...

Of the 100 top films in 2015...

32

DEPICTED A
FEMALE LEAD
OR CO LEAD

FEMALE ACTORS WERE

FROM UNDERREPRESENTED
RACIAL ETHNIC GROUPS

FEMALE ACTORS WERE

AT LEAST
AGE OR OLDER

*Excludes films w/ensemble casts

FEMALES FACE ROADBLOCKS IN ACTION, ANIMATION, & COMEDY

ADVENTURE

20

23.3

25.5

% OF FEMALE SPEAKING
CHARACTERS

ANIMATION
30.7
20.9

COMEDY
36

36

36.5

26.8

% OF FEMALE SPEAKING
CHARACTERS

MEDIA, DIVERSITY, &

SOCIAL CHANGE INITIATIVE

% OF FEMALE SPEAKING
CHARACTERS

SEXY CONTINUES TO BE THE STATUS QUO FOR FEMALES IN FILM

Top Films of 2015
30.2%

29%

12%

9.5%

7.7%
SEXY ATTIRE

13-20 yr old
females are just as
likely as 21-39 yr old
females to be shown
in sexy attire & with
some nudity.

3.6%

SOME NUDITY

MALES
FEMALES

ATTRACTIVE

#OscarsSoWhite or #HollywoodSoWhite?
PERCENTAGE OF
REPRESENTED CHARACTERS:

17

*These percentages have not changed since 2007

26.3%

FILMS HAVE NO BLACK OR AFRICAN

AMERICAN SPEAKING CHARACTERS

40

FILMS HAVE NO LATINO SPEAKING

CHARACTERS

49

FILMS HAVE NO ASIAN SPEAKING

CHARACTERS

THE LGBT COMMUNITY: MOBILIZED IN THE U.S. BUT MISSING IN FILM

Of

4,370

speaking
characters only...

10

19

of the 100 top films of 2015...

82

GAY

BISEXUAL

LESBIAN

TRANSGENDER

of the 32 LGBT characters...

59.4%

40.6%

18
HAD NO LGBT
CHARACTERS

LGBT CHARACTERS

WHITE

UNDERREPRESENTED

MEDIA, DIVERSITY, &

SOCIAL CHANGE INITIATIVE

PORTRAYALS OF DISABILITY ARE DISCONCERTING IN FILM

2.4%

of all speaking
characters were
depicted with a
disability

61

81%

% PHYSICAL

37 %

MENTAL

18 %

COMMUNICATIVE

19%
MALES WITH
DISABILITY

Based on U.S. Census language & domains

FEMALES WITH
DISABILITY

BEHIND THE CAMERA IS BEHIND THE TIMES

Across 1,365 content creators.
DIRECTORS

MALES

WRITERS

FEMALES

PRODUCERS

COMPOSERS

7.5%

11.8%

22%

<1%

8 female directors

30 female writers

220 female producers

1 female composer

THE DIRECTOR'S CHAIR IS WHITE AND MALE

Across 800 films and
886 directors...

5.5%

Of the 49 Black or African

American directors...

Of the 25 Asian or Asian

American directors...

46

OR
WERE BLACK OR
AFRICAN AMERICAN

2.8%

WERE ASIAN OR
OR
ASIAN AMERICAN

24
3
MALE

FEMALE

MEDIA, DIVERSITY, &

SOCIAL CHANGE INITIATIVE

1
MALE

FEMALE

FEMALE DIRECTORS AND COMPOSERS ARE CROPPED OUT OF FILM

3

DIRECTORS

OUT OF

112

112

111

109

121

107

107

107

107

108

109

115

105

114

105

114

COMPOSERS

OUT OF

THERE ARE

29

UNIQUE FEMALE
DIRECTORS BETWEEN
(Excluding 2011)

36

4.1%

OUT OF

886

12

OUT OF

1.4%

TOTAL

OVERALL

877

Angelina Jolie

Jennifer Flackett

Loveleen Tandan

Anne Fletcher

Jennifer Lee

Nancy Meyers

Ava DuVernay

Jessie Nelson

Niki Caro

Betty Thomas

Julie Anne Robinson

Nora Ephron

Brenda Chapman

Julie Taymor

Phyllida Lloyd

Catherine Hardwicke

Kathryn Bigelow

Sam Taylor-Johnson

Diane English

Kimberly Peirce

Sanaa Hamri

Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum

Kirsten Sheridan

Shari Springer Berman

Elizabeth Banks

Lana Wachowski

Susanna White

Gina Prince-Bythewood

Lily Wachowski

A SIMPLE SOLUTION TO GENDER INEQUALITY IN FILM

Add Five Females to Scripts Per Year to Achieve Gender Equality Quickly

51.1%

68.6%

48.9%
31.4%

MALES
FEMALES

MEDIA, DIVERSITY, &

SOCIAL CHANGE INITIATIVE

Inequalityin800PopularFilms:
ExaminingPortrayalsofGender,Race/Ethnicity,LGBT,andDisabilityfrom20072015

Dr.StacyL.Smith,MarcChoueiti,&Dr.KatherinePieper
withassistancefrom
ArianaCase&JustinMarsden

Media,Diversity,&SocialChangeInitiative
USCAnnenberg

Yearly,theMedia,Diversity,&SocialChange(MDSC)Initiativeexaminesinequalityonscreenand
behindthecameraacrossthe100topgrossingdomesticfilms.1Todate,wehaveevaluated800
ofthemostpopularmoviesfrom20072015(excluding2011).2Everyindependentspeakingor
namedcharacter3onscreenisassessedforgenderandrace/ethnicityaswellasavarietyof
demographic,domesticity,andsexualizationmeasures.4Intotal,35,205charactershavebeen
analyzedacrosseightyearsofcinematiccontent.

Forthe2014sample,theanalysiswasextendedtoincludeaqualitativeassessmentofLesbian,
Gay,Bisexual,andTransgender(LGBT)characters.In2015,LGBTstatuswasmeasuredagainas
wellasportrayalsofcharacterswithdisabilities.Focusingongender,race/ethnicity,LGBTand
disability,thisisthemostcomprehensiveandrigorousintersectionalanalysisofindependent
speakingandnamedcharactersinpopularmotionpicturecontenttodate.

Behindthecamerainclusionisalsoassessed.Wehavedemarcatedthegenderofeverydirector,
writer,andproducer.Fordirectorsonly,thepercentageoffemale,Black,andAsianhelmersis
calculatedacrossthe800films.Wefocusonracetocomplementtheresearchbeingconducted
byotherinstitutionsonunderrepresentedandLatinocontentcreators.5Thisyear,wealso
includedthepercentageofmaleandfemalecomposersacrosstheeightyearsevaluated.

Themethodologyofthestudyisdetailedinthefootnotesectionofthereport.Theresultsofthe
researcharereviewedwithinfourareasofrepresentationalconcern:1)gender,2)
race/ethnicity,3)LGBTstatus,and4)disability.Withineachsection,the2015findingsare
highlightedfirstfollowedbyadiscussionofsomeovertimetrends.Onlystatisticallysignificant
(p<.05)andmeaningfuldeviations(5%)arereportedbelow.Sometrendswerenotsubjectedto
statisticaltests.Intheseinstances,weappliedthe5%ruletodemarcatenotabledifferences.The
useoftheletternindicatesthesamplesizeperanalysisorcellinquestion.Thelistof2015
filmscanbefoundinAppendixA.

GenderOnScreen&BehindtheCamerainFilm

OnScreenPrevalence

Outof4,370speakingornamedcharactersevaluated,68.6%(n=3,000)weremaleand31.4%
(n=1,370)werefemaleacrossthe100topgrossingfilmsof2015.Thiscalculatesintoagender
Dr.StacyL.Smith

September2016

ratioof2.2malecharacterstoeveryonefemalecharacter.Theprevalenceoffemalecharacters
overtimeishighlightedinTable1.Asdemonstrated,thepercentageoffemalespeaking
charactersonscreenhasonlyincreased1.5%from2007to2015.

Table1
PrevalenceofFemaleCharactersOnScreenbyYear:20072015

%of
%of
Ratioof
Total
Total
Year
Female
Balanced
Malesto
#of
#of
Characters
Casts
Females
Characters
Films
2007
29.9%
12%
2.35to1
4,379
100
2008
32.8%
15%
2.05to1
4,370
100
2009
32.8%
17%
2.05to1
4,342
100
2010
30.3%
4%
2.30to1
4,153
100
2012
28.4%
6%
2.51to1
4,475
100
2013
29.2%
16%
2.43to1
4,506
100
2014
28.1%
9%
2.55to1
4,610
100
2015
31.4%
18%
2.19to1
4,370
100
Total
30.3%
12%
2.30to1
35,205
800

Note:BoxOfficeMojodeterminedU.S.financialperformanceoffictionalfilms.

Thepercentageoffemaleleadswasevaluated.Theleadingcharacteroftendrivestheplot
attemptingtoresolvethecentralconflictofthestory.Sometimes,movieshavecoleadsor
anothercharacterwhoalsotravelsonthesamejourney.Ofthe100topfilms,32%depicteda
femaleastheleadorcoleadoftheunfoldingnarrative.Thisisan11%increasefromlastyear,as
only21%ofthe2014moviesdepictedafemaleleadorcolead.

Fiveofthesefilmsportrayedfemaleleads/coleads45yearsofageorolderatthetimeof
theatricalreleasein2015.Thisisanincreasefrom2014,astherewerezerolastyear.Instark
contrast,26moviesin2015featuredleadsorcoleadswithmales45yearsofageorolder.It
shouldbenotedthatthegenderofcharactersinfilmswithensemblecastswasnotincludedin
thesecalculations.Elevenmovieswereensembles,with71.7%oftheleadingcharactersmale
and28.3%ofleadingcharactersfemale.

Wealsoexaminedthepercentageofthe100topfilmswithagenderbalancedcast.Agender
balancedcastwaspresentwhenthefilmhadgirls/womeninroughlyhalf(45.554.9%)ofall
speakingparts.Only18%ofthemoviesevaluatedmetthiscriteria,whichis6%higherthan2007
and9%higherthan2014.Itmustbenotedthatallofthe2015filmsfeaturedatleastonefemale
characterthatspokeonscreenorwasnamed.However,onemovieportrayedonlytwofemale
charactersandbothwereinconsequentialtothestoryline.

CharactergendervariedbyMPAArating(G,PG,PG13,R).6Onlyonemovieinthe2015sample
wascategorizedasgeneralaudienceandthusremovedpriortoanalysis.CharactersinPG13
Dr.StacyL.Smith

September2016

ratedfilmsweremorelikelytobefemale(34%)thancharactersinRrated(28.4%)films.The
percentageofgirlsandwomeninPGratedmovies(29.7%)didnotdifferfromthosefilms
receivingtheothertworatings.

Lookingatgenre,genderalsowasassessedwithinthreestorytellingplatforms.7Asshownin
Table2,roughlyonefourth(25.5%)ofallspeakingcharacterswerefemalein2015Actionand/or
Adventuremovies.Thisrepresentsa5.5%increasefrom2007.Girlsandwomenoccupied26.8%
ofallrolesinAnimatedfilms,whichishigher(+5.9%)than2007.Ofthegenresreported,
Comedyhasthehighestpercentageofspeakingroleswithfemales(36.5%)whichdoesnotdiffer
acrosstheyearsshowninTable2.

Table2
PrevalenceofFemaleCharactersOnScreenbyFilmGenre:2007,2010,2015

ActionorAdventure
Animation
Comedy

%offemales
onscreen

2007

2010

2015

2007

2010

2015

2007

2010

2015

20%

23.3% 25.5% 20.9% 30.7% 26.8%

36%

36%

36.5%

Note:Thepercentageofmalespeakingcharacterscanbecomputedbysubtractingeachcellfrom100%.

Insum,twotrendswereapparentacrossthegenderprevalencefindings.First,thepercentage
offemaleleads/coleadshasincreasedfromlastyear.Thisunderscoresthefactthatfemale
drivencontenthasdomesticboxofficeappeal.Yet,justoveraquarteroftheleadingrolesin
ensembleswerefilledwithfemales.Second,andmoreproblematic,thepercentageoffemale
speakingcharactersonscreenhasnotmeaningfullychanged.Despitealloftheactivismand
advocacytoincreasethenumberofgirls/womenonscreen,theneedlehasnotmovedineight
years.Clearly,amoretargetedandtheorydriveneffortisneededtoreduceimplicitandexplicit
biasesinthescreenwritingandcastingprocesses.

OnScreenPortrayal

Threeattributesofgenderstereotypingwereevaluated:domesticity,age,andsexualization.In
termsofdomesticroles,parentalstatus(no,yes)didnotvarybygender.8Ofthosecharacters
withenoughinformationpresentedtoassessthismeasure,afull42%weredepictedasparents
orcaregivers(44.4%offemales,40.2%males).Relationalstandingwasassociatedwithgender,
however.9Females(54.8%)weremorelikelytobedepictedinromanticrelationshipsthanwere
males(46.5%).Thislattertrendistroublingasportrayingdomesticrolesalonggenderlinesmay
contributetoorreinforcestereotypicalattitudesandbeliefsaboutwhatitmeanstobemaleor
femaleinsociety.10

Ageisanotherpoliticizedareaoffilm.Becauseofthis,eachcharacterwasassessedfortheir
apparentage.Tothisend,charactersweregroupedintooneoffourmutuallyexclusiveage
Dr.StacyL.Smith

September2016

10

brackets(i.e.,012yrs,1320yrs,2139yrs,40ormoreyrs).Then,thedistributionofgender
withineachagegroupingwasevaluated.11AshighlightedinTable3,theincreaseinagelevel
bringsasharpdecreaseinfemalecharactersonscreen.Thistrendhasconsequences,asolder
charactersaremorelikelythanyoungercharacterstobeshownwithpowerfulcareersandas
accomplishedrolemodels.Basedonsheerfrequency,viewershavefarfewerchancestosee
talentedwomenininfluentialoccupationsonscreen.

Table3
CharacterGenderbyAgeinTopGrossingFilms:2015

Children
Teens
YoungAdult
Adults40yrs
012yrs
1320yrs
2139yrs
orOlder
Males
54.1%
59.7%
63.8%
75.4%
Females
45.9%
40.3%
36.2%
24.6%
GenderRatio
1.18to1
1.48to1
1.76to1
3.06to1

Note:Eachcolumntotalsto100%.Genderratioswerecomputedpercolumnbydividingthe
numberofmalecharacterswithinanagebracketbythenumberoffemalecharacters.

Hasthepercentageoffemalecharacters40yearsofageorolderchangedovertime?Table4
showsthatithasnot.Only22.8%ofall12,645characters40yearsofageorhigherwerefemale,
with2007differinglittle(2.5%)from2015.Itmustbenotedthatourapproachtocoding
characters40yearsofageorhigherchangedslightlyforthe2015sample(seeFootnote12for
explanation).Asaresult,anyovertimecomparisonsinvolvingthisyearshouldbeinterpreted
cautiously.

Table4
FemaleCharacters40YearsofAgeorOlder:20072015

2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 Total

%ofmales
77.9% 72.8% 75.6% 78.2% 79.2% 78.4% 79.3% 75.4% 77.2%
%offemales
22.1% 27.2% 24.4% 21.8% 20.8% 21.6% 20.7% 24.6% 22.8%

Note:Onlycharacters40yearsofageorolderwereincludedinTable4.

Anothercontestedareapertainstothesexualizationofgirls/womenonscreen.Asaresult,we
measuredthepercentageoffemalesdepictedinanobjectifyinglight.Figure1revealsthat
femaleswerefarmorelikelythantheirmalecounterpartstobeshowninsexuallyrevealing
clothing(e.g.,tight,alluringapparel)andwithsomenudity.13Girls/womenwerealsomorelikely
thanboys/mentobereferredtoasphysicallyattractive.14Thesetrendsaredisconcerting,as
theorysuggestsandstudiesshowthatexposuretoobjectifyingcontentcanhavenegative
effectssuchasbodyshame,appearanceanxiety,orselfobjectificationonsomefemale
consumers.15

Dr.StacyL.Smith

September2016

11

Theovertimepatternsacrossthesethreesexualizationmeasures(i.e.,sexyattire,nudity,
attractiveness)wereexaminedforfemales(Table5)andmales(Table6)separately.Scrutinizing
thetwotables,itisclearthatthepercentageshavebeenfairlystablefromyeartoyear.Females
wereroutinelymorelikelytobedepictedinsexuallyrevealingattirethanmales,withno
meaningfulchangeovertime.Amongfemalesonly,thepercentageofgirls/womenportrayed
withsomenudityhasincreased7.2%between2007and2015.Thereversepatternwas
observedforattractivenessamongfemales,however.Formales,nodifferenceshavebeen
observedonnudityorattractivenessovertime.

Figure1
CharacterGenderbySexualizationIndicators:2015

30.2%

SexyAttire
7.7%

29%

SomeNudity
9.5%

Females

12%

Attractiveness

Males

3.6%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Table5
SexualizationofFemaleCharactersOnScreen:20072015

Measure

2007

2008

2009

2010

2012

2013

2014

2015

%insexyattire

27%

25.7%

25.8%

33.8%

31.6%

30.2%

27.9%

30.2%

%w/somenudity

21.8%

23.7%

23.6%

30.8%

31%

29.5%

26.4%

29%

%referenced
attractive

18.5%

15.1%

10.9%

14.7%

Not
Measured

13.2%

12.6%

12%

Note:Eachcellrepresentsthepercentoffemalesshownacross100filmsforaspecificmeasure.Subtractingeach
cellfrom100%illuminatestheproportionoffemaleswithouttheattributeinquestion.Forexample,27%offemales
in2007wereshowninsexyattire.Assuch,73%offemaleswerenotshownwearingthistypeofclothing.

Dr.StacyL.Smith

September2016

12

Table6
SexualizationofMaleCharactersOnScreen:20072015

Measure

2007

2008

2009

2010

2012

2013

2014

2015

%insexyattire

4.6%

5.1%

4.7%

7.2%

7%

9.7%

8%

7.7%

%w/somenudity

6.6%

8.2%

7.4%

9.4%

9.4%

11.7%

9.1%

9.5%

%referenced
attractive

5.4%

4.1%

2.5%

3.8%

Not
Measured

2.4%

3.1%

3.6%

Note:Eachcellrepresentsthepercentofmalesshownacross100filmsforaspecificmeasure.Subtractingeachcell
from100%illuminatestheproportionofmaleswithouttheattributeinquestion.

Movingbeyondtheseoveralltrends,wewantedtoevaluatehowagewasrelatedtothe
sexualizationmeasures.GiventhepronouncedgenderdifferencesfoundinTables5and6,we
onlyassessedfemalesexualizationforthisanalysis.Charactersweresortedintothreegroups:
teens(13to20yrolds),youngadults(21to39yrolds),andmiddleaged(40to64yrolds).
Then,thepercentageoffemalesshowninsexyattire,withsomenudity,andreferencedas
physicallyattractivewithineachagelevelwascomputed.Thissetofanalysesisimportant,as
publicconcernhasbeenmountingaboutthehypersexualizationofyoungerfemalesonscreen
inthemedia.16

Table7
FemaleCharacterSexualizationbyAge:2015

1320
2139
4064
Measures
yearolds
yearolds
yearolds
%insexyattire
42.9%
38.7%
24.7%
%w/somenudity
41.2%
36.9%
24.4%
%referencedattractive
22.8%
13%
9%

Note:Eachcellrepresentsthepercentageoffemalesshownwithaparticularattribute.Subtracting
eachcellfrom100%showstheproportionoffemaleswithoutthecharacteristicinquestion.

AsshowninTable7,agewasrelatedtosexualization.17Femaleteensandyoungadultswere
morelikelythanmiddleagedfemalestobeshowninsexualizedattireandwithsomenudity.For
attractivenessadifferenttrendwasobserved.Asageincreased,femaleswerelesslikelytobe
referencedasattractive.Theovertimepercentagesonsexyattireandsomenudityareplotted
inFigures2and3.Collectively,thegraphsrevealanotableuptickinfemalesexualizationamong
13to20yroldsand40to64yrolds.

Dr.StacyL.Smith

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Figure2
PercentagesofFemalesinSexyAttirebyAge:20072015
70%
1320yrolds
60%

4064yrolds

50%
40%
30%

56.6%

2139yrolds

37.7%
34.6%

39.8%

32.4%

44.3%
33.8%

41.4%

39.9%

39.4%

33.5%

37.4%
35.3%

42.9%
38.7%
24.7%

20%
10%

40.5%

22.6%
12.5%

14.9%

14.4%

2008

2009

16.4%

18.8%
14.8%

0%
2007

2010

2012

2013

2014

2015

Figure3
PercentagesofFemaleswithSomeNuditybyAge:20072015
70%
1320yrolds
60%

55.8%

2139yrolds
4064yrolds

50%

41.5%

40%
31.2%

30.5%

36.9%

37.4%
33.6%

28.2%
24.4%

23.3%
19.7%

10%

34.9%

33%
30.1%

20%

39.6%

30.5%

30%

41.2%

39.6%

14.2%

14.1%

2008

2009

18.5%
15.7%

14.8%

10.6%

0%
2007

2010

2012

2013

2014

2015

Takentogether,theresultsofthissectionrevealthatfemaleswerenotonlyunderrepresented
onscreenbuttheywereshowninastereotypicallight.Femalesinfilmwereyoung,in
relationships,andsexy,familiartropesthatdeviatelittlefromyeartoyear.Giventhesetrends,it
becomesimportanttolookatwhomightberesponsibleforpaintingapictureofgirlsand
Dr.StacyL.Smith

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womeninthislight.Inthenextsection,weexaminethisveryideabylookingatthegenderof
contentcreatorsworkingbehindthecameraintopHollywoodfilms.

BehindtheCamera

Atotalof1,365directors,writers,andproducersworkedbehindthescenesonthe100top
grossingfilmsof2015(seeTable8).18Afull81%weremen(n=1,107)and19%werewomen
(n=258).Turningtospecificpositions,107directorsandcodirectorswerecreditedacrossthe
2015samplewith92.5%ofhelmersmaleand7.5%ofhelmersfemale.Thistranslatesintoa
genderratioof12.4maledirectorstoeveryonefemaledirector.Womenfareslightlybetteras
writers(11.8%)andproducers(22%).WhilenotshownonTable8,only1femalecomposerbut
113malecomposersworkedacrossthesampleof100movies!

GiventheEqualEmploymentOpportunityCommissions(EEOC)investigationintohiring
practicessurroundingHollywooddirectors,wethoughtitmightbeinformativetoilluminatethe
numberandpercentageofwomenhelmersattachedtothe100topfilmseachyear(seeTable
9).Across800filmsand886directors,only4.1%ofhelmerswerewomen.Whilethepercentage
ofwomendirectorshasincreasedin2015from2013and2014levels,itisnodifferentthan
2008.

Table8
ContentCreatorsbyGender:2015

Position
Males
Females
Total
Directors
92.5%(n=99)
7.5%(n=8)
107
Writers
88.2%(n=225)
11.8%(n=30)
255
Producers
78%(n=783)
22%(n=220)
1,003
Total
81.1%(n=1,107)
18.9%(n=258)
1,365

Thesestatisticsarewellbelowwhatwemightexpecttoseeinthespace,basedonourother
MDSCInitiativeresearchreports.Perhapsthemostpotentbarometerofinterestindirecting
comesfromexaminingthegendercompositionofshortfilmdirectors.Afull28%ofshortfilm
helmers(n=3,933)acrossthe10topfilmfestivalsworldwidewerewomen.19Lookingatthe
independentarena,18%ofallnarrativedirectorswerefemalesattheSundanceFilmFestival
from2002to2014.20And,womenfillasimilarpercentageofdirectingpositionsacrossscripted
broadcasttelevisionshows(17.1%),cableprograms(15.1%)anddigitalstories(11.8%).21So,why
aretheresofewfemaledirectorsinfeaturefilms?Ourqualitativeinterviewswith59buyersand
sellersinthefilmindustryrevealedthatexplicitandimplicitdecisionmakingbiasesprevent
womenfromsecuringemploymentbehindthecamera.22Theplayingfieldissimplynotlevelfor
femaledirectors,particularlyasthegenderratiois23.6malestoevery1femaleinTable9.

Dr.StacyL.Smith

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Table9
DirectorGender:20072015

Measures

2007

2008

2009

2010

2012

2013

2014

2015

Total

#offemaledirectors

36

%offemaledirectors

2.7%

8%

3.6%

2.75%

4.1%

1.9%

1.9%

7.5%

4.1%

Total

112

112

111

109

121

107

107

107

886

Thedirectorschairisnottheonlybehindthecamerapositionexclusionarytowomen.
Composingisalmostacompleteboysclub.23Forthefirsttime,wecompiledthegenderof
composersacrossthe800moviesinthesample.Outof877composers,only1.4%or12were
women.Afull865or98.6%weremen.Thistranslatesintoaratioof72malestoevery1female.
Thetwelvespaceswerefilledbyonly7women,astwoofthefemalecomposersworkedon
multiplemoviesacrossthesample(RachelPortman,DeborahLurie).

Everyyear,therelationshipbetweencontentcreator(directors,writers,producers)genderand
thegenderofspeakingcharactersonscreenisevaluated.Tothisend,the2015filmswere
categorizedintotwosilosonthebasisofdirectorgender:thosewithafemaledirectorattached
vs.thosewithoutafemaledirectorattached(maleonly).Then,thepercentageoffemale
charactersonscreenwascomparedacrossfemalehelmedandmalehelmedmovies.Thesame
processwasrepeatedforwritersandproducers.

Table10
ComposerGender:20072015

Measures

2007

2008

2009

2010

2012

2013

2014

2015

Total

#offemalecomposers

12

%offemalecomposers

1.8%

1.8%

1.7%

1.9%

1.8%

<1%

<1%

1.4%

107

108

109

115

105

114

105

114

877

Total

AsshowninFigure4,thegenderofthedirectorwasassociatedwithonscreengender
prevalence.Filmswithatleastonefemaleatthehelmportrayedahigherpercentageoffemale
charactersonscreen(41%)thanthosewithonlymalesatthehelm(30.5%).24Asimilarbutless
pronouncedincreasewasobservedbyscreenwritergender.Movieswithafemalescreenwriter
attachedfeaturedmoregirls/womenonscreen(36.9%)thandidthosemovieswithonlymale
screenwritersattached(29.2%).25Thegenderoftheproducerwasnotassociatedwiththe
portrayalofgenderonscreen,however.26

Dr.StacyL.Smith

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Figure4
PercentageofFemaleCharactersOnScreenbyDirectorGender:2015

Female
Director

41%

NoFemale
Director

30.5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Thesefindingscanbeinterpretedinatleastafewways.Screenwritersanddirectorsmaytell
storiesthatreflecttheirownpersonalexperiences.Thisreflectstheadage,writewhatyou
know.Inthiscase,femalecontentcreatorsmaybeinterestedinandadvocateforstoriesby,
for,andaboutwomen.Anotherandmoreproblematicinterpretationoftheresultsalsoexists.
Itmaybethecasethatdecisionmakers(e.g.,agents,studioexecutives)aremorelikelytofeel
comfortablepitchingwomendirectorsfemaleratherthanmalecentricstories.Thisexplanation
isoppressive,withwomensemploymentopportunitiestodirectbeingdefinedbytheirgender
ratherthantheirstorytellingprowess.Aswewillseelater,thesamepatternemergeswithBlack
directorsandmovieswithBlackcasts.

Summingup,thissectionrevealedthatfewwomenworkbehindthecameraonfinancially
lucrativeHollywoodfilms.Onlyahandfuloffemaledirectorsandevenfewerfemale
composerswereattachedtothe800mostpopularmoviesbetween2007and2015(excluding
2011).Womenarenottheonlyonesshutoutoftheupperechelonsofpowerinthefilm
industry,however.PeopleofcolorandtheLGBTcommunityalsofaceanepidemicofinvisibility
aswewillseeinthenextsectionsofthereport.

Race/EthnicityOnScreen&BehindtheCamerainFilm
Eachspeakingornamedcharacterwascodedforrace/ethnicity.Ofthosecharacterswith
enoughcuestojudgethismeasure(n=3,975),73.7%wereWhite,12.2%Black,5.3%Latino,3.9%
Asian,<1%MiddleEastern,<1%AmericanIndian/AlaskanNative,<1%NativeHawaiian/Pacific
Islander,and3.6%Otherormixedrace.Together,atotalof26.3%ofallspeakingcharacters
werediverse.Giventhat45%ofmovieticketbuyersand38.4%oftheU.S.populationis
comprisedofindividualsfromunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgroups,filmsdonotreflectthe

Dr.StacyL.Smith

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17

demographyofthiscountryorthefilmaudience.27Inthissection,weexplorefourfactors
relatedtodiversity:leads/coleads,genre,distributionofspeakingroles,andgender.

Table11
PrevalenceofCharacterRace/EthnicityOnScreenbyYear:20072015

Year
White
Black
Latino
Asian
Other
2007
77.6%
13.0%
3.3%
3.4%
2.5%
2008
71.2%
13.2%
4.9%
7.1%
3.5%
2009
76.2%
14.7%
2.8%
4.7%
1.5%
2010
77.6%
10.3%
3.9%
5.0%
3.3%
2012
76.3%
10.8%
4.2%
5.0%
3.6%
2013
74.1%
14.1%
4.9%
4.4%
2.5%
2014
73.1%
12.5%
4.9%
5.3%
4.2%
2015
73.7%
12.2%
5.3%
3.9%
4.9%

Note:TheOthercolumnrepresentscharacterscodedMiddleEastern,AmericanIndian/AlaskanNative,Native
Hawaiian/PacificIslander,andmixedrace.Withineachyear,therowstotalto100%.

Intermsofleads/coleads,wewereinterestedinhowmanydiverseactorsappearedacrossthe
100topfilms.Here,themeasurefocusedontheactor'srace/ethnicityratherthanthecharacter.
Only14ofthemoviesdepictedanunderrepresentedleadorcolead.Nineoftheleads/coleads
wereBlack,oneLatino,andfourweremixedrace.Notoneleadorcoleadwasplayedbyan
Asianactor.

Theintersectionofgenderandrace/ethnicityamongleads/coleadswasalsoexplored.Only
threeoftheunderrepresentedleads/coleadswereplayedbyfemaleactors,theexactsame
numberin2014.Justoneoftheseactorswasanunderrepresentedfemale45yearsofageor
older.Focusingonthe11ensemblefilms,9ofthe46characters(19.6%)wereplayedbydiverse
actors.Clearly,thepercentageofmaincharactersdrivingthenarrativeinfilmswhetherleads
orensemblesissubstantiallylowerthantheU.S.populationstatistic(38.4%).

Turningtogenre,theprevalenceofunderrepresentedspeakingcharactersinthreedistinct
platformswasassessed.AsdepictedinTable12,only29.3%ofcharacterswerediversein
Action/Adventurefilms,27.3%inComedy,and13.2%inAnimation.BothAction/Adventureand
Animationhavedemonstrated5%orgreaterincreasessince2007.Nomeaningfulchangeshave
appearedinComedy.Itisimportanttonotethatin2014,afull33.5%ofspeakingcharactersin
animatedcontextswerefromunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgroups.Thishighpercentagelast
yearwasduetoanoverallincreaseindiversity,particularlyinonefilm(TheBookofLife).Given
thatmanyanimatedmoviestargetaudienceischildrenandtheirfamilies,thesefilmsmaybe
subtlyteachingand/orreinforcingthatnarrativesaboutpeopleofcolorandfemalesarenot
valuedinthesamewaythatstoriesaboutwhitemalesare.

Dr.StacyL.Smith

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Table12
PrevalenceofUnderrepresentedCharactersOnScreenbyFilmGenre:2007,2010,2015

ActionorAdventure

%ofunder
representedchars

2007

2010

Animation

Comedy

2015

2007

2010

2015

2007

2010

2015

21.5% 29.7% 29.3%

8.1%

1.5%

13.2%

23.1%

23.8%

27.3%

Note:ThepercentageofWhitespeakingcharacterscanbecomputedbysubtractingeachcellfrom100%.

Presentingoverallstatisticsmaymissimportantnuancespertainingtorace/ethnicityacrossthe
100topfilms.Asaresult,twoadditionalanalyseswereconductedtodigdeeperintothe
prevalenceofunderrepresentedcharactersonscreen.Thefirstisaninvisibilityanalysis.Here,
weassesshowmanyfilmsfailtoportrayatleastonecharacterfromeachofthefollowing
racial/ethnicgroups:Black,Latino,andAsian.Thesecondisadistributionanalysis.Thistest
showshowmanyfilmsportrayaparticularrace/ethnicityclose(+2%)totheU.S.Censuspoint
statistic.28

Table13
FilmsFocusingonBlack,Latino,&AsianCharacters:2015

Black
Latino
Asian
Measure
Characters Characters Characters
#offilmsmissingcharactersfromspecificrace/ethnicity
17
40
49
#offilmsw/proportionalrepresentation(+2%Census)
10
2
18
U.S.Census
13.3%
17.6%
5.6%
TotalFilmsEvaluated
100
100
100

Note:Thecolumnsdonotaddto100%.

Focusingoninvisibility,afull17%offilmsdidnotfeatureoneBlackorAfricanAmericanspeaking
ornamedcharacteronscreen(seeTable13).Thisnumberisidenticaltowhatwefoundin2013
and2014.Evenmoreproblematic,Latinosweremissingacross40moviesandAsiansacross49
films.ThenorminHollywoodisclearlyexclusion,asstorytellingsimplyfailstoincludeavariety
ofracial/ethnicgroupsonscreen.

Now,weturnourattentiontofictionalauthenticityorthepercentageofmovies+2percentage
pointsoftheU.S.Censuspointstatistic.AsshowninTable13,fewfilmsdepictracial/ethnic
groupsatornearproportionalrepresentation.Only2moviesfeaturedLatinocharactersin
roughly17%ofspeakingrolesonscreenand10filmsdepictedBlackcharactersinroughly13%of
speakingroles.Asiansfaredslightlybetter,as18moviesapproximatedfictionalauthenticity.

Dr.StacyL.Smith

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Thelastmeasureassessedinthissectionisgender.Thedistributionofmalesandfemaleswithin
thefivemajorracial/ethnicgroupsisshowninTable14.29FemalesfromOtherraces/ethnicities
weremorelikelytobedepictedonscreenthanWhite,Black,Latino,orAsianfemales.Black
girls/women(27.8%)weretheleastlikelyofallgroupstobedepictedacrossthe100topfilms.

Table14
CharacterRace/EthnicitybyGenderinTopGrossingFilms:2015

White
Black
Latino
Asian
Other
Gender
%ofmales
67.5%
72.2%
67.3%
70.7%
59.3%
%offemales
32.5%
27.8%
32.7%
29.3%
40.7%
Ratio
2.08to1
2.59to1
2.06to1
2.41to1
1.46to1

Intotal,thefindingsrevealthatHollywoodfilmscontinuetowhitewashstorytelling.Many
moviesstillfailtodepictBlack,Latino,orAsianspeakingcharactersonscreen.And,fewfilms
featuredthesethreegroupsatproportionalrepresentationwithU.S.Censusstatistics.Asian
leadsweremissinginactionin2015filmsaswellasunderrepresentedfemalesanddiverse
women45yearsofageorolder.Surely,Hollywoodistheculturalepicenterofexclusionaryhiring
practiceswhenitcomestopeopleofcolorandwomen.

OnScreenPortrayal

Domesticroles(parents,relationalpartners)aswellasthesexualizationmeasureswere
examinedacrossthefivemajorracial/ethnicgroups.Becauseofthepronounceddifferencesby
gendernotedearlier,allanalyseswereconductedonmalesandfemalesseparately.No
differencesonthedomesticitymeasuresemergedbyrace/ethnicitywithingender,saveone.30
Blackfemales(71.9%)werefarmorelikelytobedepictedascaregiversorparentsthanfemales
fromallotherraces/ethnicities.WhencomparedtoWhitewomen(43.4%),Latinaswere(55%)
morelikelytobeportrayedasmothersthanwereAsianwomen(38.5%)orwomenfromOther
races/ethnicities(36.8%).

Table15
SexualizationofFemaleCharactersbyRace/EthnicityOnScreen:2015

Measures
White
Black
Latina
Asian
Other
%insexyattire
30.9%
26.9%
31.9%
32.6%
35.4%
%w/somenudity
29.7%
25.2%
29%
34.8%
35.4%
%referencedattractive
13.7%
7.4%
10.1%
4.3%
17.7%

Note:TheOthercolumnrepresentscharacterscodedMiddleEastern,AmericanIndian/AlaskanNative,Native
Hawaiian/PacificIslander,andmixedrace.Foreachcell,thetotalsubtractedfrom100%revealstheproportion
withinarace/ethnicitywithouttheattributeinquestion.

Dr.StacyL.Smith

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20

Focusingonfemalesexualization,noneofthethreemeasuresvariedbyrace/ethnicity(seeTable
15).31Formalesexualization,race/ethnicitywasassociatedwithsexuallyrevealingattireand
nuditybutnotattractiveness.32LatinosandmalesfromOtherraces/ethnicitiesweremorelikely
tobedepictedinsexyattirethanWhiteorAsianmales.Asomewhatsimilarpatternwas
documentedfornudity.Latinosandboys/menfromOtherracial/ethnicgroupsweremorelikely
tobeshownwithsomenuditythanBlack,White,orAsianboys/men.Itshouldbenotedthatthe
leastlikelygrouptobesexualizedisAsianmales,whichisconsistentwithstereotypingliterature
andcommentaryabouthowthisparticulargrouphasbeenshowninmedia.

Table16
SexualizationofMaleCharactersbyRace/EthnicityOnScreen:2015

Measures
White
Black
Latino
Asian
Other
%insexyattire
6.6%
9.1%
12.7%
5.4%
13%
%w/somenudity
9.1%
8%
15.5%
5.4%
17.4%
%referencedattractive
3.8%
3.1%
4.2%
2.7%
6.1%

Note:TheOthercolumnrepresentscharacterscodedMiddleEastern,AmericanIndian/AlaskanNative,Native
Hawaiian/PacificIslander,andmixedrace.Foreachcell,thetotalsubtractedfrom100%revealstheproportion
withinarace/ethnicitywithouttheattributeinquestion.

Wrappinguponscreenportrayals,theresultsrevealthatpeopleofcolorarestereotypedalong
genderlines.Femalesexualizationwasprevalentacrossalldiversegroupsexamined.Similarto
earlierinthereport,wenowlookbehindthecameratoexaminewhogetsaccesstothe
director'schairacrosstwospecificraces.

BehindtheCamera

Everyyear,wehaveexaminedthenumberandpercentageofBlackdirectorsworkingacrossthe
100topfilms.Asindicatedabove,atotalof107directorswereattachedtothemostpopular
films.OnlyfourofthosedirectorswereBlack(F.GaryGray,RyanCoogler,AntoineFuqua,
GeorgeTillman,Jr.).NoneoftheseBlackdirectorswerewomen.Matteroffact,all8women
directingmotionpicturesinthe2015samplewereWhite.

Examiningovertimetrendsrevealstheseverityofexclusionaryhiringpractices.Across886
directors,only5.5%(n=49)wereBlack.Thevastmajorityweremale.Only3Blackwomenhave
directedoneofthe800topfilmsfrom2007to2015.Thoughnotcapturedinthisreport,
including2011doesnotchangethestatusquo.NoBlackwomendirectedacrossthe100top
filmsthatyeareither.

Dr.StacyL.Smith

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21

Table17
BlackDirectorsbyYear:20072015

BlackDirectors
%ofmaledirectors
%offemaledirectors
Total#ofdirectors

2007
7.1%
(n=8)
0
112

2008
4.5%
(n=5)
1.8%
(n=2)

2009
6.3%
(n=7)

2010
4.6%
(n=5)

2012
4.9%
(n=6)

2013
6.5%
(n=7)

112

111

109

121

107

2014
3.7%
(n=4)
<1%
(n=1)
107

2015 Total
3.7% 5.2%
(n=4) (n=46)
<1%
0
(n=3)
107

886

Now,weexaminewhetherhavingaBlackdirectorassociatedwithafilm(no,yes)isrelatedto
theprevalenceofBlackcharactersonscreen.Tothisend,welookedatthepercentageof
speakingornamedcharactersthatwereBlackinfilmswithandwithoutaBlackdirector
attached.Theanalysiswassignificant.33FilmswithBlackdirectorsdepictedsubstantiallymore
Blackcharactersonscreen(39%)thandidthosefilmswithoutaBlackdirectorattached(10.4%).
Theseanalysesshouldbeinterpretedwithcaution,duetothesmallnumberofmovieswitha
Blackdirector(n=4).

Figure5
PercentageofBlackCharactersbyDirectorRace:2015

39%

40%

30%

20%
10.4%
10%

0%
NoBlackDirector

BlackDirector

%ofBlackCharacters

Thesefindings,aswellastheonesnotedaboveondirectorgender,canbeinterpretedinatleast
afewways.Individualsmaytellstoriesthatreflecttheirownexperiencesortheymaybegiven
opportunitiesbasedontheirsalientsocialidentities(e.g.,gender,race/ethnicity,LGBT).Or,it
Dr.StacyL.Smith

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22

maybeacombinationofbothofthesefactors.Despitethistheorizing,onethingisclear.
Hollywoodisreticenttohiredirectorsthatdeviatefromthestatusquoorwhitemaleprototype.
Toroundoutthediscussiononrace,weconductedoneadditionalanalysis.Thenumberand
percentageofAsiandirectorswasassessed.Only5.6%(n=6)directorswereAsianacrossthe100
topfilmsof2015(seeTable18).Whilethisrepresentsanincreasefrom2014,thenumberand
percentageisidenticalto2013.NofemaledirectorswereAsianacross800moviestheatrically
releasedfrom2007to2015,saveone.Ifthetopfilmsof2011wereincludedinoursampleof
films,thenumberwouldincreaseto2.

Table18
AsianDirectorsbyYear:20072015

AsianDirectors
2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 Total
2.7% 1.8% <1% 3.7% 1.6% 5.6%
5.6% 2.7%
%ofmaledirectors
0
(n=3) (n=2) (n=1) (n=4) (n=2) (n=6)
(n=6) (n=24)
<1%
<1%
%offemaledirectors
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
(n=1)
(n=1)
Total#ofdirectors

112

112

111

109

121

107

107

107

886

Thelackofinclusionbehindthecameraisalarming.Fewracial/ethnicminoritiesshoutaction
fromthedirector'schair.And,theoneshiredintheseprestigiouspostswerealmostalways
male.Toreiterate,only3Blackand1Asianfemaledirectorswereattachedtothe800most
popularfilmsfrom2007to2015.Aswemovefromrace/ethnicitytoLGBT,wewillcontinueto
seetheexclusionofdiversevoicesonscreen.

Lesbian,Gay,Bisexual,&TransgenderCharactersinFilm

Only32characters(<1%)werecharacterizedaslesbian,gay,bisexualortransgenderacrossthe
sampleof100topfilmsof2015.Thisisanincreaseof13portrayalsfromour2014report(see
Table19).Justonetransgendercharacter(3.1%)appearedsamplewide,whichisaslight
increasefromlastyear.ThemajorityofLGBportrayalsfeaturedgaymen(59.4%,n=19),followed
bylesbians(21.9%,n=7),andbisexuals(15.6%,n=5,3males,2females).Giventhat3.5%ofthe
U.S.populationidentifiesasLGB,thefilmindustryisclearlyunderindexingoninclusionofthis
community.34

Table19
LGBTPortrayals:20142015

Year
Lesbian
Gay
Bisexual
Transgender
Total
2014
4
10
5
0
19
2015
7
19
5
1
32

Dr.StacyL.Smith

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TheroleofLGBTcharactersalsowasevaluated.MostoftheLGBTcharacterscodedwere
inconsequentialtotheplot(71.9%),withonly9or28.1%insupportingroles.Notoneleadorco
leadwasLGBTidentifiedacrosstheentiresampleof100topfilmsof2015.82%ofthemoviesin
thesampledidnotdepictoneLGBTspeakingornamedcharacter.

Turningtodemographics,thegender,race/ethnicityandageofeveryLGBTcharacterwas
assessed.Nearlythreequartersweremale(68.8%)and31.2%werefemale.Moreracial/ethnic
diversitywasfoundacrossLGBTcharactersthansamplewide.Justover40%(40.6%)ofLGBT
characterswerefromanunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgroup.Thismatchestheproportionof
underrepresentedindividualsintheU.S.population.

Intermsofage,thevastmajorityofLGBTcharacters(93.3%)wereshownintheiryoungadult
(21to39yrsofage)ormiddleageyears(40to64yrsofage).Onlyoneteenagedcharacter
wasdepictedasgayacrosstheentiresampleandthisrolewascompletelyinconsequentialto
theplot.ShowingstoriesinvolvingLGBTadolescentsisimportantfortheyoungmenandwomen
comingofageinthiscountry.IntegratingLGBTyouthintoourculturalnarrativesmayprovide
importantmediatedpeersandrolemodelsforyoungerfilmconsumers.

ThedomesticandromanticlivesofLGBTcharactersalsorevealedaconflictedstory.Intermsof
theirromanticlives,justovertwothirds(68.2%)ofthosecharactersthathadenough
informationtobeevaluatedweremarriedorshownincommittedrelationships.Thisisinline
withadvancesmadeonmarriageequalityintheU.S.Whenitcomestoparentalrelationships,
however,thepictureismoreproblematic.OnlytwoLGBTparentsweredepictedacrossthe100
topfilmsof2015.Bothcharacterswerelesbiansandappearinonemovie.Thisexclusivefocus
oncaregivingleavesthemanyLGBTfamiliesraisingchildrenincommunitiesacrosstheU.S.out
ofthescene.

Onceagain,thesefindingsrevealthatwhenitcomestothedemographicprofileoftheU.S.,
Hollywoodiscroppinggroupsoutofthepicture.Lessthan1%ofthecharacterslastyearwere
depictedasLGBT,andmostwerecompletelyinconsequentialtotheplot.Despitepoliticaland
legalgainsmadebytheLGBTcommunity,agapstillremainsbetweenthepresenceofLGBT
individualsinthepopulationandwhoisseenonscreen.

CharacterswithDisabilitiesinFilm
Forthefirsttimethisyear,theMDSCInitiativehasincorporatedaqualitativeanalysisof
characterswithdisabilitiesintothereport.Themeasurewascraftedafterexistingdefinitionsof
disabilitywerescouredfromlegal,academic,andmedicalarenasaswellasreportsbyadvocacy
groups.35Ultimately,anadjustedandslightlymoreconservativeversionofthedefinition
providedbytheAmericanswithDisabilitiesAct(ADA)wasutilizedtoassesswhethercharacters
wereshownwithadisability.36ThisapproachisconsistentwithGLAADsreportaswellasthe
recentanalysisbyRudermanFamilyFoundation.37

Dr.StacyL.Smith

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OuradaptedADAdefinitionhadthreemajorcomponents.Thefirstwasthepresenceofa
conditionthataffectedtheform,function,orstructureofacharactersbody.Second,the
conditionledtoacurrentrestrictionofmajorlifeactivitiesormajorbodilyfunctions.38Thethird
wasthattheconditionand/orrestrictionfacedbythecharacterwaspermanentorexpectedto
endureforatleastsixmonths.39Additionally,addictionwasexcludedfromthepresentanalysis
giventhedifficultyinmeasurement.Bystipulation,celestialbeings,theundead,androbotswere
notallowedtopossessadisability.40
Withthisdefinition,howmanycharacterswithdisabilitywereshownacrossthe100topfilms?
Afterremovingsupernaturaldisabilities(n=11),only2.4%ofallspeakingornamedcharacters
(n=105)wereshownwithadisability.Thispointstatisticissurprising,giventhat18.7%ofthe
U.S.populationreportshavingadisability.41

Tenofthefilmsfeaturedaleading/coleadingcharacterwithadisabilityacrossthe100topfilms.
FourofthesecharactershadPTSD,withthefocusvaryingfromoneminorscenetoan
interwovenstorylineacrosstheentirenarrative.Onlythreeoftheleads/coleadsfeatured
womenandnotonewas45yearsofageorolder,underrepresented,orpartoftheLGBT
community.Only2ofthe11ensemblefilmsdepictedaprimarycharacterwithadisability.Both
ofthesecharactersweremaleandonewasunderrepresented.Overall,thevastmajorityof
characterswithdisabilitywerefeaturedinsupporting(54.3%)orinconsequentialroles(32.4%).

Intermsofvisibility,afull45ofthemoviesfailedtodepictonecharacterwithadisabilityand
onlytwowereatproportionalrepresentation(seeTable20).Mostoftheportrayalsappearedin
Action/Adventurefilms(33.3%)followedbyComedies(24.8%),andDramas(19%).Only2%ofall
characterswithdisabilitiesappearedinAnimatedmovies.Thelatterfindingisproblematic,
suggestingthatcontenttargetingtheyoungestviewersallbuterasesthiscommunity.

Table20
FilmsFocusingonCharacterswithDisabilities

Characters
Measure
w/Disabilities
#offilmsmissingcharactersw/disabilities
45
#offilmsw/proportionalrepresentation(+2%Census)
2
U.S.Census
18.7%
TotalFilmsEvaluated
100

EachcharacterwithadisabilitywascategorizedintotheU.S.Censusdomains.42Themost
commonportrayalofcharacterdisabilityfellintothephysicaldomainorconditions/restrictions
relatedtomovementorfunctionsofthebodyanditsorgans.Afull61%ofthecharacterswere
featuredwithaphysicaldisability.Examplesinclude,butarenotlimitedto,mobility
impairments,severefacialdisfigurement,nonHodgkin'slymphoma,andChronicTraumatic
Encephalopathy.
Dr.StacyL.Smith

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Thenextmostfrequentportrayalincludedamentalorcognitivedisability,accountingfor37.1%
ofportrayals.Instancesofthesedisabilitiesinclude,butarenotlimitedto,PostTraumaticStress
Disorder(PTSD),AttentionDeficitHyperactivityDisorder(ADHD),cognitiveimpairment,and
dyslexia.Communicativedisabilitiesaccountedfor18.1%ofcharacterportrayals(i.e.,blind,deaf,
speechimpediment).Itmustbenotedthatthepercentagesacrossdomainsdonotaddto100%
assomecharactershaddisabilitiesthatspanneddifferentcategories.

Turningtothedemographicsofcharacterswithdisability,thepictureisquiteskewed.Interms
ofgender,only19%ofcharacterswithadisabilitywerefemaleand81%weremale.Thisisanew
lowforgenderinequalityinfilm.Afull71.7%ofcharacterswithdisabilitywereWhiteand28.3%
werefromunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgroups.Onlytwocharacterswithadisabilitywere
children(0to12yrsofage)andalmosthalf(49%)ofallportrayalsdepictedcharacters40years
ofageorolder.NotoneLGBTcharacterwithadisabilitywasportrayedacrossthe100topfilms
of2015.

Summingup,theportrayalofcharacterswithdisabilityisoutoflinewithpopulationnormsin
theU.S.Basedonthedefinition,only2.4%ofcharactersweredepictedwithoneormorenon
supernaturaldisabilities.

Conclusion

Examiningthe100topgrossingmoviesfrom2015revealsthatinequalityisanindustrynormin
film.Acrossgender,race/ethnicity,LGBTstatus,andcharacterswithdisabilities,itisclearthat
despiteadvocacyandgoodintentions,changeremainsdifficulttoachieve.Theresultsofthis
annualinvestigationarebothstartlingandconsistentwithpreviousyears.Below,majorfindings,
solutions,andlimitationsarepresented.

#1ProportionalRepresentationisFarFromaRealityinFilm

ThefirstmajorfindingisthatHollywoodsdepictionsoffemales,peopleofcolor,theLGBT
community,andcharacterswithdisabilitiesremainoutofstepwithpopulationnorms(seeTable
21).Femaleswerestilllessthanonethirdofallspeakingcharactersinfilm,despitebeingroughly
halfthepopulationandhalfofmovieticketbuyers.43Charactersfromunderrepresented
racial/ethniccommunitieswerealsomarginalized.Just26.3%ofallcharacterswerefroman
underrepresentedracialand/orethnicgroup,whichis12.1%lessthanintheU.S.population.
Withhalfofchildrenunderage5intheU.S.fromanunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgroup,44
Hollywoodmustrecognizeandaddressthegapbetweenwhoappearsonscreenandthe
populationofcurrentandfuturemoviegoersinthiscountry.

ForindividualswhoareLGBTand/orlivingwithadisability,filmisalsoarepresentational
wilderness.TheuptickobservedinthenumberofLGBTportrayalsin2015isasmallpositivestep
intherightdirection.But,italsoilluminatesthatthefictionalLGBTcommunityisnowherenear
proportionaltotheU.S.population.Thepercentageoffilmcharacterswithadisabilityalsofalls
Dr.StacyL.Smith

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wellbelowthepointstatisticofAmericanslivingwithadisabilityintheU.S.45Bothofthese
vibrantandvariedcommunitiesfindthemselveserasedwhenitcomestofilmportrayals.

#2AnEpidemicofInvisibilityisAliveandWellinFilm

Whileexaminingcharactersacrossfilmsallowsforpopulationcomparisons,understandinghow
oftendifferentgroupsareabsentaltogetherfromthescreeniscrucial.Fortyninefilmsdidnot
featureevenoneAsianorAsianAmericanspeakingornamedcharacter.Similarly,40castno
speakingornamedHispanic/Latinocharacters,and17depictednotoneBlackorAfrican
Americanspeakingornamedcharacter.IntermsofLGBT,82filmsdidnothaveonecharacter
fromthiscommunity.Characterswithadisabilitywereabsentfrom45ofthetopmoviesin
2015.ThesefiguresrevealthatHollywoodstillisolatesportrayalsofdifferentgroupsintocertain
moviesratherthanintegratingarangeofportrayalsandexperiencesacrossslatesofcontent.

Table21providesanoverviewofthedisparitybetweenonscreenandproportional
representation.Thechartrevealsthedepthandbreadthofexclusionfacedbydifferentgroups
whenitcomestofilm.Whileitmaybetemptingtofocusonasinglecategory,itisclearthat
anyonewhoisnotastraight,white,ablebodiedmaleismarginalizedincinema.

Table21
TheEpidemicofInvisibilityAcross6Groups

Films
Difference
%ofSpeaking
U.S.
UnderservedGroups
w/OutAny
(Population
Characters
Population
Characters)
Characters
Females
0
31.4%
50.8%
19.4%
Peoplew/Disabilities
45
2.4%
18.7%
16.3%
Hispanic/Latinos
40
5.3%
17.6%
12.3%
LGBs
82
<1%
3.5%
3.49%
Asians
49
3.9%
5.6%
1.7%
Black/AfricanAmericans
17
12.2%
13.3%
1.1%

Note:U.S.CensuswasusedforallgroupsexceptLGB.ThelatterpointstatisticwasfromWilliamsInstitute(2011).

#3LeadsandLessProminentCharactersMustBothbeTackled

In2015,therewasanincreaseinthenumberoffilmswithafemaleleadorcoleadcharacter,
bothoverallandforwomenage45andolder.However,thispositivetrendisnotapanacea.
Thoughtherearemorefemalesatthecenteroftheaction,therearestillfewwomenfrom
underrepresentedracial/ethnicgroups,andjustoneunderrepresentedfemalelead45yearsof
ageorolder.TherewerealsonoleadorcoleadcharactersidentifiedasLGBT.Decidingwho
shouldanchorastoryisimbuedwithfinancialconsiderations.Advocacyonthecastingof
womeninleadingrolesmustaskforamoreinclusiveapproach.

Dr.StacyL.Smith

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Additionally,theshiftinfemaleleadsandcoleadsdoesnotreflectalargertrendinoverall
speakingcharacters.Castingmalesinleadrolesmayrestonexplicitbiases,46whilethepersistent
inequalitythatexcludeswomenfromsmallrolesislikelygovernedbyimplicitbiases.These
preferencesmayoriginatewhencharactersareconceivedandlinkedtodifferentoccupationsin
scriptdevelopment.Castingdirectorsinthehiringprocessmayperpetuatethem.Forinstance,
whenwritersthinkofaparticularcareer(e.g.,policeofficer,physicist)thismaybringtomindthe
imageofamalemorequicklythanthatofafemale.Castingdirectorsmaybereluctantorunable
toauditionorhirefemalesfortheserolesoncetheyarewrittenformen.Onewaytoaddressthe
representationalgapsacrossgroupsistoequipindustrymemberswiththeknowledgeofand
specificandempiricallyverifiedtoolstocombatimplicitbiases.

#4BehindtheCameraisBehindtheTimes

Thelackoffemaledirectorshasbeenasourceofmuchreporting,advocacy,andactivismover
thelastfewyears.Thishasyettoresultinmeaningfulchange.Femalesfilledjustunderonefifth
ofabovethelinerolesasdirectors,writers,andproducersin2015.Although7.5%ofdirectors
werefemale,thishasnoteclipsedthehighreachedin2008.BlackandAsiandirectorsalsomade
littleprogressin2015.Moreover,femalesfromthesegroupswerescarceamongtheranksof
top100filmdirectors.OnlythreeBlackwomenandoneAsianwomandirectedfilmsacrossthe
800moviesincludedinthisstudyanumberthatremainsunchangedfromlastyear.Itis
imperativethateffortstoimprovethenumberoffemaledirectorsareinclusiveofallfemales,
includingwomenofcolor.

Forthefirsttime,thisreportincludesanexaminationoffemalefilmcomposers.Thesefindings
revealthatwomenarevastlyunderrepresentedinthisrole.Justahandfulofwomenhave
workedascomposersacrossthe800topfilmsexamined.Whiledirectorshavedrawnthe
majorityofattentionfromadvocates,itisclearfilmcomposingisanevenmoreproblematic
spaceforwomeninthisindustry.

#5PortrayalsofDisabilityareDisconcerting

Theadditionofdisabilitymeasurestothereportthisyearallowsforanimportantintersectional
analysis.Althoughnearly20%oftheU.S.populationreportslivingwithadisability,film
portrayalsfellfarbelowthatatjust2.4%.However,thisisjustpartofthestory.Whileasmall
fractionofcharactersappearwithdisabilitiesinfilm,theseindividualswereoverwhelmingly
whitemales,andnotonewasLGBT.Forfemales,itisclearthatHollywoodspreferenceskews
towardyouth,beauty,andability.Giventhanjust19%ofthecharacterswithadisabilitywere
femaleandfilmsrelianceonstereotypingandsexualization,themessagedeliveredtoyoung
femaleviewersisdisconcerting.Depictionsofdisabilityarenotonlymarginalized,theyalso
obscurethetruediversityofthiscommunity.

Characterswithdisabilitieswerealsoprimarilydepictedinsupportingorinconsequentialroles.
Inlinewiththefindingsonleadingcharactersfromunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgroupsand
thoseidentifiedasLGBT,characterswithdisabilitiesarenotatthecenteroftheaction.This
Dr.StacyL.Smith

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exclusionofdifferentgroupshomogenizesthestoriesthataretoldandwhocanparticipate.It
alsodiscountstheexperiencesandperspectivesofindividualslivingwithdisabilitywhoidentify
withotherunderrepresentedgroups.Ultimately,filmensuresthataverynarrowsliceofthe
communityisallthatviewerssee.

#6SolutionsforChangeareSimplebutScarce

TheintensescrutinyonHollywoodoverthepastseveralyearshasplacedtheAcademyAwardsin
thecrosshairsofadvocates,mostnotablythroughthe#OscarsSoWhitecampaign.However,the
datainthisreportrevealthatproblemsbeginmuchearlierandaffecttheentireentertainment
ecosystem.Toaddresstheongoinginequalityfacedonscreenandbehindthecamera,simple
andstrategicsolutionsarerequired.Thesesolutionsmustconquertwoofthemajorbarriersto
amoreinclusivefilmenvironment:alackofimaginationandawillingnesstochange.

Toaddressthelackoffemalecharactersoverall,onesimplesolutionistojustaddfivefemale
speakingcharacterstoeveryfilminthetop100.Theaveragefeaturefilmhasapproximately40
characters.Ofthose,onlyahandfularecentraltothemainstory(i.e.,leadorsupporting).
Addingsmallpartsforfemalestofilmsinproductionwillraisetheoverallpercentageoffemale
characters,settinganewoverallnorm.Byadoptingthistactic,thefilmindustrycanreachoverall
genderparityinjustthreeyears(seeFigure6).Additionally,thisstrategybolstersthepipelinefor
femaletalentandensuresthatfilmsetsaremoreinclusivewhenitcomestogender.
Importantly,thisstrategyneednotonlyincreasethepercentageofWhitefemalecharacters,but
femalesfromunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgroups,lesbiancharacters,orfemalecharacters
withdisabilities.Finally,thestrategydoesnottakeemploymentopportunitiesawayfrommales,
itsimplycreatesadditionalprospectsforfemales.

Figure6
PercentageofSpeakingRolesbyGender:JustAddFive
80%
68.6%

61.6%

55.9%

60%

51.1%

40%

48.9%

44.1%
38.4%

20%

31.4%

Males
Females

0%
2015

2016

2017

Dr.StacyL.Smith

2018

September2016

29

Asecondsolutiondesignedtoimproverepresentationamongallspeakingcharactersisfortop
talenttoaddanequityridertotheircontracts.Thisclausewouldstipulatethatfictional
authenticityshouldbeachievedinthecastingprocesswhenitissensibleforthestory.
Addressinginequalityfromalegalperspectivesetsanexpectationforaccountabilityandoffers
anobjectivestandardtobemet.PaulFeigisoneindividualtohavepubliclyexpressedsupport
fortheideaofalteringcontractswithanequityrider.47Byensuringthatinclusivecastingisa
recognizedgoal,progresscanbetrackedandchangecanbemade.

Bothinfrontofandbehindthecamera,entertainmentcompaniesmustmakespecificandpublic
goalsforchange.Whilerecognitionoftheproblemandtheneedtodobetterareimportant,
goalsettingdemonstratesacommitmenttoprogress.Forinstance,FXCEOJohnLandgraf
recentlystatedhisnetworksdesiretoenactquantumchangeinbehindthecamerahiring
practices.48Announcinginclusiongoalsalsoallowsthepublic,advocates,andevenindustry
memberstoholdorganizationsaccountableforthepledgestheymake.

Itisimportanttonoteafewlimitationspertainingtothecurrentinvestigation.Themeasureof
disabilityinthisstudywasqualitativeinnatureandwasdefinedbroadly.Whilefutureresearch
mayrelyuponaquantitativemethod,thechallengesofassessingfictionalcontentforcues
relatedtodisabilityrequiredamorenuancedapproach.Adifferentdefinitionofdisabilitywould
likelyalterthefindings.Itisalsoimportanttoconsiderwhetherportrayalsofdisabilityincrease
ordecreaseovertime.Thefilmsassessedin2015maybeuniqueasaresultofchoicesby
creativetalent(i.e.,MadMax:FuryRoad),orduetoafocusontopics(i.e.,Concussion)relatedto
disability.

Informationrelatedtoactorswasnotassessedforthedisabilityanalysis.Ensuringthatactors
withdisabilitieshaveaccesstorolesthatrepresenttheircommunityisacrucialsteptoward
entertainmentequality.Futurestudiesshouldconsiderwhetheractorswithdisabilitiesarehired
toportraycharacterswithdisabilitiesonscreen.Finally,onlythe100topfilmsfrom2015were
examined.Giventhatthetop100filmsmayinvolvesignificantallocationoffinancialresources
andarepopularamongstaudiences,thesefilmsareimportanttoassess.However,filmsoutside
thetop100mightdepictamorediverserangeofcharactersorbemoreinclusivebehindthe
camera.

Thesuccessofparticularmoviesin2015initiallyleftsomeindividualshopefulaboutthe
potentialforimprovedrepresentationinfilm.Theresultsofthisinvestigationpointtoa
misplacedoptimismregardingHollywoodsachievements.Despitethelackofprogressobserved,
itiscrucialtocontinuetoadvocateforchange.Byadoptingpracticalsolutionsthateliminate
biasandrewardinclusion,Hollywoodcanbecomeanindustrythatreflectsitsconsumers.

Dr.StacyL.Smith

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Footnotes
1.

Forlastyearsreport,see:Smith,S.L.,Choueiti,M.,Pieper,K.,Gillig,T.,Lee,C.,&DeLuca,D.(2015).
Inequalityin700PopularFilms:ExaminingPortrayalsofGender,Race,&LGBTStatusfrom20072014.
Media,Diversity,&SocialChangeInitiative,USCAnnenberg.See:
http://annenberg.usc.edu/pages/~/media/MDSCI/Inequality%20in%20700%20Popular%20Films%208215
%20Final%20for%20Posting.ashx

2.
Thesampleof100topgrossingfilmsof2015wasbasedondomesticboxofficeperformanceas
reportedbyBoxOfficeMojo(http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2015&p=.htm).

3.
Ourmajorunitofanalysisistheindependentspeakingcharacter.Characterswhoutteroneormore
wordsdiscerniblyonscreen,orarereferredtobyname,constitutetheprimaryunitofanalysis.In
additiontospeakingornamedcharacters,thefilmisalsoaunitofanalysis.

Therearetimesinfeaturefilmswhencharactersingroupsspeaksimultaneously(e.g.,ashoutingcrowd
atasportingevent)orsequentially(e.g.,apolicesquad,firefighters)thataffecthowtheyareunitized.
Simultaneousspeechdoesnotmeetthedefinitionofindependenceandthusisnotcoded.Characters
thatwereidentical(makingtheirindependentidentityimpossibletoascertain)butspokeseparatelywere
groupedintooneunitorlineforcodingpurposes.Only16groupswerefoundacrossthesample,which
fallswithintherangeofgroupsfrompreviousyearsexamined(low=3,high=30).Groupswerenot
includedinanyoftheanalyses,however.

Intermsofunitizing,eachspeakingornamedcharacterrepresentedonelineofdata.Aswithallour
reports,anewlineofdatawasenteredwhencharacterschangedtype,agegrouping,sex,or
race/ethnicity(e.g.,GenieinAladdin,BruceBannerinTheHulk)acrosstheplot.Only197demographic
changeswereobservedsamplewide.39.6%ofalldemographicchangeswerefemalesand60.4%were
males.Removingdemographicchangesfromthetotalnumberofcharacterlineshaslittleimpactonthe
distributionofgenderinthesample(69%male,31%female).Assuch,alldemographicchangeswereleft
intheanalysesunlessreportedotherwisebelow.

4.
Everyspeakingcharacterwasevaluatedacrossaseriesofcharacteristics.Wewillonlybrieflysummarize
themeasureswehaveusedinpreviousyearlyreports.Formoreinformation,pleasevisitourresearch
briefingshousedonourMDSCInitiativewebsite:http://annenberg.usc.edu/pages/DrStacyLSmithMDSCI

Intermsofdemographicsanddomesticity,weassessedacharactersrole(i.e.,primary,secondary,
tertiary)type(i.e.,human,animal,supernaturalcreature,anthropomorphizedsupernaturalcreature,
anthropomorphizedanimal),age(i.e.,05,612,1320,2139,4064,65orolder),sex(i.e.,male,female),
race/ethnicity(i.e.,White,Black,Hispanic/Latino,AmericanIndian/AlaskanNative,Native
Hawaiian/PacificIslander,Asian,MiddleEastern,Other/Mixedrace),parentalstatus(i.e.,notaparent,
singleparent,coparent,parentrelationalstatusunknown),andrelationalstanding(i.e.,single,married,
committedrelationship/unmarried,committed,maritalstatusunknown,divorced,widowed).

Charactersexualizationwascapturedwiththreemeasures.First,sexuallyrevealingattirewasassessed.
UsingDowns&Smith's(2010,p.725)definition,sexyattire(no,yes)referredtotightand/oralluring
apparelthathighlightstheshapeofthetorso.Next,thedegreeofnuditywasmeasured.Nudityreferred
totheamountofskinshowingonacharactersbodyfromthemidchestregiontothehighupperthigh
region.Thecodeswerenone(i.e.,noexposedskinfrommidchesttoupperthigh),some(i.e.,skin
Dr.StacyL.Smith

September2016

31

exposedincleavage,stomach/midriff,and/orupperthigharea),orfull(i.e.,completeexposureofthe
skinincludingwithtransparentclothingfromthemiddleofthechesttothehighregionofthethighsas
wellasthedepictionofbreastsforfemalecharacters).Screenshotsofsexuallyrevealingclothingand
nudityweretakentolegitimateandvalidatecodingdecisionsonthesemeasures.
Attractivenesswasmeasuredbycapturingcharactersphysicaldesirousness,whichwasdemarcatedby
othercharactersverbal(e.g.,heisababe)andnonverbal(e.g.,staringatanothercharacter,lickinglips)
referencesinthestory.Attractivenesshadthreelevels:none,onereference,ortwoormorereferences.
Itmustbenotedthatwhileeverycharacterwasassessedforattractiveness,onlythosewithahumanor
humanlikebodywereevaluatedforsexuallyrevealingattireandnudity.

Mostmeasurescontainedtwoadditionalcodes:canttellandnotapplicable.Canttellreferredto
thosecharacteristicswherenotenoughinformationwasgiventomakeajudgment.Forexample,a
charactermayonlysayonewordinacoffeeshopmakingparentalstatusand/orrelationalstanding
impossibletoascertain.Notapplicable,ontheotherhand,wasusedwhentheattributeevaluateddid
notapplytothecharacterbeingcoded.Forinstance,animalsthatonlyhavefurandexistincommunities
withoutclothingnormsforcoveringtheirbodieswouldbecodedasnotapplicableonsexuallyrevealing
attireandnudity.

Sexualityandgenderidentitywereevaluatedaswell.Apparentsexualitywasdefinedastheenduring
romanticandsexualproclivitytowardmen,women,orbothsexes.Tobeincluded,theseattractions
neededtobevoluntary,persistent,andauthenticforeachcharacter.Intheabsenceofdirectinformation
intheplot,atleasttwoindirectcueswereneededtoincludeaportrayal.Characterswerecodedas
lesbian,gay,bisexual,ornot.Stateddifferently,wedidnotmeasureheterosexuality.
Characterswerecodedastransgenderiftheyidentifyasthegenderoppositetheirbiologicalsex.This
excludedanyinstancesofcrossdressing,performanceindrag,andcharactersthatidentifyasgender
nonconforming.Anyknowntransgenderindividuals(e.g.,CatelynJenner)whoappearasthemselves
werecodedastransgender.

Eachmoviewasalsoevaluatedforattributesofstorytelling.Attheendofeachfilm,thecoderassessed
ratingaswellasthenatureofthestorytold(i.e.,lead,colead,ensemblecast).Becauseofthedifficulty
codershaveindeterminingstorystructure,theleadershipteamoftheMDSCInitiativewereinvolvedin
renderingjudgmentsaboutstoryleads/coleadsorwhetherthenarrativewascarriedbyanensemble
cast.GenreandratingjudgmentswerederivedfromonlinesourcessuchasIMDbPro,BoxOfficeMojo,
andVarietyInsight.

Priortocoding,allofourresearchassistants(RAs)weretrainedforroughly6weeksinaclassroomtype
settingbyoneofthestudyauthors(Choueiti).Twodifferentgroups,oneintheFallof2015andtheother
intheSpringof2016,participatedincodingthemajorityofthemeasures.Datacollectionandreliability
measuresarereporteduniformlyacrossthetwogroups.TheRAswerealsogiventrainingdiagnosticsto
testtheirunderstandingandapplicationofunitizingandvariablecoding.Aftermorethan6diagnostics,
theentiregroupbegancodingthesampleof100films.Filmswereassignedtothreeevaluatorsthat
assessedthecontentindependently.Reliabilitywasrunperfilmanddisagreementswereresolvedvia
discussionwithoneoftheMDSCInitiativeleadershipteam.Afterthedisagreementswerefinalized,the
filmwaswatchedatleastoneadditionaltimeandunitizingandvariablecodingwasqualitychecked
acrossthestory.Atthispoint,thequalitycheckercouldoverturnpreviousdecisions.Also,membersof
theMDSCInitiativeleadershipteamcouldupendanyinvalidcodingjudgmentsbythestudentresearch
Dr.StacyL.Smith

September2016

32

assistants.Thisprocessreferstothequantitativeassessmentofgender,race/ethnicity,andLGBTonly.
Disabilitywillbediscussedbelow.

Foreachfilm,twotypesofreliabilitywereassessed:unitizingandvariablecoding.Unitizingagreement
capturedthenumberoflinesperfilmthatwereagreeduponby2ofthe3coders(or,inthecaseofone
film,3ofthe4coders).Thehigherpercentagesindicategreateragreementinidentifyingspeaking
characters.Agreementisreportedatthefilmlevelinquartiles:Q1100%90%(films125);Q289.2%
85.7%(films2650);Q385.7%80.6%(films5175);Q480.4%60%(films76100).Onlythreefilmshad
unitizingagreementbelow70%(69.2%,65.4%,60%).

VariablecodingwasassessedusingthePotter&LevineDonnerstein(1999)formula.Foreachmeasure,
thesamplewidemedianisreportedfirstfollowedbythesamplewidemeanandrangeinparentheses.
Role1.0(M=.99,range=.631.0),type1.0(M=.99,range=.641.0),age1.0(M=.94,range=.651.0),sex1.0
(M=1.0,range=1.0),race/ethnicity1.0(M=.99,range=.661.0),parentalstatus1.0(M=.99,range=.64
1.0),relationalstanding1.0(M=.99,range=.651.0),sexuallyrevealingclothing1.0(M=99,range=.61
1.0),nudity1.0(M=.99,range=.631.0),attractiveness1.0(M=1.0,range=1.0),apparentsexuality1.0
(M=1.0,range=1.0),andtransgender1.0(M=1.0,range=.611.0).

5.
Hunt,D.,Ramn,A.C.,&Tran,M.(2016).2016HollywoodDiversityReport:Busine$$asUsual?RalphJ.
BuncheCenterforAfricanAmericanStudies.UCLA,California.NegrnMuntaner,F.&Abbas,C.(2016).
TheLatinoDisconnect:LatinosintheAgeofMediaMergers.CenterfortheStudyofEthnicityandRace.
ColumbiaUniversity,NY.

6.
Thechisquareanalysisforgender(male,female)byMPAArating(PG,PG13,R)wassignificant,X2(2,
4,347)=13.70,p<.05,V*=.06.Atotalof10characters'biologicalsexcouldnotbeascertained(i.e.,
supernaturalcreaturesoranimals)andonewasnotapplicable(i.e.,blob).Thesecharacterswere
excludedfromallgenderanalyses.

7.
GenredistinctionsweremadeusinginformationfromBoxOfficeMojoinlinewithourpreviousreports.
Incaseswhereageneralaudienceorvaguelabel(i.e.,family,western)wasprovided,thefilmwasre
categorizedusinginformationfromIMDbPro.com.Nostatisticaltestswereexecutedforgenre.

8.
Priortorunningtheanalysisonparentalstatus,thevariablewascollapsedintotwolevels:notaparent
vs.parent(single,coparent,parent,relationalstatusunknown).Theanalysisrevealedanonsignificant
association(p>.05)betweengender(male,female)andparentalstatus(no,yes).

9.
Forrelationalstatus,thevariablewasalsodichotomized:romanticrelationshippresent(married,
committedrelationship,committedrelationshipunmarried,committedmaritalstatusunknown)vs.
absent(single,divorced,widowed).Theanalysisyieldedasignificantassociationwithgender(male,
female),X2(1,1,082)=7.33,p<.05,phi=.08.

10.
HerrettSkjellum,J.,&Allen,M.(1996).Televisionprogrammingandsexstereotyping:Ametaanalysis.
CommunicationYearbook,19,p.157185.Davies,P.G.,Spencer,S.J.,Quinn,D.M.,&Gerhardstein,R.
(2002).Consumingimages:Howtelevisioncommercialsthatelicitstereotypethreatcanrestrainwomen
academicallyandprofessionally.PersonalityandSocialPsychologyBulletin,28(12),16151628.

11.
Thoughnotreported,theanalysisforage(child,teen,youngadult,middleage/elderly)bygender
(male,female)wassignificant,X2(3,4,066)=89.46,p<.05,V*=.15.
Dr.StacyL.Smith

September2016

33

12.

In2015,theprocessforagecodingwasslightlyaltered.Aftercodingfinished,allresearchassistants
judgmentsonageforthosecodedmiddleage(40to64yearsold)andelderly(65yearsandolder)were
checkedbyusingactorsbirthdaysfoundacrossmultipleonlinesourcesincludingbutnotlimitedto
IMDbPro.com,VarietyInsight,andStudioSystem.Thiswasdoneforasecondaryanalysistobereleased
separately.Thisprocessrevealedthatcodersunderestimatedtheageofoldercharactersregardlessof
gender.Despitethischangeinprotocol,theproportionsofmalesandfemaleswithintheseagebrackets
werenotdifferentfrompreviousyearsasdepictedinTable4.

13.
Thechisquareanalysisforsexyattire(no,yes)bygender(male,female)wassignificant,X2(1,
4,137)=358.30,p<.05,phi=.29.Fornudity,theoriginalvariableinvolvedthreelevels.Priortoanalysis,
someandfullnuditywerecollapsed.Itmustbenotedthattherewere39instancesoffullnudityacross
theentiresample.Ofthose39instances,51.3%involvedmalesand48.7%involvedfemales.The
relationshipbetweennudity(none,some)andgender(male,female)wassignificant,X2(1,
4,139)=258.84,p<.05,phi=.25.

14.
Physicalattractivenesswascollapsedintotwolevels:nonevs.some(oneormorereferences).The
analysisforgender(male,females)byphysicalattractiveness(none,some)wassignificant,X2(1,
4,370)=112.91,p<.05,phi=.16.

15.
Fredrickson,B.L.,&Roberts,T.A.(1997).Objectificationtheory:Towardunderstandingwomenslived
experiencesandmentalhealthrisks.PsychologyofWomenQuarterly,21,p.173206.Roberts,T.A.,&
Gettman,J.Y.(2004).Mereexposure:Genderdifferencesinthenegativeeffectsofprimingastateofself
objectification.SexRoles,51(1/2),p.1727.Aubrey,J.S.(2006).Effectsofsexuallyobjectifyingmediaon
selfobjectificationandbodysurveillanceinundergraduates:Resultsofa2yearpanelstudy.
JournalofCommunication,56,p.366386.

16.
AmericanPsychologicalAssociation,TaskForceontheSexualizationofGirls(2007).ReportoftheAPA
TaskForceontheSexualizationofGirls.Retrievedfrom
http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/reportfull.pdf

17.
Theanalysisforage(teens,youngadults,middleaged)bysexyattire(no,yes)forfemaleswas
significant,X2(2,1,078)=22.30,p<.05,V*=.14.Nudity(none,some)andattractiveness(none,some)also
variedbyage,respectively:X2(2,1,079)=18.57,p<.05,V*=.13;X2(2,1,104)=15.18,p<.05,V*=.12.No
statisticaltestswereutilizedforovertimepatternsbutratherthe5%rule.

Whilenotpresentedabove,webreakdownthesameanalysesformalesbyagehereforinterested
readers.Thechisquareforsexyattire(no,yes),nudity(none,some),andattractiveness(none,some)
wereallsignificant:sexyattireX2(2,2,331)=34.13,p<.05,V*=.12;nudityX2(2,2,332)=49.52,p<.05,
V*=.15;attractivenessX2(2,2,408)=22.77,p<.05,V*=.10.

Dr.StacyL.Smith

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34

MaleCharacterSexualizationbyAge:2015

1320
yearolds
14.8%
21%
8.2%

Measures

2139
yearolds
10.4%
13%
5%

4064
yearolds
4.7%
6.1%
2%

%insexyattire
%w/somenudity
%referencedattractive

Note:Thecolumnsdonotaddupto100%.Rather,eachcellrepresentsthepercentageofmales

shownwithaparticularattribute.Subtractingeachcellfrom100%illuminatesthepercentageofmales
withoutthecharacteristicinquestion.

18.

Informationondirectors,writers,andproducerswasgleanedfromIMDbPro.com.Tworesearch
assistantsindependentlycollectedthenamesofindividualslistedinthedirector,writer,andproducer
categories.Eachindividualwasonlycountedoncewithincategory(director,writer,producer)acrossa
film,thoughindividualscouldbecreditedacrossthesedistinctions.Certaintitleswereexcludedfromthe
producingcategory(e.g.,ProductionExecutive,DevelopmentExecutive,ProductionSuperviser).Then,
eachresearchassistantutilizedindustrydatabasesorotheronlinesourcestoconfirmthegenderofeach
individual.Thiswasdoneusingphotos,pronouns(he/she),orgenderlistings(male/female).Thesewere
combinedtoformasinglegenderjudgmentforeachperson,withdifferencesresolvedbydetermining
thecorrectdecision.Onlyoneindividualsgendercouldnotbeidentified.

Fordirectors,informationonrace/ethnicitywasobtainedfromindustrydatabases(i.e.,StudioSystem/
InBaseline,VarietyInsight).Wheninformationcouldnotbefound,attemptsweremadetoconfirm
race/ethnicityjudgmentswithdirectorsand/ortheirrepresentatives.TheDirectorsGuildofAmerica
databasewasalsoutilized.Finally,anonlinesearchwasconductedforinformationaboutdirectors
race/ethnicity.Whenadditionalinformationwasnotavailable,arace/ethnicityjudgmentwasmadeby
researchersusingaphoto.Thiswasdoneforoneindividualin2015.Informationonprioryearscanbe
foundinourpreviousreports.

19.
Smith,S.L.,Pieper,K.,Choueiti,M.,&Case,A.(2015a).Gender&ShortFilms:EmergingFemale
FilmmakersandtheBarriersSurroundingtheirCareers.ReportpreparedforClifFamilyFoundation.
Media,Diversity,&SocialChangeInitiative.LosAngeles,CA.USCAnnenberg.

20.
Smith,S.L.,Pieper,K.,&Choueiti,M.(2015b).ExploringtheCareersofFemaleDirectors:PhaseIII.
ReportpreparedforWomeninFilmLosAngelesandSundanceInstitute.Media,Diversity,&Social
ChangeInitiative.LosAngeles,CA.

21.
Smith,S.L.,Choueiti,M.,&Pieper,K.(2016).InclusionorInvisibility?ComprehensiveAnnenbergReport
onDiversityinEntertainment.Media,Diversity,&SocialChangeInitiative.LosAngeles,CA.USC
Annenberg.

22.
Smith,S.L.,Pieper,K.,&Choueiti,M.(2015b).

23.
AlistofcomposerswasgeneratedbyexaminingtheIMDbProlistingsforeachfilmanalyzedacross
20072015(excluding2011).Onlyindividualscreditedascomposerorscorecomposerwereincluded
intheanalysis.WhenIMDbProdidnotlistacomposer,VarietyInsightandStudioSystem/InBaselinewere
Dr.StacyL.Smith

September2016

35

consulted.Whentherewasnoinformationavailableinthesesources,thefilmscreditswerewatchedto
determineifacomposerwascredited.Whenagroupwasidentifiedasthecomposerofafilmsscore,the
membersofthegrouportheindividualsresponsibleforthecompositionwereascertainedandeach
enteredasauniquelineofdata.Thegenderofeachindividualcomposerwasassessedusingonline
sources(i.e.,VarietyInsight,StudioSystem/InBaseline)orviawebsearch.

24.
Asignificantchisquarewasobservedfordirectorgender(atleastonefemaleattached,nofemale
attached)andcharactergender(male,female),X2(1,4,370)=16.81,p<.05,phi=.06.

25.
Therelationshipforwritergender(atleastonefemalescreenwriterattached,nofemalescreenwriter
attached)andcharactergender(male,female)wassignificant,X2(1,4,370)=23.82,p<.05,phi=.07.

26.
Nostatisticalrelationshipbetweenproducergender(femaleproducerattached,nofemaleproducer
attached)andcharactergender(male,female)wasobserved(p>.05).

27.
MotionPictureAssociationofAmerica(2016).TheatricalMarketStatistics:2015.Retrievedonline:
http://www.mpaa.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/04/MPAATheatricalMarketStatistics2015_Final.pdf
U.S.CensusBureau(n.d.).QuickFactsfromtheU.S.CensusBureau.Retrievedfrom:
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/00

28.
U.S.CensusBureau(n.d.).

29.
Theanalysisexaminingtherelationshipbetweengender(male,female)andrace/ethnicity(White,
Black,Latino,Asian,Other)wassignificant,X2(4,3,975)=11.42,p<.05,V*=.05.

30.
Onlyoneofthedomesticanalysesbygenderwassignificant,race/ethnicity(White,Black,Latino,Asian,
Other)byparentalstatus(no,yes)forfemalecharacters:X2(4,411)=11.09,p<.05,V*=.16.

31.
Forfemalesexualization,onlyattractiveness(no,yes)wasmarginallyrelatedtorace/ethnicity(White,
Black,Latino,Asian,Other):X2(4,1,280)=9.29,p=.054,V*=.08.

32.
Formalesexualization,sexyattire(no,yes)andnudity(none,some)variedbyrace/ethnicity(White,
Black,Latino,Asian,Other),respectivelyX2(4,2,693)=15.10,p<.05,V*=.08;X2(4,2,693)=17.67,p<.05,
V*=.08.

33.
Asignificantrelationshipwasobservedfordirectorrace(Black,notBlack)andcharacterrace(Black,
notBlack),X2(1,3,975)=180.20,p<.05,phi=.21.

34.
Gates,G.J.(2011).HowmanypeopleareLesbian,Gay,Bisexual,andTransgender?ReportbyThe
WilliamsInstitute.Retrievedonline:http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/censuslgbt
demographicsstudies/howmanypeoplearelesbiangaybisexualandtransgender/

35.
Brault,M.W.(2012).AmericanswithDisabilities:2010.U.S.DepartmentofCommerceEconomicsand
StatisticsAdministration.Available:http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p70131.pdf.He,W.&
Larsen,L.J.(2014).OlderAmericansWithaDisability:20082012.AmericanCommunitySurveyReports.
U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServicesNationalInstitutesofHealthNationalInstituteonAging
andU.S.DepartmentofCommerceEconomicsandStatisticsAdministrationU.S.CensusBureau.
Available:http://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/acs/acs29.pdf.
Dr.StacyL.Smith

September2016

36

CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention(2015,July22)DisabilityOverview.Available:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/disability.html.CentersforDiseaseControland
Prevention(2015,July9)DisabilityOverview.Available:http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd
/developmentaldisabilities/facts.html.U.S.EqualEmploymentOpportunityCommission.(n.d.)Disability
Discrimination.Available:https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/disability.cfm.WorldHealthOrganization
(2015,December).Disabilityandhealth.FactsheetNo.352.Available:http://www.who.int/
mediacentre/factsheets/fs352/en/.InternationalClassificationofFunctioning,DisabilityandHealth.
(2002).TowardsaCommonLanguageforFunctioning,DisabilityandHealth.Geneva,WorldHealth
Organization.Available:http://www.who.int/classifications/icf/icfbeginnersguide.pdf.NationalCenteron
BirthDefectsandDevelopmentalDisabilitiesDivisionofBirthDefectsandDevelopmentalDisabilities.
FactsAboutIntellectualDisability.CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention.Available:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/pdf/parents_pdfs/IntellectualDisability.pdf.AmericanAssociation
onIntellectualandDevelopmentalDisabilities.(n.d.)FrequentlyAskedQuestionsonIntellectualDisability.
Available:http://aaidd.org/intellectualdisability/definition/faqsonintellectualdisability#.VtiL6_krKUl.
SocialSecurityAdministration.(2016).2016RedBook.Available:
https://www.ssa.gov/redbook/eng/definedisability.htm#&a0=0.NationalInstituteofChildHealthand
HumanDevelopment.(n.d.).IntellectualandDevelopmentalDisabilities(IDDs):ConditionInformation.
Available:https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/idds/conditioninfo/Pages/default.aspx.Courtney
Long,E.A.,Carroll,D.D.,Zhang,Q.C.,Stevens,A.C.,GriffinBlake,S.,Armour,B.S.,&Campbell,V.A.(2015,
July31).PrevalenceofdisabilityanddisabilitytypeamongadultsUnitedStates,2013.Morbidityand
MortalityWeeklyReport,64(29).CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention.Available:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/wk/mm6429.pdf.FormanHoffman,V.L.,Ault,K.L.,Anderson,W.L.,
Weiner,J.M.,Stevens,A.,Campbell,V.A.,&Armour,B.S.(2015).Disabilitystatus,mortality,andleading
causesofdeathintheUnitedStatescommunitypopulation.MedicalCare,53(4).p.346354.Stein,
R.E.K.,Bauman,L.J.,Westbrook,L.E.,Coupey,S.M.,&Ireys,H.T.(1993).Frameworkforidentifying
childrenwhohavechronicconditions:Thecaseforanewdefinition.TheJournalofPediatrics,122(3),p.
342347.

36.
TheADAdefinitionisstatedverbatim:Disabilitymeans,withrespecttoanindividual,(i)Aphysicalor
mentalimpairmentthatsubstantiallylimitsoneormoreofthemajorlifeactivitiesofsuchindividual;(ii)A
recordofsuchanimpairment;or(iii)beingregardedashavingsuchanimpairment.
https://www.ada.gov/regs2016/final_rule_adaaa.htmlSeethislinkforthedefinitionofphysicaland
mentalimpairments,majorlifeactivities,andmajorbodilyfunctions.Ourdefinition,asnotedbelow,
focusedprimarilyonsection(i)and(iii)oftheADA'sconceptualization.

37.
Woodburn,D.,&Kopi,K.(2016).OnEmploymentofActorswithDisabilitiesinTelevision.The
RudermanWhitePaper.Retrievedonlinefrom:http://www.rudermanfoundation.org/wp
content/uploads/2016/07/TVWhitePaper_final.final_.pdfGLAAD(n.d.)WhereWeAreonTV20152016.
ReportproducedbyGLAAD.Available:http://www.glaad.org/files/GLAAD2015WWAT.pdf

38.
Someadvocatesmaybereluctanttoutilizeamedicalmodelofdisabilityratherthanadefinitionthat
takesintoaccounttheidentityofthecharacter.However,giventhefictionalcontextoffilmandthe
limitationsofstorytelling,richinformationonidentitymaynotbedisclosed.Thisisespeciallytruefor
inconsequentialcharacterswhoappearonlybrieflyorspeakjustonewordonscreen.Relyingonportions
oftheADAdefinitionlistedabove,threeindependentevaluatorsassessedeveryspeakingornamed
charactersforcuespertainingtoacondition,restriction,andduration.Then,thethreeinvestigators
reviewedeachfilm(Smith,Choueiti,Pieper)andmadenotesandrenderedajudgment.Onlycharacters
withaconditionandcurrentenduringrestrictionwerecodedqualitativelyasdisabled.
Dr.StacyL.Smith

September2016

37

39.

Inadditiontothedefinitionalcomponents,allscarsonacharactersface,hands,orfeetwereassessed
forwhethertheywereadisability.Here,severityofthescarhadtobetakenintoconsideration.We
operationalizedadisfiguringscarusingguidelinessurroundingU.S.militaryandveterancompensation.
Eachscarwasexaminedusingaphotoofthecharacterfromthefilmandmeasuredagainstastandard
sizeandwidth.Disfiguringscarsormissingdigitswereautomaticallycodedasadisabilityiftheywere
characterizedbysocialcensure(i.e.,intheformofajoke,directstatement,nonverbalutterance).

40.
Therewereseveraladditionalstipulationssurroundingcoding.Celestialbeings(i.e.,entitiesthatlivein
spiritualcontextssuchasdemons,ghosts,spirits),theundead(i.e.,partorwholecorpsesand/or
skeletonssuchasvampires,zombies),androbots(i.e.,machinesortechnology)werenotallowedtohave
adisability.Thiswasduetothefactthatthesetypesofentitiesarenotaffectedbyrestrictionsofbodily
functionsorlifeactivities.Forexample,arobotthathashis/herarmdismemberedcansimplyhaveit
replaced.Or,skeletonslackinternalorgansandthereforehavenorestrictionsofthemindorbody.

Second,thespeciesofeachcharacterhadtobedetectabletorenderdisabilityjudgmentsrelatedto
disfigurement.Somecharactersarealiens,livingonorfromotherplanetsordimensionsotherthan
earth.Thesecharactersmayexistinthefutureorthepast.Wescrutinizedthephysicaldomainorformof
thesecharactersintwoways.Facially,anothercharacterhadtobepresentedtoassesswhatistypicalfor
thespecies.Withoutanothercharactertojudgetypicality,facialfeaturescouldnotbeassessedforthe
definitionofdisability.Thecharacterwasstillassessedforwhetheranymajorbodilyfunctionsorlife
activitieswereaffected(i.e.,missinglimb,slowgait,organfailure)aswellasdisabilitiesfromthe
communicativeormentaldomains.
SimilartotheADA,alistofconditionswerenotincludedinourdefinitionofdisability.BasedontheADA
thoseinclude(1)Transvestism,transsexualism,pedophilia,exhibitionism,voyeurism,genderidentity
disordersnotresultingfromphysicalimpairment,orsexualbehaviordisorders;(2)Compulsivegambling,
kleptomania,orpyromania;or(3)Psychoactivesubstanceusedisordersresultingfromcurrentillegaluse
ofdrugs.See:https://www.ada.gov/regs2016/final_rule_adaaa.html
41.

Brault,M.W.(2012).

42.

Brault,M.W.(2012).

43.

MotionPictureAssociationofAmerica.(2015).TheatricalMarketStatistics.Available:
http://www.mpaa.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/04/MPAATheatricalMarketStatistics2015_Final.pdf

44.
UnitedStatesCensusBureau.(2015,June25).MillennialsOutnumberBabyBoomersandAreFarMore
Diverse,CensusBureauReports.http://www.census.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/2015/cb15113.html

45.
Brault,M.W.(2012).

46.
Smith,S.L.,Granados,A.,Choueiti,M.,Erickson,S.,&Noyes,A.(2011).ChangingtheStatusQuo:
IndustryLeadersPerceptionsofGenderinFamilyFilms.Executivesummaryandreportpreparedforthe
GeenaDavisInstituteonGenderinMedia.

Dr.StacyL.Smith

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38

Cohen,S.(2016).Filmdirectorsayshesupportsmovestowardgenderparity.Retrievedfrom,
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/3dd3ac72903a4ec9aeb1d235cc5ccd08/filmdirectorsayshesupports
movestowardgenderparity
47,

48.

Ryan,M.(2016,August9).FXCEOJohnLandgrafontheRaciallyBiasedSystemandTakingMajor
StepstoChangeHisNetworksDirectorRosters.Variety.Available:http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/fx
diversitydirectorshiringceojohnlandgrafinterview1201831409/

Dr.StacyL.Smith

September2016

39

Acknowledgements

Wearegratefulforanumberofindividualswhocontributedtothisreport.TheAnnenbergFoundation
generouslysupportedworkonthisproject,especiallyWallisAnnenbergandCinnyKennard,Executive
Director.WewouldalsoliketothankDr.SarahBanetWeiserforhergeneroussupportoftheMDSC
Initiative.OurotherAnnenbergandUSCcolleagueshavealsocontributedsubstantially,particularly
GretchenParkerMcCartney,PatriciaLapadula,andtheentireASCTechteam.Theinitiativerunsonthe
financialsupportofanamazinggroupofdonorsandadvocates:RuthAnnHarnisch,Jacquelynand
GregoryZehner,BarbaraBridges,AnnLovell,SuzanneLerner,MariandManuelAlba,KaletaDoolin,Julie
ParkerBenello,andAnnErickson.ThisyearweareespeciallygratefulforLoreenArbus,whoprovided
supportforaportionofthedisabilityinvestigation.WearealsoappreciativeoftheinsightgivenbyTari
HartmanSquire,DannyWoodburn,KristinaKopiattheRudermanFamilyFoundation,Dr.Christine
MoutierattheAmericanFoundationforSuicidePrevention,Dr.KennethFeiner,andRayBradford.The
MDSCInitiativeisby,for,andaboutstudents.Everysingleoneofourteammembersthatworkedonthis
investigationislistedbelow.Youfolksarethebestandwecantdothisworkwithoutyou.FightOn!

Media,Diversity,&SocialChangeInitiativeResearchTeam

AlekxaRollins
MeganEme
ChristopherAllison
LeahRubin
BreanneFlores
AlessandraAnderson
TerynSampaga
TuckerGibson
KaylaArdebilchi
AlexandraSchwartz
AlaynaGlasthal
KeanaAsgari
YujinSeo
BrianaGrubb
SharonBako
LeahShamouni
HowardGuy
ChristineBancroft
JuliaShapiro
AlysiaHendry
CarsonBeck
ArielSmotrich
PeytonHerzog
SaraBinder
MichelleSpera
KamaliHouston
TaraBitran
SophiaStallone
EdwardLau
MichelleBlessinger*
JaideStepter
MelodyLee
XiangyiCai
ClaireSummers
KailinLuo
GabriellaCaliendo
AustiMarinkovich
ChristinaCanady
EllaTabares
OrianaMejia
CelineCarrasco
KeemiaTabrizi
KateMenne
KellyChing*
KaylaTakemoto
SoYoonCho
DanielleToda
AnnabellaMineghino
AngelChoi*
ArturTofan*
DaniellaMohazabab
IsabelleChua
KarinaTsang
JuliaNeisloss
GinaWang
KatherineNeff
SamanthaCioppa
ChasenWashington*
SarahNeff
HaleyColeman
ElizabethWeir
JoyOfodu
BrianaCooper
DennisWoo
OzodiOnyeabor
AnneMarieDePauw*
JennicaWragg
AlexaPatterson
JessieDiRuggiero
ZhihengXu
LauraPhillips*
EmeraldDouglas
KevinYao*
MariafePonce
MahimaDutt
ZacharieZee
LilyPuglisi
JaimeEdge
ZhilingLeoZhao
SophiaRendon
MichaelEdge
MadisonZlotolow
GabrielRocha
SofiaElias

*OurSummer2016teamthatwentaboveandbeyondthecallforresearch.Youarethebest!
Dr.StacyL.Smith

September2016

40

AppendixA
ListofFilmsinthe2015Sample

StarWars:TheForce
Awakens
JurassicWorld
Avengers:AgeofUltron
InsideOut
Furious7
Minions
TheHungerGames:
MockingjayPart2
TheMartian
Cinderella
Spectre
Mission:Impossible
RogueNation
PitchPerfect2
TheRevenant
AntMan
Home
HotelTransylvania2
FiftyShadesofGrey
TheSpongeBobMovie:
SpongeOutofWater
StraightOuttaCompton
SanAndreas
MadMax:FuryRoad
Daddy'sHome
TheDivergentSeries:
Insurgent
ThePeanutsMovie
Kingsman:TheSecret
Service
TheGoodDinosaur
Spy
Trainwreck
Creed
Tomorrowland
GetHard

Terminator:Genisys
Taken3
Sisters
AlvinandtheChipmunks:
TheRoadChip
MazeRunner:TheScorch
Trials
Ted2
Goosebumps
Pixels
Paddington
TheIntern
BridgeofSpies
PaulBlart:MallCop2
TheBigShort
WarRoom
MagicMikeXXL
TheVisit
TheWeddingRinger
BlackMass
Vacation
ThePerfectGuy
Joy
FantasticFour
TheHatefulEight
Focus
Southpaw
InsidiousChapter3
Poltergeist
JupiterAscending
Sicario
TheManFromU.N.C.L.E.
Spotlight
McFarland,USA
TheGift
Everest
TheNightBefore

Krampus
Max
TheAgeofAdaline
Brooklyn
TheLongestRide
TheBoyNextDoor
Pan
HotPursuit
Concussion
TheDUFF
WomaninGold
TheSecondBestExotic
MarigoldHotel
Unfriended
Entourage
PaperTowns
Chappie
CrimsonPeak
AWalkintheWoods
PointBreak
Sinister2
TheLastWitchHunter
NoEscape
RickiandtheFlash
TheWomaninBlack2:
AngelofDeath
RunAllNight
LovetheCoopers
TheLazarusEffect
ExMachina
IntheHeartoftheSea
TheGallows
Hitman:Agent47
ProjectAlmanac
BlackorWhite
Aloha

Dr.StacyL.Smith

September2016