July 2017

INEQUALITY IN 900 POPULAR FILMS

MEDIA, DIVERSITY, & SOCIAL CHANGE INITIATIVE
USC ANNENBERG
@MDSCInitiative Facebook.com/MDSCInitiative

THE NEEDLE IS NOT MOVING ON SCREEN FOR FEMALES IN FILM

Prevalence of female speaking characters across 900 films,
in percentages
Percentage of

32.8 32.8
900 films with
Balanced Casts
12%
29.9 30.3 31.4 31.4
28.4 29.2 28.1

Ratio of males
to females

2.3 : 1

39,788
Total number of
07 08 09 10 12 13 14 15 16 speaking
characters

LEADING LADIES RARELY DRIVE THE ACTION IN FILM

Of the 100 top films in 2016... And of those Leads and Co Leads*...

3
Female actors were from
underrepresented racial /
ethnic groups

34
Depicted a
Female Lead or (identical to 2015)
Co Lead

8
Female actors were at least
45 years of age or older
(compared to 5 in 2015)

32 films depicted a female lead or co lead in 2015. *Excludes films w/ensemble casts

GENDER & FILM GENRE: FUN AND FAST ARE NOT FEMALE
ACTION AND/OR ANIMATION COMEDY
ADVENTURE
40.8
36 36
30.7 30.8
23.3 23.4
20 20.9

07 10 16 07 10 16 07 10 16

% OF FEMALE SPEAKING % OF FEMALE SPEAKING % OF FEMALE SPEAKING

CHARACTERS CHARACTERS CHARACTERS

2017 DR. STACY L . SMITH | GRAPHICS: PATRICIA LAPADULA PAGE 1

THE SEXY STEREOTYPE PLAGUES SOME FEMALES IN FILM
Top Films of 2016

13-20 yr old
25.9% 25.6% females are just as likely
as 21-39 yr old females to
be shown in sexy attire
9.2% 10.7% with some nudity, and
5.7%
3.2% MALES referenced as attractive.
FEMALES
SEXY ATTIRE SOME NUDITY ATTRACTIVE

HOLLYWOOD IS STILL SO WHITE

29.2%
WHITE 70.8% percentage of under-
represented characters:

BLACK 13.6%

25
films have NO Black or African
American speaking characters
HISPANIC 3.1%

OTHER 7%

54
films have NO Latino speaking
ASIAN 5.7%
characters

44
films have NO Asian speaking
*The percentages of Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Other characters
have not changed since 2007. The percentage of White characters
characters
has decreased 6.8%.

LGBT CHARACTERS ARE LEFT BEHIND IN FILM

Of 14 15 16 14 15 16

4,544 12 19 36 GAY 5 5 6 BISEXUAL

speaking
characters only... 4 7 9 LESBIAN 0 1 0 TRANSGENDER

of the 100 top films of 2016... of the 51 LGBT characters...

76
79.1%

24
20.9%

HAD NO LGB HAD 1 OR MORE WHITE UNDERREPRESENTED

CHARACTERS LGB CHARACTERS

2017 DR. STACY L . SMITH | GRAPHICS: PATRICIA LAPADULA PAGE 2

CHARACTERS WITH DISABILITY FACE A DEFICIT ON SCREEN IN FILM

64.5%
2.7%
PHYSICAL
67.7%

of all speaking 31.5% MENTAL 32.3%

characters were
depicted with a
disability 21.8% COMMUNICATIVE
MALES WITH FEMALES WITH
DISABILITY DISABILITY
*Based on U.S. Census domains

FILM PRODUCTION IS NOT FEMALE FRIENDLY

Across 1,438 content creators. MALES FEMALES

DIRECTORS WRITERS PRODUCERS COMPOSERS

4.2% 13.2% 20.7% 1.7%

5 FEMALE DIRECTORS 38 FEMALE WRITERS 213 FEMALE PRODUCERS 2 FEMALE COMPOSERS

WHEN HOLLYWOOD THINKS DIRECTOR, THEY THINK WHITE MALE

ACROSS 900 FILMS AND OF THE 56 BLACK OR AFRICAN OF THE 30 ASIAN OR ASIAN
1,006 DIRECTORS... AMERICAN DIRECTORS... AMERICAN DIRECTORS...

5.6%
OR 56 WERE BLACK OR
53

AFRICAN AMERICAN
28

3.0%
OR 30 WERE ASIAN OR MALE
3

FEMALE MALE FEMALE

2

ASIAN AMERICAN

2017 DR. STACY L . SMITH | GRAPHICS: PATRICIA LAPADULA PAGE 3

DIRECTORS AND COMPOSERS: FEMALES NEED NOT APPLY

07 08 09 10 12 13 14 15 16 TOTAL OVERALL

# OF FEMALE
DIRECTORS 3 9 4 3 5 2 2 8 5 41
OUT OF 4.1%
OUT OF 112 112 111 109 121 107 107 107 120 1,006
# OF FEMALE
COMPOSERS 0 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 14
OUT OF 1.4%
OUT OF 107 108 109 115 105 114 105 114 121 998

THE EPIDEMIC OF INVISIBILITY IN FILM

Of the 100 top films of 2016, the number of films with...

NO NO NO NO
BLACK OR AFRICAN ASIAN OR ASIAN HISPANIC/LATINA LGBT FEMALES
AMERICAN FEMALES AMERICAN FEMALES FEMALES

47 66 72 91

OUT OF 900 FILMS, ONLY 34 WOMEN WORKED AS DIRECTORS

Angelina Jolie Jennifer Yuh Nelson Niki Caro
Anne Fletcher Jessie Nelson Nora Ephron
Ava DuVernay Jodie Foster Patricia Riggen
Betty Thomas Julie Anne Robinson Phyllida Lloyd
THERE ARE

34
Brenda Chapman Julie Taymor Sam Taylor-Johnson
Catherine Hardwicke Kathryn Bigelow Sanaa Hamri
Diane English Kimberly Peirce Shari Springer Berman

UNIQUE FEMALE Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum Kirsten Sheridan Sharon Maguire

DIRECTORS BETWEEN Elizabeth Banks Lana Wachowski Susanna White
2007 AND 2016 Gina Prince-Bythewood Lilly Wachowski Thea Sharrock
(Excluding 2011) Jennifer Flackett Loveleen Tandan
Jennifer Lee Nancy Meyers

2017 DR. STACY L . SMITH | GRAPHICS: PATRICIA LAPADULA PAGE 4

PERCENTAGE OF SPEAKING ROLES BY GENDER: JUST ADD FIVE
Add Five Females to Scripts Per Year to Achieve Gender Equality Quickly
80

60 68.6% 51.7%

40 48.3%

20 31.4% MALES
FEMALES

0
2016 2017 2018 2019

THE INCLUSION CRISIS IN FILM

UNDERSERVED GROUPS FILMS PERCENTAGE OF U.S. DIFFERENCE

IN FILM WITHOUT ANY SPEAKING POPULATION (Population-
CHARACTERS CHARACTERS Characters)

FEMALE CHARACTERS 0 31.4% 50.8% -19.4%

CHARACTERS W/DISABILITIES 38 2.7% 18.7% -16%

LATINO CHARACTERS 54 3.1% 17.8% -14.7%

LGBT CHARACTERS 76 1.1% 3.5% -2.4%

ASIAN CHARACTERS 44 5.7% 5.7% 0

BLACK CHARACTERS 25 13.6% 13.3% +0.3%

Note: U.S. Census was used for all groups except LGB. That point statistic was from Williams Institute (2011).

STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS TO FOSTER SYSTEMIC CHANGE ON SCREEN

& BEHIND THE CAMERA

SET TARGET INCLUSION GOALS COMBAT IMPLICIT & EXPLICIT BIAS EQUITY RIDER

CREATE INCLUSIVE CONSIDERATION LISTS JUST ADD FIVE SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM

ENSURE ENVIRONMENTS DO NOT TRIGGER STEREOTYPES SUPPORT INCLUSIVE FILMS

2017 DR. STACY L . SMITH | GRAPHICS: PATRICIA LAPADULA PAGE 5

 6

Inequalityin900PopularFilms:
Gender,Race/Ethnicity,LGBT,&Disabilityfrom20072016

Dr.StacyL.Smith,MarcChoueiti,&Dr.KatherinePieper

withassistancefrom
ArianaCase,KevinYao,&AngelChoi

Media,Diversity,&SocialChangeInitiative
USCAnnenberg

Eachyear,theMedia,Diversity,&SocialChangeInitiativeatUSCAnnenbergproducesacomprehensivereporton
issuesofrepresentationinthefilmindustry.Weexamineeveryspeakingornamedcharacteronscreenfor
gender,race/ethnicity,LGBT,anddisabilityacrossthe100topfictionalfilmsasdeterminedbyU.S.boxoffice
from2007to2016(excluding2011).Eachcharacterisevaluatedfordemographics,domesticroles,and
sexualizationindicators.Thegenderednatureofemploymentpatternsbehindthecamera(writers,producers,
composers)isassessed,withadetailedfocusonfemale,Black,andAsiandirectors.Atotalof900moviesare
examinedand39,788characters.Thisisthemostdetailedintersectionalandlongitudinalrepresentationalanalysis
conductedtodate.

KeyFindings

Gender.Atotalof4,583speakingcharacterswereassessedforgenderacrossthe100topfictionalfilmsof2016.
Afull68.6%weremaleand31.4%werefemale,whichmeansviewerswillsee2.18malesforevery1female
characteronscreen.Theprevalenceoffemalespeakingcharactershasnotchangedmeaningfullyacrossthe9
yearsevaluated.Thedifferencebetween2007and2016isonly1.5%!

Acrossthe100topmoviesof2016,34depictedafemalelead/coleadwhichisnotmeaningfullydifferentfrom
thepercentagein2015(32%).Onlythreemoviesfeaturedunderrepresentedfemaleactorsasleadsorcoleads,
whichisidenticalto2015.

Eightofthefemaleleads/coleadswerewomen45yearsofageorolderatthetimeoftheatricalrelease,with
onlyoneofthesefromanunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgroup.Bywayofcomparison,29moviesdepictedmale
leads/coleadsinthisagebracket.Sevenofthemaleactors45yearsofageorolderwerediverse.Atotalof39
differentcharacterscomprisedensembleleads,with64.1%playedbymaleactorsand35.9%playedbyfemale
actors.

Thepercentageofonscreenmalesandfemalesinearlychildhoodandteenageyearsisroughlyequivalent.The
genderbiasonscreenisreallydrivenbythelowerpercentageoffemales2139yearsofage(F=33.4%vs.
M=66.6%)and40yearsofageandolder(F=25.6%vs.M=74.4%).Thepercentageofwomen40yearsofageand
olderhasnotmeaningfullychangedfrom2007(22.1%)to2016(25.6%).

Femalesweremuchmorelikelythanmalestobeshowninsexuallyrevealingattire(F=25.9%vs.M=5.7%)and
partiallyorfullynaked(F=25.6%vs.M=9.2%).Thisgenderdifferenceextendstoattractivenessaswell(F=10.7%
vs.M=3.2%).Teenagefemales(1320yrolds)werejustaslikelytobedepictedinsexuallyrevealingclothingand
withsomenudityasyoungadultfemales(2139yrolds).Onepositiveresultisthatthepercentageofteens
showninsexuallyrevealingclothingandwithsomenudityismeaningfullylowerin2016than2015.
Atotalof1,438contentcreatorsworkedacrossthe100topfilmsof2016.Only17.8%ofthesejobswerefilledby
women,82.2%werefilledbymen.Focusingondirectors,120helmerswereattachedtothesampleoffilmswith

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
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4.2%(n=5)femaleand95.8%(n=115)male.Thisisagenderratioof23maledirectorstoevery1femaledirector.
Ahigherpercentageoffemalesworkedaswriters(13.2%)andproducers(20.7%)in2016.

Amere4.1%ofalldirectorsacrossthe9yeartimeframewerefemales.Examiningthefemaledirectorssince
2007,only34womenworkedoneormoretimes.Asamatteroffact,30women(88.2%)onlyhadone
opportunitytodirectacrossthetimeframe.

Outof121composersin2016,only2(1.7%)werewomen!Just14femalecomposershaveworkedacrossthe
sampleof900movies,whichtranslatesintoagenderratioof70.3malecomposerstoevery1female.Only9
uniquefemalecomposersworkedoneormoretimessince2007.

Race/Ethnicity.Ofthosecharacterswhoserace/ethnicitycouldbeascertained,70.8%wereWhite,13.6%Black,
5.7%Asian,3.1%Hispanic/Latino,3.4%MiddleEastern,<1%AmericanIndian/AlaskanNative,<1%Native
Hawaiian,and2.7%MixedRaceorOther.Intotal,29.2%ofallcharacterswerefromunderrepresented
racial/ethnicgroups,whichiswellbelowU.S.Census(38.7%)aswellasthemoviegoingaudienceinthiscountry
(49%).

FilmsapproximatingU.S.Censuspercentagesofdifferentracial/ethnicgroupsareinfrequent.In2016,only1
moviefeaturedproportionalrepresentationofLatinosonscreen.Ahigherpercentageoffilmsarerepresentative
ofBlack(19movies)andAsian(21movies)characters.Itmustalsobenotedthatthenumberoffilmsportraying
proportionalrepresentationofBlackcharactershasincreased(+9%)from2015to2016.

Intermsofinvisibility,atotalof25ofthe100topfilmsof2016didnotfeatureasingleAfricanAmericanorBlack
speakingcharacteronscreen.Thisisanincreaseof8moviesfrom2015.Atotalof54filmswerecompletely
missingLatinospeakingcharacters,whichis14higherthanin2015.Perhapstheonlypositivefindingisthatthe
numberoffilmswithoutanyAsianorAsianAmericanspeakingcharactersdecreasedfrom49in2015to44in
2016.

Crossinggenderwithrace/ethnicityrevealsthattheepidemicofinvisibilityisaliveandwellforwomenofcolor.
Nearlyhalfofall100topfilmsof2016evaluatedwerecompletelymissingBlackfemalespeakingcharacters(47of
100)andtwothirdsormoreweremissingAsianfemales(66of100)andLatinas(72of100).Instarkcontrast,
only11ofthe100topmoviesof2016weremissingWhitegirls/womenonscreen.

Thepercentageofunderrepresentedcharactersonscreeninanimationin2016(48.5%)hasincreased
substantiallyfrom2010(+47%)and2007(+40.4%).Thisisalsoanincreaseof35.3%from2015,whenonly13.2%
ofcharactersonscreenwerefromunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgroups.Twoofthefilmsaccountedfor72.9%
ofallunderrepresentedcharactersonscreen.Giventhisadditionalfinding,theincreaseofunderrepresented
charactersinanimationshouldbeinterpretedverycautiously.Thepercentageofunderrepresentedcharactersin
comedyincreased8.3%from2010and9%from2007.

Outofthe100topfilmsof2016,atotalof14movieshadleadsorcoleadsplayedby16actorsfrom
underrepresentedracial/ethnicgroups.Thisrepresentsnochangefromlastyear.Elevenofthemoviesdepicted
underrepresentedmalesandthreeunderrepresentedfemales.Themajorityofleads(n=10)wereplayedbyBlack
actorsandthreeactorswereMixedRace.JusttwoAsianmaleactorshadleadingorcoleadingrolesacrossthe
sampleandonlyoneNativeHawaiian/PacificIslanderfemaleactorwascastasananimatedlead.

The100topgrossingfilmsof2016featuredatotalof120helmers,ofwhom5.8%or7wereBlackorAfrican
American.Acrossthe900moviesample,only5.6%(n=56)ofalldirectorswereBlack.Perhapsmostdisturbingly,
only3Blackwomen(<1%)havehelmedatopgrossingmotionpictureacrossthesample.Consequently,no

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 8

changehasoccurredinhiringpracticesofBlackmaleorBlackfemaledirectorsbehindthecamerafrom2007to
2016.

AsubstantiallyhigherpercentageofBlackcharacterswasfoundonscreeninmovieswithaBlackdirector(52.4%
ofspeakingcharacterswereBlack)thanwhenanonBlackdirectorwasattached(10.6%ofspeakingcharacters
wereBlack).

In2016,atotalof5Asiandirectors(4.2%)workedonthe100mostpopulardomesticmovies.Fourofthese
directorsweremaleandonewasfemale.Across900movies,only3%(n=30)ofdirectorswereAsian.Almostall
ofthesedirectorsweremaleexcepttwo.

LGBTCharacters.Ofthe4,544charactersthatcouldbeevaluatedforapparentsexualityacrossthe100topfilms
of2016,only51or1.1%wereLesbian,Gay,orBisexual(LGB).Themajorityofthesecharactersweregaymales
(n=36or70.6%),9werelesbian(17.6%),and6werebisexual(11.8%).Notonecharacteracrossthe100top
moviesof2016wascodedastransgender!

Incomparisonto2014and2015(<1%),therehasbeennochangeinthepercentageofLGBTcharactersovertime.
However,disaggregatingthefindingsrevealsonebrightspot.Therehasbeenanincreaseinthenumberofgay
malesonscreenfrom2015.Nomeaningfuldifferencesemergedforlesbianorbisexualcharacterssincelastyear.
Transgendercharactersarealmostcompletelyinvisible,withonly1fleetingdepictionacross300popularmovies
from20142016.

Only1filmoutofthetop100portrayedagayprotagonist,whichwasaBlackmale.In2014,onlytwootherleads
orcoleadswerecodedasLGBT(1gayWhitemale,1bisexualWhitemale).In2016,45.1%ofLGBcharacters
weredepictedinsupportingrolesand49%wereshownasinconsequentialtotheplot.

Overthreequartersofthemovies(n=76)didnotportrayoneLGBcharacterthatspokeorwasreferredtoby
nameonscreen.Thisislowerthanthenumberfoundin2015(82movies)andsubstantiallylowerthan2014(86).
ThefindingsbecomefarmoreproblematicwhenwefocusonfemalesfromtheLGBTcommunity.Afull91ofthe
100topfilmsfailedtodepictonefemalelesbianorbisexualcharacter,whichislowerthan2014(96movies)but
nodifferentthan2015(93movies).

OftheLGBTcharacters,76.5%weremaleand23.5%werefemale.Ofthosecharacterswithenoughcuesfor
race/ethnicitytobeascertained,themajorityofLGBwereWhite(79.1%)and20.9%wereunderrepresented.
Finally,almostalloftheLGBcharacterswere2139yearsofage(58.8%)or40yearsofageorolder(35.3%).

Only25%or6oftheLGBcharacterswithenoughcuestoevaluatethismeasurewereshownasparentsinthe
2016sample.Threeparentsweremaleand3werefemale,only2wereunderrepresented.Turningtorelational
standing,roughlyhalf(51.4%)ofthecharactersassessedforthismeasurewereshowninaromanticrelationship.
Only4weredepictedasmarried.

Disability.Acrossthe100topgrossingmoviesof2016,just2.7%ofcharacters(n=124)weredepictedwitha
disability.Thisapproximatesourfindingsfrom2015(2.4%,or105portrayals).

Examiningvisibility,atotalof38filmsacrossthetop100didnotincludeasinglecharacterwithadisability.Thisis
adecreasefrom2015(45films).Seventymoviesfailedtodepictatleastonefemalecharacterwithadisability,
comparedto84moviesin2015.Onlyonemoviein2016depictedcharacterswithdisabilitiesinproportiontothe
18.7%oftheU.S.populationconsideredtohaveadisability.

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 9

Atotalof15filmsfeaturedaleadorcoleadcharacterportrayedwithadisability.Maleleads/coleadswith
disabilitiesappearedmoreoftenthanfemaleleads/coleads.Notoneleadorcoleadcharacterwithadisability
wasfromanunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgrouportheLGBTcommunity.
Intermsofdomains,64.5%ofcharacterswerecodedwithaphysicaldisability(i.e.,nervedamage,missinglimbs,
leprosy,cancer),31.5%withamentaldisability(i.e.,PostTraumaticStressDisorder(PTSD),memoryloss,and
anxiety),and21.8%withacommunicativedisability(i.e.,blind,deaf,speechimpediments).Ascharacterscould
becodedintomorethanoneofthedomains,thesetotalsdonotaddto100%.

Lessthanathird(32.3%)ofcharacterswithdisabilitieswerefemale,while67.7%weremale.Thisrepresentsan
increasefrom2015inthepercentageoffemalecharacters(19%)withdisabilities.Threequarters(74.5%)of
characterswithdisabilitieswereWhite,while25.5%werefromunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgroups.Onlyone
LGBTcharacterwasdepictedwithadisabilityacrossthesample.Half(50.4%)ofthecharactersshownwitha
disabilitywere40yearsofageorolder,whichisfewerthanthepercentagein2015(59%).Ofcharacterswitha
disabilityin2016,8.9%werechildrenage12orunder.

Solutions.Inordertotrulymovetheneedle,strategicsolutionsmustbeadopted.Weproposemultipleideasfor
companies,contentcreators,industryexecutives,andconsumers.

Companiesmustsettargetinclusiongoalsandmeasuretheirprogresstowardattainingthem.Bysetting
transparentgoals,companiesalsodemonstratethatthereisavalueforstories,casting,andstorytellersthat
reflecttheaudience.Asapartoftheirgoalsetting,companiescancreateinclusiveconsiderationlistswhenhiring
directorsorotherbehindthescenesroles.Filmschoolsandfilmfestivalscanalsosetbenchmarksforinclusion
thathelpbolsterthepipelinefordiversetalent.Theseinstitutionscansetinclusionobjectivesrelatedtothe
programmers,faculty,orboardmembers.

Effortsmustbemadeinspaceswherelearning,pitching,andworkoccurstoensureenvironmentsdonottrigger
stereotypes.Addressinginequalityalsomeanscombattingexplicitandimplicitbiases.Twosolutionsaddressthese
biasesincastingsmallpartsandbackgroundroles.Onewaytoaddressthelackofdiversityisforcontentcreators
tojustaddfivefemalespeakingcharacterstoeveryfilm.Thiswouldincreaseyearlythepercentageoffemale
charactersonscreen.Thisnewpercentage,whenbuiltuponeachyear,willleadtoequalityonscreeninamere
threeyears.

Anothersolutionisforhighprofiletalenttoaddanequityclausetotheircontract.DevisedbyDr.StacyL.Smith
anddevelopedwithcivilrightsattorneyKalpanaKotagal,theclausespecifiesamoreequitableprocessfor
auditioningandcastingonscreentalentandinterviewingandhiringforbehindthecamerajobs.

Lastly,consumerscansupportcontentthatisdrivenbyorfeaturesfemales,underrepresentedgroups,LGBT
individuals,andpeoplewithdisabilities.Further,shareholderscaninfluencecompaniestodomoretocreate
inclusivecontentbydemandingtransparency,accountability,andultimately,diversityintheproductsthese
corporationscreateandsell.

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 10

Inequalityin900PopularFilms:
Gender,Race/Ethnicity,LGBT,&Disabilityfrom20072016

Dr.StacyL.Smith,MarcChoueiti,&Dr.KatherinePieper

withassistancefrom
ArianaCase,KevinYao,&AngelChoi

Media,Diversity,&SocialChangeInitiative
USCAnnenberg

Eachyear,theMedia,Diversity,&SocialChangeInitiativeatUSCAnnenbergproducesa
comprehensivereportonissuesofrepresentationinthefilmindustry.Weexamineevery
speakingornamedcharacteronscreenforgender,race/ethnicity,LGBTstanding,anddisability
acrossthe100topfictionalfilmsasdeterminedbyU.S.boxofficefrom2007to2016(excluding
2011).1Eachcharacterisevaluatedfordemographics,domesticroles,andsexualization
indicators.2Insum,900movieshavebeenassessedand39,788characters.Clearly,thisisthe
mostdetailedintersectionalandlongitudinalrepresentationalanalysisconductedtodate.

Inadditiontoexaminingonscreenportrayals,thegenderofkeypersonnelbehindthecamerais
evaluated.Theanalysescapturethefrequencyofmaleandfemaledirectors,writers,producers,
andcomposers.WealsodrilldownandexaminethepercentageandnumberofBlackandAsian
directorsworkingacrossthesampleof900movies.Thisassessmentismeanttoaddtothebody
ofresearchinvestigatingtheprevalenceofunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgroupsworkingin
specificproductioncapacitiesinHollywood.3

Alldetailsofthemethodologyareoutlinedinthestudysfootnotes.Thisbriefisdividedintofour
sections:1)gender,2)raceandethnicity,3)LGBTportrayals,and4)disability.Acrossthereport,
wefocusfirstontrendsacrossthe100topfilmsof2016.Then,overtimepatternsare
presentedonaselectnumberoftargetedmeasures.

Anytimeannappearsinthisreportitreferstothesamplesizeacrossananalysisorwithina
particulargrouporcell.Whenstatisticaltestsareperformed,ouralphalevelissetapriorito
p<.05.Typically,only5%orgreaterdifferencesbetweencategoriesofcomparisons(malesvs.
females)arenoted.Thisapproachwastakentoensurewearenotmakingnoiseabout
meaninglessdeviationsofonly12%.AppendixAliststhe100topfictionalmoviesof2016.

GenderOnScreen&BehindtheCamerainFilms

OnScreenPrevalence

Atotalof4,583speakingcharacterswereassessedforgenderacrossthe100topfictionalfilms
of2016.Afull68.6%weremale(n=3,142)and31.4%werefemale(n=1,441).Inotherwords,
viewerswillsee2.18malesforevery1femalecharacteronscreen.AsilluminatedinTable1,the

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
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prevalenceoffemalespeakingcharactersisidenticalto2015andhasnotchangedmeaningfully
acrossthe9yearsevaluated.Matteroffact,thedifferencebetween2007and2016isonly
1.5%!

Table1
PrevalenceofFemaleCharactersOnScreenbyYear:2007to2016

%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
2016 31.4% 11% 2.18to1 4,583 100
Total 30.5% 12% 2.28to1 39,788 900

Note:OnlyfictionalfilmswereincludedinTable1.Intwoyears,101filmswereincludedinthesample.The
extrafilmsplayedasdoublefeatures.

Giventhelowfrequencyoffemalespeakingcharacters,wewereinterestedinthepercentageof
movieswithgenderbalancedcasts.Agenderbalancedcastwasonethatfeaturesgirlsand/or
womenin45%54.9%ofallspeakingroles.AsshowninTable1,only11%ofthe100topmovies
of2016achievedthis.Further,2016hadfewergenderbalancedcaststhandid2015(7%)or
2007(1%).Surely,genderparityonscreeninpopularmotionpicturesistheexceptionandnot
therule.

WealsoexaminedwhethercharactergenderwasassociatedwiththeMotionPictureAssociation
ofAmerica(MPAA)ratingandgenre.Intermsofrating,therewasnorelationshipwithgender.4
Afull32.2%ofcharactersinPGratedfilmswerefemale,30.7%inPG13ratedfilms,and32.2%
inRratedfilms.Itisimportanttomentionthatnotoneofthe100topmoviesof2016featureda
"G"orgeneralaudiencerating.

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
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Table2
PrevalenceofFemaleCharactersOnScreenbyFilmGenre:2007,2010,2016

ActionorAdventure Animation Comedy
2007 2010 2016 2007 2010 2016 2007 2010 2016
%offemales
20% 23.3% 23.4% 20.9% 30.7% 30.8% 36% 36% 40.8%
onscreen

Note:Subtractingeachcellfrom100%yieldsthepercentageofmalespeakingcharacterspergenreandyear.

Focusingongenre,thepercentageoffemalecharactersappearinginactionoradventurefilms,
animatedmovies,andcomedieswasevaluated.5AfewinterestingpatternsemergeinTable2.
First,action/adventuresweretheleastlikelytofeaturegirls/womenonscreenin2016and
comedieswerethemostlikely.Second,thepercentageoffemalesonscreeninanimationhas
increased(9.9%)from2007to2016.

Turningourattentiontowhodrivestheactioninfilm,weexploredthegenderofleading
charactersandprotagonists.Acrossthe100topmoviesof2016,91%featuredastoryline
focusedonasoleleadorcolead.Just9%ofthefilmsportrayedensemblecasts.Below,we
reportonthecharacteristicsofleads/coleadsseparatelyfromensembles.

Thebreakdownofleads/coleadsbygender,underrepresentedstatus,andagecanbefoundin
Table3.Acrossthe100topmoviesof2016,57featuredamalelead/coleadand34depicteda
femalelead/colead.Intermsoffemaleleads/coleads,the2016percentage(34%)isnot
meaningfullydifferentfromthepercentagein2015(32%).However,thepercentageofmovies
withafemaleleadorcoleadin2016wasnotablyhigherthanthepercentagefoundin2014
(21%).Thelackoffemaleleadsissurprising,giventhatgirlsandwomenconstitutehalfofthe
ticketbuyersattheU.S./Canadaboxofficeandslightlyoverhalfofthepopulation.6

Table3
Leads/CoLeadsinFilmsbyGender,UnderrepresentedStatus,&Age:2016

AttributeofLeadingCharacters Males Females

#offilmsw/leadorcolead 57 34
#offilmsw/URleadorcolead 11 3
#offilmsw/leadorcolead45yrsofageorolder 29 8
#offilmsw/URleadorcolead45yrsofageorolder 7 1

Note:Filmswithafemalelead,colead,orbothwereloadedintotheFemalescolumn.Race/ethnicityandage
focusedontheactornotthecharacter.Allnumbersinthetablerefertothefrequencyofmovieswith
theattributeinquestion.

Forrace/ethnicityofleads,weconsideredtheidentityoftheactorratherthanthecharacteron
screen.Thiswasdonesothatwecanquantifythenumberandtypesofopportunitiesgivento

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
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femaleactorsofcolor.Onlythreemoviesfeaturedunderrepresentedfemaleactorsasleadsor
coleads.7Itisimportanttonotethatthenumberoffilmswithunderrepresentedfemale
leads/coleadswasidenticalto2015.Asapointofcomparison,11movieshadmaleactorsfrom
underrepresentedracial/ethnicgroupsintheleadingorcoleadingrole(seeTable3).

Theageofleadingladiesatthetimeoftheatricalreleasewasconsideredtodeterminewhich
femaleleads/coleadswere45yearsofageorolder.Eightmoviesmetthiscriterion.Thewomen
drivingthesefilmswereEllenDeGeneres,TarajiP.Henson,MelissaMcCarthy,NiaVardalos,
MerylStreep,ReneZellweger,andTinaFey.2016isaslightincreasefrom2015(5total).8Only
oneofthesewomenwasfromanunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgroup.Bywayofcomparison,
29moviesdepictedmaleleads/coleadsinthisagebracket.Sevenofthemaleactors45yearsof
ageorolderwerefromunderrepresentedbackgrounds.

Ensemblecastswerealsoassessedfordemographicqualities(seeTable4).Similartothe
analysesabove,weusedtheactorsageandrace/ethnicitytomakejudgments.Here,however,
theanalysesfocusedonthecharactersratherthanfilms.Atotalof39differentcharacters
comprisedensembleleads,with64.1%(n=25)playedbymaleactorsand35.9%(n=14)playedby
femaleactors.Fully38.5%ofensembleswereracially/ethnicallydiverse,withlessthan5%
differencebetweenmalesandfemalesonthismeasure.

Table4
EnsembleCastsbyGender,UnderrepresentedStatus,&Age:2016

AttributeofLeadingCharacters Males Females Total
%ofcharactersinensemblecast 64.1% 35.9% 100%
%ofURcharactersinensemblecast 40%(n=10) 35.7%(n=5) 38.5%(n=15)
%ofcharactersinensemblecast45yrsofageorolder 36%(n=9) 21.4%(n=3) 30.8%(n=12)
%ofURcharactersinensemblecast45yrsofageorolder 24%(n=6) 7.1%(n=1) 17.9%(n=7)
Total 25 14 39

Note:Ensembleswerereportedatthecharacterlevel.Thefirstrowofthetablefocusesongenderdifferences.The
secondthroughfourthrowsfeaturethepercentageofmalesorfemalespossessingaparticulartrait.Thus,the
secondrowshouldbeinterpretedas40%ofallmalesinensembleroleswerefromunderrepresentedracial/ethnic
groups.

Moredeviationemergeswhenageisfactoredintotheanalysis.Overathird(36%)ofensemble
maleactorswere45yearsofageorolderbutonly21.4%offemaleactorswere.Incomparison
tounderrepresentedmaleactors45yearsofageorolder(n=6),onlyoneunderrepresented
femaleactor45yearsofageorolderappearedasaleadinanensembleacrosstheentiresample
offilms.Whenensemblecastsaswellasleads/coleadsaretakentogether,theresultsofthis
studyshowthatonly2underrepresentedleadingladies45yearsofageorolderatthetimeof
theatricalreleasegracedthesilverscreenlastyear.BothofthosewomenwereBlack.

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 14

Thefindingsinthissectionrevealthreemajortrends.First,therehasbeennochangeinthe
percentageoffemaleleads/coleadsorspeakingcharactersfromlastyeartothisyear.The
percentageofmovieswithunderrepresentedfemaleleadsisidenticalacrossthelasttwoyears.
Second,thepercentageofmovieswithgenderbalancedcastshasdecreasedfrom2015to2016.
Third,actionadventuremovieshavethelowestpercentageoffemalespeakingcharacterson
screenofthethreegenresevaluatedandcomedieshavethehighest.

OnScreenPortrayal

Threecontestedareasofgenderstereotypingonscreenpertaintodomesticroles,ageism,and
sexualization.Assuch,weassessedhowgenderrelatedtothesethreeportrayaltypes.Ofthose
charactersthathadenoughinformationfordomesticrolestobeevaluated,asignificant
associationbetweenparentalstatusandgenderemerged.9Females(47.3%)weremorelikely
thanmales(34.1%)tobeshownasparentsorcaregivers.Asimilarassociationappeared
betweenrelationalstandingandgender,withfemales(50.7%)morelikelytobeportrayedina
romanticrelationshipthanmales(39.8%).10Thesefindingsareproblematic,asexposureto
traditionalsexrolesinmediamayplayaroleindevelopingorstrengtheningexplicitorimplicit
stereotypicalattitudes,aspirations,andbehaviors.11

Table5
CharacterGenderbyAgeinTopGrossingFilms:2016

Children Teens YoungAdult Adults40yrs
Gender
012yrs 1320yrs 2139yrs orOlder
Males 50.7% 51.8% 66.6% 74.4%
Females 49.3% 48.2% 33.4% 25.6%
Ratio 1.03to1 1.07to1 1.99to1 2.9to1

Note:Columnpercentagessumto100%.

Turningtoage,thepercentageofmalesandfemaleswithinfourspecificagegroupswas
assessed:children(012years),teens(1320years),youngadults(2139years),andmiddle
age/elderly(40yearsandabove).Ananalysisrevealedthatagewasrelatedtogender.12As
depictedinTable5,thepercentageofonscreenmalesandfemalesinearlychildhoodand
teenageyearsisroughlyequivalent.Thegenderbiasonscreenisreallydrivenbythelower
percentageoffemales2139yearsofage(33.4%)and40yearsofageandolder(25.6%).

Givenhowfewwomenwereshownonscreen40yearsofageandolderacrossthe100topfilms
of2016,wewantedtoseeifthistrendwasdifferentfrompreviousyearsstudied.Asshownin
Table6,nodifferenceemergedfromlastyear(2015).And,thepercentageofwomen40yearsof
ageandolderhasnotmeaningfullychanged(<5%)from2007(22.1%)to2016(25.6%).

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
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Table6
CharacterGender40yearsofAgeandOlder:2007to2016

Gender 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total
%of
77.9% 72.8% 75.6% 78.2% 79.2% 78.4% 79.3% 75.4% 74.4% 76.9%
males
%of
22.1% 27.2% 24.4% 21.8% 20.8% 21.6% 20.7% 24.6% 25.6% 23.1%
females

Note:TheanalysisinTable6includesonlycharacters40yearsofageandolder.

Now,weturnourattentiontothesexualizationofcharactersinfilm.Eachyear,thepresenceof
sexuallyrevealingclothing(no,yes)andnudity(somevs.none)iscapturedaswellasreferences
tophysicalattractiveness(nonevs.oneormore).Thesemeasureswereassociatedwithgender
acrossthe100topmoviesof2016(seeFigure1).13Femalesweremuchmorelikelytobeshown
insexuallyrevealingattire(25.9%vs.5.7%)andpartiallyorfullynaked(25.6%vs.9.2%)than
weremales.Thisgenderdifferenceextendstoattractivenessaswell(F=10.7%vs.M=3.2%).14
Whydothesefindingsmatter?Becauseresearchhasshownthatseeingobjectifyingmaterialcan
contributetoand/orreinforceselfobjectification,bodyshame,andappearanceanxietyamong
somefemales.15

Figure1
CharacterGenderbySexualizationIndicators:2016
30%

25.9% 25.6%
25%

20%

15%

10.7%
10% 9.2%

5.7%
5% 3.2%

0%
SexyAttire Nudity PhysicallyAttractive

Males Females

Tocontextualizethepatternsfoundin2016,the9yearsamplewasassessedwithingender
acrossthesexualizationindicators.Forfemales,Table7illuminatesthattherehasbeenno

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 16

substantivechangefrom2015orfrom2007ontheoutcomesofsexuallyrevealingclothingor
nudity.Intermsofattractiveness,2016doesnotdifferfrom2015butislowerthan2007.No
differencesemergedacrossthethreeindicatorsformales(seeTable8).

Table7
SexualizationofFemaleCharactersOnScreen:2007to2016

Measure 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
%insexy
27% 25.7% 25.8% 33.8% 31.6% 30.2% 27.9% 30.2% 25.9%
attire
%w/some
21.8% 23.7% 23.6% 30.8% 31% 29.5% 26.4% 29% 25.6%
nudity
%referenced Not
18.5% 15.1% 10.9% 14.7% Measured 13.2% 12.6% 12% 10.7%
attractive

Note:Cellsforeachmeasureshowcasetheproportionoffemalesacross100films.Thepercentageoffemale
charactersforwhomtheattributewasabsentcanbefoundbysubtractingfrom100%.

Table8
SexualizationofMaleCharactersOnScreen:2007to2016

Measure 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
%insexy
4.6% 5.1% 4.7% 7.2% 7% 9.7% 8% 7.7% 5.7%
attire
%w/some
6.6% 8.2% 7.4% 9.4% 9.4% 11.7% 9.1% 9.5% 9.2%
nudity
%referenced Not
5.4% 4.1% 2.5% 3.8% Measured 2.4% 3.1% 3.6% 3.2%
attractive

Note:Cellsforeachmeasureshowcasetheproportionofmalesacross100films.Thepercentageofmale
charactersforwhomtheattributewasabsentcanbefoundbysubtractingfrom100%.

Theprevioustrendsfocusongenderandsexualizationoverall.Giventhepublicconcern
surroundingthehypersexualizationofwomenandgirls,16wewereinterestedinhowthese
measuresperformedacrossthreespecificagegroupsoffemalecharacters:teens(1320year
olds),youngadults(2139yearolds),andmiddleagers(4064yearolds).AsshowninTable9,
1320yearoldfemaleswerejustaslikelyastheir2139yearoldcounterpartstobeportrayedin
sexyattire,withsomenudity,andreferencedasattractive.17Thesexualizationofteenand
youngadultfemalessignificantlyoutpacedthatofmiddleagedwomenintermsofsexually
revealingclothingandpartialnudity.Thoughnotstatisticallysignificant,teenagefemalestended
tobereferencedasattractivemorethanmiddleagefemales.

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 17

Table9
FemaleCharacterSexualizationbyAge:2016

1320 2139 4064

Measure
yearolds yearolds yearolds
%insexyattire 31.6% 34.2% 19.7%
%w/somenudity 34.7% 33.3% 19.1%
%referencedattractive 14.8% 12.9% 9.2%

Note:Cellsforeachmeasureshowcasetheproportionoffemaleswithineachagegroupacross100films.The
percentageoffemalecharactersforwhomtheattributewasabsentcanbefoundbysubtractingfrom100%.

Figures2and3illuminatetheovertimetrendsintheportrayaloffemalesshowninsexyattire
andwithsomenudityacrossthesethreeagegroups.Amongteensandmiddleagedfemales,
thepercentageofthoseinsexyattiredecreasedfromlastyear(2015)tothisyear(2016).
Additionally,therewasanincreaseinthepercentageofmiddleagedfemalesinsexually
revealingclothingfrom2007to2016.Fornudity,teensandmiddleagedfemaleswerelesslikely
tobedepictedpartiallyorfullynakedin2016thanin2015.Yet,anoverallincreaseinexposed
skinemergedbetween2007and2016for1320yearoldsand4064yearolds.

Figure2
PercentagesofFemalesinSexyAttirebyAge:20072016
60%
56.6%

50%
44.3%
42.9%
39.8%
37.7% 39.4%
40% 33.5% 37.4%
41.4% 40.5% 34.2%
39.9% 38.7%
35.3%
30% 34.6% 33.8%
32.4% 31.6%
22.6% 24.7%
18.8%
20%
14.9%
19.7%
16.4%
10% 14.4% 14.8%
12.5%

0%

1320yrolds 2139yrolds 4064yrolds

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 18

Figure3
PercentagesofFemaleswithSomeNuditybyAge:20072016

60%
55.8%
50%
41.5% 41.2%
39.6% 39.6%
40% 34.9% 33.3%
31.2% 30.5%
30.5% 37.4% 36.9%
30% 33.0% 34.7%
33.6%
24.4%
30.1% 28.2%
19.7% 18.5%
20% 23.3% 14.2%
19.1%
15.7% 14.8%
10% 14.1%
10.6%
0%

1320yrolds 2139yrolds 4064yrolds

Overall,charactergenderisstilllinkedtotraditionalstereotypesinpopularmotionpictures.The
findingsrevealthatportrayalsoffemalesweremorelikelythanportrayalsofmalestobe
domesticated,young,andsexualized.Ourresultsalsosuggestthatfemalescontinuetofacea
sellbydateonscreen,whichisroughly40yearsofage.Onepossibleexplanationforthis
hegemonypertainstowhoiscallingtheshotsbehindthecamera,whichweaddressinthenext
sectionofthereport.

BehindtheCamera

Thedirectors,writers,andproducersofthe100topgrossingmoviesof2016total1,438
individuals.18Themajority(82.2%;n=1,182)weremalewhile17.8%(n=256)werefemale(See
Table10).Focusingondirectors,120helmerswereattachedtothesampleoffilmswith4.2%
(n=5)femaleand95.8%(n=115)male.Thisisagenderratioof23maledirectorstoevery1female
director.

The5femaledirectorsincludedJenniferYuhNelson(KungFuPanda3),PatriciaRiggen(Miracles
FromHeaven),TheaSharrock(MeBeforeYou),JodieFoster(MoneyMonster),andSharon
Maguire(BridgetJonessBaby).Ahigherpercentageoffemalesworkaswriters(13.2%)and
producers(20.7%),asshowninTable10.

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 19

Table10
ContentCreatorsbyGender:2016

Position Males Females GenderRatio

Directors 95.8%(n=115) 4.2%(n=5) 23to1
Writers 86.8%(n=249) 13.2%(n=38) 6.5to1
Producers 79.3%(n=818) 20.7%(n=213) 3.8to1
Total 82.2%(n=1,182) 17.8%(n=256) 4.6to1

Only4.1%ofalldirectorsacrossthe9yeartimeframewerefemales(seeTable11).Thehighest
percentagewasfoundin2008,when9femalesaccountedfor8%ofalldirectors.Further,2016
doesnotdeviatemeaningfullyfrom2015oranyotheryearinthesample.Examiningthefemale
directorssince2007,only34workedoneormoretimes.Asamatteroffact,30women(88.2%)
onlyhadoneopportunitytodirectacrossthetimeframe.Clearly,therehasbeennochangein
thehiringpracticesoffemaledirectorsacrossthesampletimeframe.

Table11
FemaleDirectors:2007to2016

Measures 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total
#offemaledirectors 3 9 4 3 5 2 2 8 5 41
%offemaledirectors 2.7% 8% 3.6% 2.75% 4.1% 1.9% 1.9% 7.5% 4.2% 4.1%
Total 112 112 111 109 121 107 107 107 120 1,006

In2015,webeganlookingatthegenderofcomposersasapartofournewMusicCoalitionat
theMedia,Diversity,&SocialChangeInitiative.Outof121composersin2016,only2(1.7%)
werewomen!Amere14femalecomposershaveworkedacrossthesampleof900movies,
whichtranslatesintoagenderratioof70.3malecomposerstoevery1female.However,two
women(RachelPortman,DeborahLurie)workedmorethanonce.Thus,ninewomenhave
workedascomposersoftopgrossingmoviessince2007.Similartodirectors,therehasbeenno
changeovertime(seeTable12).

Table12
FemaleComposers:2007to2016

Measures 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total
#offemalecomposers 0 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 14
%offemalecomposers 0 1.8% 1.8% 1.7% 1.9% 1.8% <1% <1% 1.7% 1.4%
Total 107 108 109 115 105 114 105 114 121 998

Doescontentcreatorgenderrelatetocharactergenderonscreen?Weattempttoanswerthis
questionherefocusingspecificallyonscreenwritersanddirectors.Webifurcatedthesampleof

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 20

2016filmsintothosewithafemaledirectorandthosewithout.Next,welookedatthe
percentageofgirlsandwomenonscreenwithineachcategory.Movieswithandwithoutfemale
screenwritersweretreatedtothesameanalysis.

Figure4
PercentageofFemaleCharactersOnScreenbyScreenwriterGender:2016
50%
FemaleWriter

38.8% NoFemaleWriter
40%

30% 28.2%

20%

10%

0%
%ofFemaleSpeakingCharacters

Theresultsrevealednomeaningfulassociationbetweendirectorgenderandcharactergender.
Putdifferently,femaledirectedmovieswerenomoreorlesslikelytoportraygirlsandwomen
onscreen(34.6%)thanthosemovieswithoutafemaledirector(31.3%).19Forscreenwriter
gender,however,adifferentpatternemerged.Screenwritergenderwasrelatedsignificantlyto
charactergender.20AsshowninFigure4,thepresenceofafemalewriterincreasedthe
percentageofgirls/womenonscreenin2016by10.6%.

Thereareafewdifferentinterpretationsofthesefindings.Onepertainstowriterstellingstories
akintotheaxiom,writewhatyouknow.Thus,onewaytoincreasetheprevalenceof
girls/womenonscreenwouldbetohiremorefemalescreenwriters.Thesecondexplanationis
thatwomenwritersareattachedtodevelopingprojectsandintellectualproperty(i.e.,books,
games,stories)withafemaleleadorcolead.Thislatterexplanationisproblematic,asit
seriouslyhinderswomensjobprospectsgivenhowfewfemaleleadsorcoleadsappearacross
themostfinanciallylucrativefilmseachyear.

Thepercentageofwomenbehindthecamerainkeyproductionrolesinpopularmoviesis
abysmal.Womenworkasproducersandwritersmorethantheydoasdirectorsorcomposers.
Despitetheincreasedactivism,pressattention,andeventhependingEqualEmployment
OpportunityCommission(EEOC)investigation,theneedlehasnotmovedforfemaledirectorsinthe
filmbusinessacrossthe9yearsofcontentevaluated.And,aswewillseeinthenextsection,
femalesarenottheonlygroupfacingarepresentationalroadblockinthemovieindustry.Actors

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 21

andcontentcreatorsofcoloralsoexperienceexclusionaryhiringpracticesonscreenandbehind
thescenesintopgrossingcinematicfare.

Race/EthnicityOnScreen&BehindtheCamerainFilm

OnScreenPrevalence

Ofthosecharacterswhoserace/ethnicitycouldbeascertained(n=3,752),70.8%wereWhite,
13.6%Black,5.7%Asian,3.1%Hispanic/Latino,3.4%MiddleEastern,<1%American
Indian/AlaskanNative,<1%NativeHawaiian,and2.7%MixedRaceorOther.Intotal,29.2%of
allcharacterswerefromunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgroups.Thispointstatisticis
substantiallybelowthepercentageofmovieticketspurchasedbynonCaucasians(49%)inthe
U.S./Canada.Itisalsolessthanthepercentageofindividualsidentifyingasunderrepresentedin
theU.S.(38.7%).21

Becauseoftheconcernsurrounding#OscarsSoWhite,itisimportanttomonitorwhether
characterportrayalsofrace/ethnicityarechangingovertimeinHollywood.Nodifferences
emergedfrom2015to2016acrossanyoftheracial/ethnicgroups.Takingalongerview,Table
13revealsthatonlythepercentageofWhitecharactershasdecreased(6.8%)from2007to
2016.ItisinterestingtonotethatthisdifferencedoesnotholdwhencomparingWhite
charactersin2016withthosein2008.Resultantly,therehasbeennomeaningfulchangeinthe
percentageofBlack/AfricanAmerican,Latino,Asian,orMixedRace/Othercharactersacrossthe
yearsevaluated.

Table13
PrevalenceofCharacterRace/EthnicityOnScreenbyYear:20072016

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%
2016 70.8% 13.6% 3.1% 5.7% 7.0%

Note:CharactersintheOthercolumnincludethosecodedMiddleEastern,AmericanIndian/AlaskanNative,Native
Hawaiian/PacificIslander,andMixedRace.Eachrowsumsto100%,butmaydeviateduetorounding.

Thesestatisticsareimportantastheyconveysamplewideinformationabouttherace/ethnicity
ofcharactersinpopularfilms.Itisnecessary,however,todisaggregatethesetypesofpoint
statisticstounderstandhowdiversitydistributesacrossmovies.Forinstance,asmallnumberof

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
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filmsmayfeaturealargenumberofunderrepresentedcharacterswhileothermoviesmaydepict
none.Thistypeofinformationwouldbemaskedwhenfocusingsolelyonoverallpercentages.

Becauseofthis,weconductedtwoadditionalanalyses.First,wewerecuriousabouthowmany
filmsfeaturedproportionalrepresentationofdifferentracial/ethnicgroupsonscreen.
Proportionalrepresentationhasbeendefinedinourpreviousreportsas+2%pointsfromU.S.
Census.Toillustrate,AfricanAmericansare13.3%oftheU.S.population.Afilmwouldbe
consideredproportionallyrepresentativeif11.3%15.3%(+2)oftheentirecastwasBlack.

Table14showsthatfilmsapproximatingU.S.Censuspercentagesareinfrequent.In2016,only1
moviefeaturedproportionalrepresentationofLatinosonscreen.Ahigherpercentageoffilms
arerepresentativeofBlack(19movies)andAsian(21movies)characters.Itmustalsobenoted
thatthenumberoffilmsportrayingproportionalrepresentationofBlackcharactershas
increased(+9%)from2015to2016.

Table14
FilmsFocusingonBlack,Asian,&LatinoCharacters:2015&2016

Black Latino Asian
Measure Characters Characters Characters
2015 2016 2015 2016 2015 2016
#offilmsw/outcharactersfromspecificrace/ethnicity 17 25 40 54 49 44
#offilmsw/proportionalrepresentation(+2%Census) 10 19 2 1 18 21
U.S.Census 13.3% 17.8% 5.7%
TotalFilmsEvaluated 100 100 100

Note:Cellsdonottotalto100%.In2016,atotalof6filmshadentirecastsofanthropomorphizedanimalsorsupernatural
creatures.In2015,atotalof0filmsmetthiscriterion.

Second,wewereinterestedinthenumberofmoviesdevoidofanyspeakingornamed
charactersfromspecificracial/ethnicgroups.Intermsofinvisibility,atotalof25ofthe100top
filmsof2016didnotfeatureasingleAfricanAmericanorBlackspeakingcharacteronscreen.
Thisisanincreaseof8moviesfrom2015(SeeTable14).Atotalof54filmswerecompletely
missingLatinospeakingcharacters,whichis14higherthanin2015.Perhapstheonlypositive
findingisthatthenumberoffilmswithoutanyAsianorAsianAmericanspeakingcharacters
decreasedfrom49in2015to44in2016.Itisimportanttopointoutthat6animatedmoviesdid
notfeatureanyhumancharactersthatcouldbecategorizedforrace/ethnicity,whichdeviates
from2015(0movies).TheseareincludedintheinvisibilityanalysisshowninTable14.

Thisyear,wetookourinvisibilityanalysisonestepfurther.Bycrossinggenderwith
race/ethnicity,itenabledustoassesshowmanyfilmsweremissingfemalesspecificallyacross
multipleracial/ethniccategories:White,Black,Asian,andLatino.AsshowninTable15,nearly
halfofallfilmsevaluatedwerecompletelymissingBlackfemalespeakingcharacters(n=47)and
twothirdsormoreweremissingAsianfemales(n=66)andLatinas(n=72).Instarkcontrast,only

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 23

11ofthe100topmoviesof2016weremissingWhitegirls/womenonscreen.Thefindingsfor
the100topfilmsof2015arepresentedinTable15forcomparisonpurposes.

Table15
EpidemicofInvisibilityFacingFemalesbyRace/Ethnicity:20152016

#ofFilmsw/no #ofFilmsw/no #ofFilmsw/no #ofFilmsw/no
WhiteFemales BlackFemales LatinoFemales AsianFemales
2015 3 48 65 70
2016 11 47 72 66

Note:In2016,atotalof6filmshadentirecastsofanthropomorphizedanimalsand/orsupernaturalcreatures.In
2015,atotalof0filmsmetthiscriterion.

Inadditiontotheseprevalencevariables,wewereinterestedinhowtwoadditionalmeasures
relatetocharacterrace/ethnicity.Thefirstwasgenre.Giventhesmallsamplesizesofsome
racial/ethnicgroups,wecollapsedallnonWhitecharactersintoasingleunderrepresented
category.Then,weexaminedthepercentageofunderrepresentedcharacterswithinthree
distinctgenres.TwonotabledifferencesemergedinTable16.

First,thepercentageofunderrepresentedcharactersonscreeninanimationin2016(48.5%)has
increasedsubstantiallyfrom2010(+47%)and2007(+40.4%).Thisisalsoanincreaseof35.3%
from2015,whenonly13.2%ofcharactersonscreenwerefromunderrepresentedracial/ethnic
groups.Becausetherewereonly12animatedfilmsinthesample,andonly6hadcharactersthat
couldbeevaluatedforrace/ethnicity,weexaminedthedistributionofunderrepresented
charactersmoviebymovietoassesswheretheyappeared.Twoofthefilmsaccountedfor72.9%
ofallunderrepresentedcharactersonscreen(i.e.,Moana,KuboandtheTwoStrings).Giventhis
additionalfinding,theincreaseofunderrepresentedcharactersinanimationshouldbe
interpretedverycautiously.Additionally,thepercentageofunderrepresentedcharactersin
comedyincreased8.3%from2010and9%from2007.

Table16
PrevalenceofUnderrepresentedCharactersOnScreenbyFilmGenre:2007,2010,2016

ActionorAdventure Animation Comedy

2007 2010 2016 2007 2010 2016 2007 2010 2016
%ofUnder
represented 21.5% 29.7% 26.4% 8.1% 1.5% 48.5% 23.1% 23.8% 32.1%
Characters

Note:ThepercentageofCaucasianspeakingcharacterscanbecomputedbysubtractingeachcellfrom100%.

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 24

Beyondgenre,thelastanalysisinthissectionexaminedtherelationshipbetweencharacters
race/ethnicityandgender.Nostatisticallysignificantassociationemerged.22Table17showsthe
percentageofmalesandfemalesacross5racial/ethnicgroups.

Table17
CharacterRace/EthnicitybyGenderinTopGrossingFilms:2016

Gender White Black Latino Asian Other
%ofmales 68% 65.8% 65.2% 62.3% 67.8%
%offemales 32% 34.2% 34.8% 37.7% 32.2%
Ratio 2.12to1 1.93to1 1.87to1 1.65to1 2.11to1

Movingawayfromallspeakingcharacters,wenowturnourattentiontoleadingcharacters.
Similartothegendersectionofthereport,wefocusontherace/ethnicityofleads/coleads
separatelyfromensemblecasts.Asnotedearlier,ouranalysisiscenteredontheactor's
race/ethnicityratherthanthecharacters/heplaysonscreen.

Outofthe100topfilmsof2016,atotalof14movieshadleadsorcoleadsplayedbyactorsfrom
underrepresentedracial/ethnicgroups.Thisrepresentsnochangefromlastyear,whenthe
numberwasalso14.ThisiswellbelowtheU.S.Censuspointstatistic(38.7%).Elevenofthe
moviesdepictedunderrepresentedmalesandthreeunderrepresentedfemales.The14movies
werefilledwith16actors,astwomoviesfeaturedcoleads.

Themajorityofleads(n=10or62.5%)wereplayedbyBlackactors.ThreeactorswereMixed
Race.JusttwoAsianmaleactorshadleadingorcoleadingrolesacrossthesampleandonlyone
NativeHawaiian/PacificIslanderfemaleactorwascastasalead.

Turningtoensemblecasts,39differentactorscarriedthenarrativesacrossthesefilms.Fifteenof
theseactorswereidentifiedonlineasunderrepresented(38.5%),whichisdirectlyonpointwith
U.S.Census.Though,thebreakdownofroleswascapturedbyonlythreeracial/ethnicgroups:
66.7%Black(n=10),20%(n=3)Latino,and13.3%(n=2)MixedRace.

Together,theresultsinthissectionrevealthatunderrepresentedcharactersarestillfacingan
epidemicofinvisibilityinfilm.Fewliveactionleadingcharacterswerediverse,withnoLatinos
depictedinleading/coleadingrolesandonlytwoAsianmales.Onebrightspotisanincreasein
thepercentageofunderrepresentedcharactersinanimation,thoughdiversecastsinonlytwo
moviesprimarilydrovethefindings.Now,wetakealookatthenatureorcontextof
race/ethnicitydepictedonscreen.

OnScreenPortrayal

Hereweassesshowrace/ethnicitymayberelatedtodomesticityandthesexualization
indicatorspresentedabove.Genderwasseparatedforallanalyses,giventhedifferences
revealedearlier.Intermsofdomesticity,nodifferencesemergedonparentalorrelationalstatus

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 25

byrace/ethnicityformalecharacters.23Justoverathird(36.4%)ofallmalecharactersevaluated
onthesemeasuresweredepictedasparentsand44.6%wereportrayedinaromantic
relationship.

Focusingonfemales,parentalstatuswasrelatedtorace/ethnicity.24WhencomparedtoBlack
females(57.1%),Latinas(50%)andWhitewomen(46.9%)werelesslikelyandAsianfemales
(73.7%)weremorelikelytobeshowninacaregivingrole.Femalesfromotherracial/ethnic
groupsweretheleastlikely(29.4%)tobeportrayedasparents.Nodifferencesemergedin
relationalstatusbyrace/ethnicity,with52.1%offemalesevaluatedonthisvariableshownina
romanticrelationship.

Table18
SexualizationofFemaleCharactersbyRace/EthnicityOnScreen:2016

Measures White Black Latino Asian Other

%insexyattire 26.5% 25.9% 25% 8.8% 40.5%
%ofw/somenudity 26.4% 25.9% 25% 8.8% 38.1%
%referencedasattractive 10.6% 13.8% 15% 5% 13.1%

Note:Cellsforeachmeasureshowcasetheproportionoffemaleswithineachracial/ethnicgroupacross100films.
Thepercentageoffemalecharactersforwhomtheattributewasabsentcanbefoundbysubtractingfrom100%.

Examiningsexualization(seeTable18),femalesrace/ethnicitywasrelatedtosexyattireand
nuditybutnotattractiveness.25Femalesfromotherraces/ethnicitiesweremorelikelytobe
showninsexyattireandwithsomenuditythanWhite,Black,orLatinofemales.Asianwomen,
ontheotherhand,weretheleastlikelytobeshowninasexualizedlight.Formales,however,
noneofthemeasureswererelatedtotheirracialorethnicgrouping.26

Table19
SexualizationofMaleCharactersbyRace/EthnicityOnScreen:2016

Measures White Black Latino Asian Other

%insexyattire 5.9% 6% 4% 5.3% 3.4%
%ofw/somenudity 8.5% 9% 9.3% 6.8% 10.7%
%referencedasattractive 3.6% 3% 1.3% 3.8% 1.7%

Note:Cellsforeachmeasureshowcasetheproportionofmaleswithineachracial/ethnicgroupacross100films.
Thepercentageofmalecharactersforwhomtheattributewasabsentcanbefoundbysubtractingfrom100%.

Overall,theportrayalofcharactersbyrace/ethnicityrevealsafewtroublingtrends.Females
fromotherracial/ethnicgroupsweretheleastlikelytobedepictedasparentsandthemost
likelytobeshowninasexualizedlight.Thisadmixturepotentiallyreflectstheexoticprofileof
mixedraceorotheredwomen,atiredtropecriticizedacrossdecadesofmotionpicture
content.27Littledeviationonthemeasuresevaluatedoccurredformalecharactersby

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
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race/ethnicity,however.Inthenextsectionofthereport,wemovebeyondcharacterdiversity
toassesswhogetstocallactionbehindthecamerainpopularfilms.

BehindtheCamera

OuryearlyreportincludesananalysisofBlackandAsiandirectorsworkingbehindthecamerain
popularmovies.The100topgrossingfilmsof2016featuredatotalof120helmers,ofwhom
5.8%or7wereBlackorAfricanAmerican.Thesevenincluded:AntoineFuqua(TheMagnificent
Seven),TimStory(RideAlong2),TylerPerry(Boo!AMadeaHalloween),DenzelWashington
(Fences),MalcolmD.Lee(Barbershop:TheNextCut),DavidE.Talbert(AlmostChristmas),and
BarryJenkins(Moonlight).Clearly,notoneofthesedirectorswasaBlackwoman.

Table20
BlackDirectorsbyYear:20072016

BlackDirectors 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total
7.1% 4.5% 6.3% 4.6% 4.9% 6.5% 3.7% 3.7% 5.8% 5.3%
%ofmaledirectors
(n=8) (n=5) (n=7) (n=5) (n=6) (n=7) (n=4) (n=4) (n=7) (n=53)
1.8% <1% <1%
%offemaledirectors 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
(n=2) (n=1) (n=3)
Total 112 112 111 109 121 107 107 107 120 1,006

OvertimehiringpracticescanbefoundinTable20.Across900movies,only5.6%(n=56)ofall
directorswereBlack.Perhapsmostdisturbingly,only3Blackwomen(<1%)havehelmedatop
grossingmotionpictureacrossthesample.If2011wasincludedintheanalysis,thenumber
wouldremainexactlythesame.Consequently,nochangehasoccurredinhiringpracticesofBlack
maleorBlackfemaledirectorsbehindthecamerafrom2007to2016.

TherelationshipbetweenBlackdirectorsandBlackspeakingcharactersonscreenwasexplored.
Wefirstseparatedthefilmsintotwosilos:thosewithaBlackdirectorattachedandthose
withoutaBlackdirectorattached.Then,thepercentageofBlackspeakingcharactersineach
groupingwasassessed.AsshowninFigure5,asubstantiallyhigherpercentageofBlack
characterswasfoundonscreeninmovieswithaBlackdirector(52.4%ofspeakingcharacters
wereBlack)thanwhenanonBlackdirectorwasattached(10.6%ofspeakingcharacterswere
Black).28

Giventhatinvisibilityinfilmaffectsfemalesmorethanmales,weexaminedtherelationship
betweenBlackdirectors(no,yes)andBlackfemalecharacters.Asignificantassociationemerged.
AsubstantiallyhigherpercentageofBlackfemalecharactersappearinfilmswithaBlackdirector
(21.7%)whencomparedtothepercentageofBlackfemalecharactersinfilmswithoutaBlack
director(3.3%).29

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 27

Blackdirectorsseemtobetellingstoriesthatreflecttheirexperiences.Or,Blackdirectorsare
gettinghiredonopendirectingassignmentstotellthosenarrativeswithBlackleadsand/orcasts.
Asnotedearlierinthereport,thelatterexplanationisproblematic,suggestingthathiring
practicesaretiedtotheraceofleadingcharacter(s)andcasts.Infact,everyfilmhelmedbya
Blackdirectorinthe2016samplefeaturedaleadingorcoleadingcharacterorensemblecast
thatwasBlack.

Figure5
PercentageofBlackCharactersbyDirectorRace:2016

60%
52.4%
50%

40%

30%

20%

10.6%
10%

0%

NoBlackDirector BlackDirector

InadditiontoBlackdirectors,wemonitoredthenumberandpercentageofAsianhelmers
workingacrossthe100topfilms.In2016,atotalof5Asiandirectors(4.2%)wereattachedto
themostpopulardomesticmovies.Fourofthesedirectorsweremale(i.e.,JustinLin,StarTrek
Beyond,JamesWan,TheConjuring2,JonM.Chu,NowYouSeeMe2,GalenT.Chu,IceAge:
CollisionCourse)andonewasfemale(JenniferYuhNelson,KungFuPanda3).

Table21
AsianDirectorsbyYear:20072016

AsianDirectors 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total
2.7% 1.8% <1% 3.7% 1.6% 5.6% 5.6% 3.3% 2.8%
%ofmaledirectors 0
(n=3) (n=2) (n=1) (n=4) (n=2) (n=6) (n=6) (n=4) (n=28)
<1% <1% <1%
%offemaledirectors 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
(n=1) (n=1) (n=2)
Total 112 112 111 109 121 107 107 107 120 1,006

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 28

OvertimetrendscanbefoundinTable21.Across900movies,only3%ofdirectorswereAsian.
Almostallofthesedirectorsweremaleexcepttwo.Ifweaddin2011,thetotalnumberofAsian
femaledirectorsincreasestothree.Though,JenniferYuhNelsonwasresponsibleforhelming
twomoviesinthesample,bothfromtheKungFuPandafranchise.

Thefindingsinthissectionrevealthatfewdirectorsofcoloraregettinghiredtohelmthe100
topmoviesyearly.Perhapsthegroupthatismostaffectedbehindthecameraarewomenof
color,asonly3Blackand2Asianwomenworkedacrossthesampletimeframe.Thoughnot
measured,onlyoneLatinafemaledirectorworkedacrossthe900movies.Inthenextsection,
weexaminetheprevalenceandportrayalofanothergroupoftenoverlookedinfilm:theLGBT
community.

Lesbian,Gay,Bisexual,&TransgenderCharacters

Ofthe4,544charactersthatcouldbeevaluatedforapparentsexualityacrossthe100topfilms
of2016,only51or1.1%wereLesbian,Gay,orBisexual(LGB).Ofthe51characters,themajority
weregaymales(n=36or70.6%),9werelesbian(17.6%),and6werebisexual(11.8%).Because
thepercentageofindividualsidentifyingasLGBintheU.S.is3.5%,Hollywoodisclearlyunder
representinganothergrouponscreen.30Further,notonecharacteracrossthe100topmoviesof
2016wascodedastransgender.

HastherebeenanychangeintheprevalenceofLGBcharactersovertime?Since2014,wehave
beencataloguingthefrequencyandnatureofLGBTcharactersonscreen.31AsshowninTable22,
incomparisonto2014and2015(<1%),therehasbeennochangeinthepercentageofLGBT
charactersovertime.However,disaggregatingthefindingsrevealsonebrightspot.Therehas
beenanincreaseinthenumberofgaymales.Nomeaningfuldifferenceemergedforlesbianor
bisexualcharactersovertime.Transgendercharactersarealmostcompletelyinvisibleacrossthe
300topmoviesfrom20142016.

Table22
LGBTPortrayals:20142016

Sexuality 2014 2015 2016
Lesbian 4 7 9
Gay 12 19 36
Bisexual 5 5 6
Transgender 0 1 0
Total 21 32 51
%ofLGBTcharacterssamplewide <1% <1% 1.1%

Turningtoleadingcharacters,only1filmoutofthe100topmoviesof2016portrayedaLGB
protagonist(i.e.,Moonlight).Chiron,aBlackgayleadingcharacter,wasdepictedatthree
distinctagegroupsacrossthecontextoftheplot.Lookingacross2014and2015,onlytwoother

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
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leadsorcoleadswerecodedasLGBT.In2014,TheImitationGamefeaturedaWhitemale
computerscientistfromtheU.K.workingtobreakGermanyscodeinWorldWar2.Thatsame
year,M.Gustave(i.e.,theconcierge)wascodedasbisexualinTheGrandBudapestHotel.

Giventhescarcityofleadingparts,wewantedtoseewhatrolesLGBTcharacterswerefilling
acrossstorylines.In2016,45.1%(n=23)ofLGBcharactersweredepictedinsupportingrolesand
49%(n=25)wereshownasinconsequentialtotheplot.AsshowninTable23,thisisa
substantialshiftfrom2015,thoughinlinewiththefindingsin2014.Asforsupportingroles,
2016revealedthehighestpercentageofLGBcharactersand2015thelowest.2014helda
middleposition.

Table23
Roles&VisibilityofLGBTCharacters:20142016

Measures 2014 2015 2016

%ofsupportingcharacters 38.1% 28.1% 45.1%
%ofinconsequentialcharacters 47.6% 71.9% 49%
#ofmoviesw/noLGBT 86 82 76
#ofmoviesw/noLGBTfemales 96 93 91

Note:Columnsdonottotalto100%.

Similartoourfocusonrace/ethnicity,weconductedaninvisibilityanalysisforLGBTcharacters
(seeTable23).Overthreequartersofthemovies(n=76)didnotportrayoneLGBcharacterthat
spokeorwasreferredtobynameonscreen.Thisislowerthanthenumberfoundin2015(82
movies)andsubstantiallylowerthan2014(86movies).Thefindingsbecomefarmore
problematicwhenwefocusonfemalesfromtheLGBTcommunity,asshowninTable23.Afull
91ofthe100topfilmsfailedtodepictonefemalelesbianorbisexualcharacter,whichislower
than2014(96movies)butnodifferentthan2015(93movies).

AllLGBcharacterswereassessedforgender,race/ethnicity,andage.Afull76.5%(n=39)were
maleand23.5%(n=12)werefemale.ThepercentageofLGBfemalesislowerthanthesample
widepercentageoffemales(31.4%).Ofthosecharacterswithenoughcuesforrace/ethnicityto
beascertained,themajorityofLGBwereWhite(79.1%)and20.9%wereunderrepresented.This
latterstatisticis17.8percentagepointsbelowU.S.Census.Finally,almostalloftheLGB
characterswere2139yearsofage(58.8%)or40yearsofageorolder(35.3%).Only3LGB
characterswere20yearsofageoryounger.Thislattertrendisdisconcerting,asyoungLGB
malesandfemalesinthiscountryarefailingtoseenarrativesreflectingtheirinterpersonal
experiencesonscreen.

DespitethefactthatmostLGBcharactersareadultinage,fewaredepictedasparents.Only
25%or6oftheLGBcharacterswithenoughcuestoevaluatethismeasurewereshownas
caregivers.Oftheseparentalfigures,3weremaleand3werefemale,only2were
underrepresented.AllthreeoftheLGBfemaleparentswereWhite.Turningtorelational

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
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standing,roughlyhalf(51.4%)ofthecharactersassessedforthismeasurewereshownina
romanticrelationship.Only4weredepictedasmarried,whichisinconsistentwiththegainsin
theU.S.onmarriageequality.

Surely,theprevalenceandportrayalofLGBTcharactersrevealsaconflictedsetoffindings.On
onehand,thesheernumberofrolesonscreenhasincreasedparticularlyforgaymalesand
thoseinsupportingparts.Whilethismaybeastepintherightdirection,thepercentageofLGB
charactersisbelowestimatesofLGBintheU.S.andtransgendercharacterswerecompletely
missingacrossthe100topmoviesof2016.Evenmoredisconcerting,fewLGBcharacterswere
shownacrossthelifespan,withracial/ethnicdiversity,orasparents/caregivers.

CharacterswithDisabilitiesinFilm

Forthesecondyear,theMDSCInitiativeassessedcharacterswithdisabilitiesintopgrossing
films.UsingamodifieddefinitionbasedontheAmericanswithDisabilitiesAct(ADA),each
characterwasexaminedforthepresenceorabsenceofadisability.32Inlinewithourprevious
analysis,addictionwasnotincludedandsupernaturalbeings(e.g.,robots,zombies,etc.)were
notallowedtopossessadisability.Acrossthe100topgrossingmoviesof2016,only2.7%of
characters(n=124)weredepictedwithadisability.33Thisapproximatesourfindingsfrom2015
(2.4%,or105portrayals).

Table24
FilmsFocusingonCharacterswithDisabilities:2015&2016

Measure 2015 2016

%ofcharactersw/disabilities 2.4% 2.7%
#offilmsmissingcharactersw/disabilities 45 38
#offilmsw/proportionalrepresentation(+2%Census) 2 1
U.S.Census 18.7% 18.7%
TotalFilmsEvaluated 100 100

Examiningvisibility,atotalof38filmsacrossthetop100didnotincludeasinglecharacterwitha
disability.Thisisadecreasefrom2015,where45filmsweredevoidofcharacterswitha
disability.Additionally,70moviesfailedtodepictatleastonefemalecharacterwithadisability,
comparedto84moviesin2015.Onlyonemoviein2016depictedcharacterswithdisabilitiesin
proportion(+2%)tothe18.7%oftheU.S.populationconsideredtohaveadisability.34SeeTable
24.

Wewerecuriouswhethercharactersfillingleadandcoleadroleswereshownwithadisabilityat
anypointinthefilm.Atotalof15filmsfeaturedaleadorcoleadcharacterportrayedwitha
disability.Theseindividualsincludedthosewithautism,blindness,depression,andmobility
issues,tonameafew.Maleleads/coleadswithdisabilitiesappearedmoreoftenthanfemale
leads/coleads(seeTable25).Notoneleadorcoleadcharacterwithadisabilitywasfroman

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 31

underrepresentedracial/ethnicgrouportheLGBTcommunity.Thefewfilmsthatfeatureleading
orcoleadingcharacterswithadisabilityalignwiththetrendsnotedearlierinthisreport.Namely,
Whitemaleactorsfilltheseroles.

Table25
Lead/CoLeadCharacterswithDisabilities:2015&2016

Measure 2015 2016

#offilmswithlead/coleadcharacterwithdisability 10 15
#offilmswithmalelead/coleadcharacterwithdisability 7 12
#offilmswithfemalelead/coleadcharacterwithdisability 3 3
#offilmswithURlead/coleadcharacterwithdisability 0 0
#offilmswithLGBTlead/coleadcharacterwithdisability 0 0

Beyondfocusingonleadsorcoleads,wewerealsointerestedinfilmswithensemblecasts
drivingthestory.Ofthe9ensemblefilmsinthesample,threeleadingcharactersweredepicted
withadisability.Twooftheseindividualsweremaleandonewasfemale.Here,bothmaleswere
fromunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgroups.Incomparisonto2015(54.3%),therewerefewer
characterswithdisabilitiesdepictedassupportingcastmembersin2016(48.4%).However,
therewasnodifferenceinthepercentageofinconsequentialcharactersfrom2015(32.4%)to
2016(31.5%).

Onceacharacterwithadisabilitywasidentified,thepresenceorabsenceofthreedomainswas
assessed,consistentwiththeU.S.Census.35Physicaldisabilitiesweremostcommon,with64.5%
ofcharacterswithadisabilityinthiscategory.Afewexamplesofthephysicaldisabilities
appearingacrossthesampleinclude,butarenotlimitedto,nervedamage,missinglimbs,
leprosy,andcancer.

Disabilitiesinthementaldomainwereexperiencedby31.5%ofcharacters.Thisdomainincluded
PostTraumaticStressDisorder(PTSD),memoryloss,andanxiety,amongothers.Finally,
disabilitiesinthecommunicativedomainaffected21.8%ofcharacters.Characterswhoareblind,
deaf,orwhoexperiencespeechimpedimentsareillustrativeofportrayalscodedinthe
communicativedomain.Ascharacterscouldbecodedintomorethanoneofthedomains,these
totalsdonotaddto100%.

Characterswithdisabilitieswereassessedforgender,race/ethnicity,andage.Lookingtogender,
32.3%ofcharacterswithdisabilitieswerefemale,while67.7%weremale.Thisrepresentsan
increasefrom2015inthepercentageoffemalecharacterswithdisabilities(seeTable26).Three
quarters(74.5%)ofcharacterswithdisabilitieswereWhite,while25.5%werefrom
underrepresentedracial/ethnicgroups.OnlyoneLGBTcharacterwasdepictedwithadisability
acrossthesample.Half(50.4%)ofthecharactersshownwithadisabilitywere40yearsofageor
older,whichisfewerthanthepercentagein2015(59%).Ofcharacterswithadisabilityin2016,

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 32

8.9%werechildrenage12orunder.Thedemographicpictureofcharacterswithdisabilitiesis
stilldistortedinpopularmovies.

Table26
DemographicProfileofCharacterswithDisabilities:2015&2016

Measure 2015 2016

%ofmalecharactersw/disabilities 81% 67.7%
%offemalecharactersw/disabilities 19% 32.3%
%ofWhitecharactersw/disabilities 71.7% 74.5%
%ofURcharactersw/disabilities 28.3% 25.5%
#ofLGBcharactersw/disabilities 0 1

Theresultsofthisanalysisoncharacterswithdisabilitiesrevealcleardiscrepanciesbetweenthe
realworldandthereelworld.Althoughindividualswithdisabilitiesrepresentnearlyonefifth
oftheU.S.population,amere2.7%ofcharactersaredepictedwithadisabilityacrossthe100
mostpopularmoviesof2016.Thus,storiesthatreflectthefulllivesofcharacterswithdisabilities
andthedemographicdiversityofthiscommunityremainelusiveinfilm.

Conclusion

Across900popularmoviesfromthelastdecadeincludingthe100topgrossingfilmsof2016
itisclearthatexclusionisanentrenchedindustrypracticeinHollywood.Whetherinfrontofor
behindthecamera,ourresultsongender,race/ethnicity,theLGBTcommunityandcharacters
withdisabilitydemonstratehowfarthereistogobeforeinclusionisachieved.Below,themajor
resultsofthisreportarediscussed,alongwithpotentialsolutionsandlimitations.

DiversityDeficitsareProlongedandProblematic

Thelongitudinalanalysisinthisreportprovidesauniqueperspectiveonboththecurrentlackof
inclusivityandthehistoricinequitiesonscreenandincreativeroles.Wesawlittletono
meaningfulchangeintherepresentationoffemales,underrepresentedracial/ethnicgroups,the
LGBTcommunity,orcharacterswithdisabilities.Femalesstillfillfewerthan33%ofallspeaking
rolesinmovies,nomatterthatgirlsandwomencomprise50%oftheU.S.populationand50%of
theticketbuyingaudience.Lookingtootherindicators,intermsofcertainracial/ethnicgroups
andcharacterswithdisabilities,proportionalrepresentationhasnotbeenachieved.Whilewe
sawanuptickinunderrepresentedcharactersinanimation,thisisprimarilyduetotwomovies
andisatrendtomonitorcloselyintheyearstocome.Also,despiteasmallincreaseinthe
numberofgaymalesonscreen,therearefewLGB,andnotransgendercharactersappearingin
thetopfilmsof2016.Inotherwords,lastyearstopfilmsevidencedminorornoimprovementin
theirdepictionsofdiversegroups.

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 33

Examiningthestoriestoldinfilmrevealsanotherfacetofexclusion.Amere34moviesfeatureda
femaleintheleadorcoleadroleandonly3ofthesewomenwerefromunderrepresented
racial/ethnicgroups.Fourteenfilmsplacedanindividualfromanunderrepresentedracial/ethnic
groupatthecenter.Neitherofthesefiguresrepresentsachangefrom2015.Onlyonemoviein
2016hadanLGBTcharacterasthefocusofthestory.Clearly,thereislittleattempttocreate
filmcontentthatdepictsadiversearrayofexperiencesandjourneys.Forfilmaudiences,this
consistentfocusonWhitemaleleadsmaypresentlittleopportunitytoseetheirownnarratives
depictedonthebigscreen.

ExclusionistheNorm,NottheExceptioninHollywood

Movingbeyondrepresentationoverall,thisinvestigationistheonlyresearchreporttoofferan
understandingoftheinvisibilitycertaingroupsfaceinHollywoodfilms.Tothatend,eachyear
theMDSCInitiativeexamineswhichmoviesfailtodepictevenonespeakingornamedcharacter
whoisfemale,fromanunderrepresentedracial/ethnicgroup,LGBT,orshownwithadisability.
Theresults,outlinedinTable27,exposethedegreetowhichonlyfocusingonsamplewide
percentagescanmasktheabsenceofdifferentgroupsacrossmanyfilms.Forexample,whilein
thefullsample,BlackcharactersarerepresentedinnearproportiontotheU.S.population,one
quarterofthemoviessampleddidnotfeatureevenonespeakingornamedcharacterwhowas
Black.Theseresultsarenotonlytroubling,butsuggestthatexclusionisthenormratherthanthe
exceptioninHollywood.

Table27
TheEpidemicofInvisibilityAcross6Groups

Films Difference
UnderservedGroups %ofSpeaking U.S.
w/OutAny (Population
inFilm Characters Population Characters)
Characters

FemaleCharacters 0 31.4% 50.8% 19.4%

Charactersw/Disabilities 38 2.7% 18.7% 16%
LatinoCharacters 54 3.1% 17.8% 14.7%
LGBTCharacters 76 1.1% 3.5% 2.4%
AsianCharacters 44 5.7% 5.7% 0
BlackCharacters 25 13.6% 13.3% +0.3%

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

Asecondaspectoftheinvisibilityanalysisunveiledthisyearisanexaminationofhowmany
femalesfromdifferentgroupsaremissinginfilm.Theresultsrevealthatfemalesofcolor,LGBT
females,andfemaleswithadisabilityaredistressinglyomittedfrommanytopHollywoodmovies.
Further,thesefindingsdemonstratethatanintersectionalperspectiveiscrucialtounderstanding
Hollywoodsinvisibilitycrisis.Simplyadvocatingformorefemalecharactersormorecharacters

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 34

fromdiversegroupsdoesnotaddresstheerasureofwomenofcolor,LGBTidentifiedfemales,
orfemaleswithdisabilitiesfromourpopularculturalnarratives.

TiredTropesareaContinuingTrendinFilm

Inadditiontoourfindingsonprevalence,theportrayalofcharactersinfilmalsoremains
stationary.Onceagain,femalecharactersweremorelikelytobesexualizedthantheirmale
peersinmovies.And,teenagefemalesarejustaslikelytobedepictedinasexualizedlightas
theirmiddleagedfemalecounterparts.Onepositiveresultisthatthepercentageofteens
showninsexuallyrevealingclothingandwithsomenudityismeaningfullylowerin2016than
2015.Theconsistentobjectificationoffemalecharactersismorethanjustwearying.Giventhe
potentialeffectsofobjectifyingportrayals,itisalsoworrisome.36

Thesetiredtrendsextendtothedepictionofcharactersfromunderrepresentedracial/ethnic
groups.Moviesperpetuatethesexualizationofwomenfromotherracial/ethnicgroups,even
asthesefemalecharactersareleastlikelytobeshownasparentalfigures.Incontrast,Asian
femalecharacterswereleastlikelytobesexualizedandmostlikelytobeshownascaregivers.
Fallingbackontheseoutdatedtropesreflectslittlecreativityorforwardthinkingamong
storytellers.Further,thelackofLGBTcharactersincommittedrelationshipsorasparentsshows
howfarfilmhastogotoportrayamorerealisticpictureofreality.

CreativeRolesareRestrictedinFilm

Unitingthefindingsonthelackofinclusiononscreenwithdataonwhoworksbehindthe
cameratellsapowerfulstoryaboutprivilegeanditsperpetuationincinema.Lessthan20%of
thewriters,directors,andproducersacrossthe100topmoviesof2016werefemale.In
particular,thegenderratioofmaletofemaledirectorsstillstandsatover20to1.Therehas
beennochangeoverthelastdecadeinthepercentageofwomenhiredtohelmthe100most
populardomesticmovies.Thisinertiaextendsevenfurther:between2007and2016,only1.4%
ofcomposerswerefemale.Thelackoffemaleparticipationinbehindthecameraand/orabove
thelinerolescontinuestostagnate.

Onceagain,examiningthesetrendsintersectionallyrevealsthatinparticular,womenofcolorare
themostaffectedwhenitcomestoHollywoodsrefusaltohirefemaledirectors.Only3Black
womenand2Asianwomenhavehelmedatopgrossingfilmsince2007.LookingtoLatinas,only
1workedinthe9yearsstudied.BlackandAsianmalesfareslightlybetter,butstillremain
underrepresentedinthisbehindthecameraleadershiprole.Wehavepreviouslyargued,based
onourresearch,thatwhenexecutivesandindustryleadersthinkdirector,theythinkmale.37
Giventhesefindings,itwould,perhaps,bemoreaccuratetosaythatwhenentertainment
decisionmakersthinkdirector,theythinkWhitemale.

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 35

StrategicSolutionsareImperativetoFosteringInclusion

Thevocalandvociferousadvocacysurroundinginclusioninentertainmenthasbroughttheissue
totheforefrontofnewsandcreatedindustrypressure.Despitethenoiseandintensityof
protest,activismandawarenesshavegeneratedlittlerealorlastingchange.Perhapsthisis
becausegoodintentionsarenosubstituteforexpertisewhenitcomestofixinglongstanding
problems.Or,becauseprogramsthatsupportfilmmakershavefocusedondevelopingskills
particularlyforwomenandpeopleofcolorratherthaninfluencinghiringpractices.

Inordertotrulymovetheneedle,newandstrategicsolutionsmustbeadopted.Inparticular,
entertainmentcompaniesmustfindwaystoaddresstheirdismalhiringandcastingrecords
whenitcomestofemales,peopleofcolor,aswellastheLGBTanddisabilitycommunities.Here,
weproposemultipleideasforcompanies,contentcreators,industryexecutives,andconsumers.
Thesetangiblesolutionsrelyontheknowledgeofexpertstoofferinnovativewaystoincrease
inclusioninentertainment.Thesegobeyondsocalledbestpracticesandthewhimsofadvocates
toofferactionableideasforsustainablechange.

First,companiesmustsettargetinclusiongoalsandmeasuretheirprogresstowardattaining
them.Clearly,theadagewhatgetsmeasuredgetsdonedoesnotholdtrueifthebevyof
reportsoninclusionareanyexampleandcompaniesmustinsteadsetouttoachieveinclusion,
measuringtheirprogressalongtheway.Doingsocreatesaclearbenchmarkforestablishing
whetherchangehasoccurred.Italsoprovidesafirmknowledgeofwhatinclusionmeansand
howitcanbequantified,ratherthanrelyingonfeelingsoranecdotalevidence.Bysetting
transparentgoals,companiesalsodemonstratethatthereisavalueforstories,casting,and
storytellersthatreflecttheaudience.

Asapartoftheirgoalsetting,companiescancreateinclusiveconsiderationlistswhenhiring
directorsorotherbehindthescenesroles.Thismeansthatexecutivesshouldaimtorepresent
thediversityinthetalentpipelinewhendevelopinglistsofpotentialdirectors.Ourprevious
researchshowsthat28%ofnarrativeshortfilmdirectorsattopfestivalsworldwidearefemale.38
Thus,companiesseekingtohireadirectorshouldensurethatcloseto30%ofthecandidates
theyconsiderarefemale.

Beyondcompanies,filmschoolsandfilmfestivalscanalsosetbenchmarksforinclusionthathelp
bolsterthepipelinefordiversetalent.Asidefromgoalsrelatedtoenrollmentorfilmmakers,
theseinstitutionscanalsosetinclusionobjectivesrelatedtotheprogrammers,faculty,orboard
members.Addingthesediverseperspectivescancreateenvironmentsforlearningand
developmentthatmayappealtofilmmakersfromvariousbackgrounds.Ultimately,thismay
ensurethatfemaleandunderrepresentedfilmmakershaveearlycareerandeducational
opportunitiesthatofferexperiencesessentialtolatersuccess.

Seekingtoenrollorshowcasediversetalentmustbemetbyeffortstoensureenvironmentsdo
nottriggerstereotypes.Spacesforlearning,pitching,orworkingmayhaveimplicitcuesthat
hinderperformanceorasenseofbelonginginwomenorindividualsfromunderrepresented

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 36

racial/ethnicgroups.Devisingworkspacesthatalloweveryindividualtousetheirfullcreative
powerswithouttheriskoffallingpreytostereotypesareonewaytogaingroundforinclusion.

Addressinginequalitymeanscombattingexplicitandimplicitbiases.Thenexttwosolutions
addressthesebiasesincastingsmallpartsandbackgroundroles.Onewaytoaddressthelackof
diversityinthesepositionsisforcontentcreatorstojustaddfive.Theaveragefilm(basedonour
research)hasroughly40speakingcharacters.Mostofthesecharactersareinconsequentialto
theplot.Ifwritersweretosimplyaddfivefemalespeakingcharacterstoeveryfilm,itwould
increaseyearlythepercentageoffemalecharactersonscreen.Thisnewpercentage,whenbuilt
uponeachyear,willleadtoequalityonscreeninamerethreeyears.Giventhatparityhasnot
beenachievedinhalfofacentury,39thisisremarkable.Italsocreatesopportunitiesforfemales
fromallracial/ethnicbackgrounds,femaleswithdisabilities,andLGBTfemalestobeaddedto
stories.Thus,itisanintersectionalsolutiontothedecadesoldproblemofunderrepresentation
ofgirlsandwomeninfilm.

Figure6
PercentageofSpeakingRolesbyGender:JustAddFive

80%

68.6%

61.8%
56.3%
60%
51.7%

48.3%
40%
43.7%
38.2%

31.4%

20%

Males Females

0%
2016 2017 2018 2019

Anothersolutionisforhighprofiletalenttoaddanequityclausetotheircontract.DevisedbyDr.
StacyL.SmithanddevelopedwithcivilrightsattorneyKalpanaKotagal,theclausespecifiesa
moreequitableprocessforauditioningandcastingonscreentalentandinterviewingandhiring
forbehindthecamerajobs.Theclauseinstantiatesequalityfromafilmsinception;createsa

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 37

systemofchecksandbalancestoachieveit;anddevelopsmetricstopermitareviewofits
success.ForAlistactors,directors,orproducers,usinganequityclauseisawaytodomorethan
advocateforchange,itisameanstoachievingit.

Lastly,consumerscanadvocateforchangeintwoways.Thefirstisbysupportingcontentthat
breaksthepatternsobservedinthisreportfilmsdrivenbyorfeaturingfemales,
underrepresentedgroups,LGBTindividuals,andpeoplewithdisabilities.Whatdoessupporting
inclusivecontentlooklike?Itcanbefinancial,throughticketspurchasedorpayingforother
formsofcontent.Itmightmeanpostingorsharingonsocialmediaaboutupcomingfilmsthat
featurediversecastsorcontentcreators.Or,forphilanthropistsororganizations(i.e.,Lunafest,
Refinery29),itmightmeansupportingdiversefemaleartistsearlyintheircareers.

Further,shareholderscaninfluencecompaniestodomoretocreateinclusivecontent.Through
thepathwaysopentothem,individualswhoownstockinentertainmentcompaniescandemand
transparency,accountability,andultimately,diversityintheproductsthesecorporationscreate
andsell.Proportionalrepresentationacrossastoryorfilmslateshouldnotbeviewedasathreat
toprofits,particularlyasmostcharactersinmoviessayonlyoneword.Infact,inonestudywith
industrydecisionmakers,overhalfofparticipantsstatedthathavingagenderbalancedcast
wouldnotimpactafilmsbottomline.40

Tofullyunderstandtheimpactinclusivityhasonafilmssuccess,itisimperativethat
sophisticated,rigorous,andindependenteconomicanalysesbeconducted.Todate,weknowof
onlyonestudythatmeetsthiscriteria.41Theinitialresultsdemonstratedthatthepresenceofa
femaleleadorcoleaddidnotsignificantlyinfluencedomesticboxoffice,whileotherfactors(i.e.,
widestpointofrelease,criticscore,productioncost)werestrongerdirectand/orindirect
predictorsofeconomicperformance.Despitetheseencouragingfindings,thestudymustbe
replicatedonalargersampleofmoviesbeforetheresultscanbeconsideredconclusive.

Wemustacknowledgeatleasttwolimitationswiththepresentstudy.Onlythe100topgrossing
movieseachyearareincluded.Filmsthatarelesspopularmaybemoreinclusive;however,our
sampleischosenyearlytoreflectthemoviesthatplaytothewidestaudienceandserveas
agendasettingcontent.Anadditionallimitationisthatourdisabilityanalysisdoesnotincludea
broaderfocusonmentalhealthissuesthatmaynotmeettheADAdefinitionofdisability.Weare
intheprocessofremedyingthis,aswearecollectingthisdataforafuturestudy.

Despitetheselimitations,thecurrentreportprovidesthegreatestbreadthanddepthof
informationregardinginclusioninpopularfilmtodate.Incontrasttootherstudies,itexamines
everyspeakingornamedcharactershownonscreenacross100moviesperyearandincludesa
visibilityanalysisofwhoismissingfromourculturalnarratives.Moreover,ourbehindthe
cameraanalysesareintersectionalunitinginformationongenderandrace/ethnicitytoreveal
thatwomenofcolorarenearlyerasedasdirectorsinfilm.

Yeartoyear,advocatesandactivistsclamorforgreaterinclusioninpopularmovies.Asthis
reportindicates,thatdemandhasgoneunfulfilled.Despitethemoney,time,andenergy

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 38

investedincreatingawarenessorequippingfilmmakersforopportunitiesthatdonotmaterialize,
wehavenotseenchange.Unfortunately,untilcontentcreatorsandcompaniesadoptevidence
basedsolutionstoexclusionaryhiringandcastingpractices,itisunlikelythatanythingwill.

Atatimeofpoliticaldivisiveness,entertainmenthasthepowertoreflectouruncertainties,serve
asanescapefromourfears,andmostimportantly,helpusenvisionadifferentreality.While
someofourgreatestnationalchallengesarisefromapopulationthatcontinuestodiversify
acrosseverydimension,popularmoviespaintadistressingportraitthatperpetuatesaversionof
theU.S.thatsimplynolongerexists.Wecannotexpectthatfilmswillhealourpolitical
differences.Butwecanaskthatthelandscapesofimaginationandstorytellingondisplayatthe
multiplexresembletheaudiencetheretobeentertained.Bytakinginclusionseriouslyandacting
toaddressit,companies,consumers,andcreatorscanensurethatentertainmentmovesaway
fromavisionofthepastandtowardcontentthatresemblestheaudienceofthepresent.Aswe
allgrapplewithwhatitmeanstobeAmericansinanAmericawemaynotrecognize,moviesmay
mattermorethanwerealize.

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 39

Acknowledgements

OuryearlyInequalityinFilmreportisoneofthehighlightsoftheMDSCInitiative.Several
individualsinternalandexternaltoUSCAnnenbergmakethisresearchpossible.First,weare
extraordinarilythankfulforthegenerousfundingforthisstudyfromtheAnnenbergFoundation.
WallisAnnenbergandCinnyKennardsbeliefinthisworkandfinancialassistanceare
unparalleled.AtUSCAnnenberg,ourresidentchampionsareDr.SarahBanetWeiserandDean
WillowBay.Thankyoubothforsupportingoureffortstofightexclusionaryhiringpracticesin
Hollywood.

ThestaffatUSCAnnenbergisunmatched,withaspecialnodtoGretchenParkerMcCartney,
PatriciaLapadula,aswellasCynthiaMartinezandherwholeundergraduateadvisingteam.The
consistentandyeartoyearsupportoftheseindividualsistrulyremarkable.Wealsoare
indebtedtoourstrategicadvisor,LeahH.Fischman,whohasfacilitatedexpandingexponentially
ourglobalfootprintoverthelasttwoyears.

TheMDSCInitiativeisalsosupportedfinanciallybyateamofindividualsandorganizationswho
liveandbreathetomakeinclusionandfairnessahallmarkofthiscountry.ThankyouMariand
ManuelAlba,BonnieArnold,AnnEricksonandRichardPellett,BethFriedman,SuzanneLerner,
ValleyFundfortheAdvancementofWomenandGirlsattheWomensFoundationofSouthern
ArizonaandAnnLovell,theWomensFoundationofColoradoandBarbaraBridges.Supportwas
alsoprovidedbyTheTidesFoundationontherecommendationofMs.JulieParkerBenello,
whomwewouldliketothank.Otherorganizationsandindividualshavegenerouslysupported
ourwork,includingSonyPicturesEntertainment,Epix,TheHarnischFoundation,TheDavid&
LuraLovellFoundation,ThePritzkerPuckerFamilyFoundation,TheAmmonFoundation,andThe
JacquelynandGregoryZehnerFoundation.

Last,butbynomeansleast,weneedtothankeachmemberofouramazingresearchteam.Our
leadershipstaffaswellasourundergraduatecoderscarrythemantleforinclusioneverydayin
theworktheydoinourlab.Theworldshouldknowoftheireffortsandnames,astheyarethe
oneswiththeknowledgeandwilltoactuallytransformtheentertainmentlandscape.Weareso
proudandcouldnotcompletethisworkwithouteachandeveryoneofyou,withspecialthanks
toAnneMarieDePauwandArturTofanfortheirworkandleadership.

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 40

MDSCInitiativeResearchTeam

AlexandraAftalion MacKenzieKennedy GiulianaPetrocelli
VendelaAguayo SuzannaKeough LauraPhillips
MayaAnderman MadelineKim NatashaPinon
LaurenBickford G.TuckerKing CaitlinPlummer
VictorBlackwellJr. CarolineLangella ZachRowe
AlisonBrett VanessaLe DianaSilvestri
GabriellaCantrell YoojinAndieLee SimrinSingh
CelineCarrasco AbagailLevinson NatalieSkinner
MelinaMaeCastorillo BryanLi KeemiaTabrizi
VictoriaCatapusan LorraineLin KhanhTran
MelissaSiyueChen EricLoeb JennyTruong
KellyChing XiaoyueEvelynLu MeganValencia
MahanChitgari EdwardLau NandeetaVaswani
ChristineChoi MariaVitoriaMarques SylviaVillanueva
SamanthaCioppa BrynMcFadden SarahVoss
JoseCisneros CatrionaMcIlwraith EmmaVranich
HannahDeAlicante KatherineL.Neff RachaelWoods
AudreyDeighan SarahL.Neff MengranXia
JessieDiRuggiero EmilyNew MelissaYau
LanceGood MiaNguyen PraisellaYosep
JackHaley AlisonOmon ZacharieZee
AutumnHenry SarahPark
MeganJackson ArianaParsa

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 41

Footnotes

1.Thesampleeachyearisdeterminedbythelistofthe100topfictionalfilmsonBoxOfficeMojo.See:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2016&p=.htm

2.Forthisstudy,therearetwoprimaryunitsofanalysis:thespeakingcharacterandthefilm.Aspeaking
characterisonethatuttersatleastasinglediscerniblewordonscreenorisreferredtobyname.
Sometimes,speakingcharactersareshowningroupsorcrowdswhichmakesisolatingtheirindependent
identitydifficulttoascertain.Asarule,allcharactersshownengaginginsimultaneousspeechwerenot
unitizedorcodedinthisstudy.However,thereareinstanceswhenidenticalcharactersspeak
sequentiallyonscreen.Whenthisoccurs,thereplicates(e.g.,allmales,allfemales)wereunitizedor
loadedontoonelineofdata.Only7identical,sequentiallyspeakinggroupsappearedacrossthesample
whichisconsistentwiththerangefoundinpreviousyears(low=3,high=30).Eachyearthesegroupsare
excludedpriortoanalysis.

Eachspeakingornamedcharacteristypicallycodedonlyoncewhens/he/itappearsonscreen.However,
therearetimeswhenacharactermaytransformorchangeacrosstheplot.These
alterationshappeninbothanimatedandnonanimatedfilms.Forinstance,weseeChironatthree
differentanddistinctagesinMoonlightwhichissimilartoDoryscharacterinFindingDory.Aswithall
ourreports,westipulatethatacharacterundergoingatype,agegrouping,gender,orrace/ethnicity
changewillconstituteanewlineorunitofanalysis.Atotalof180demographicchangesoccurred,with
59.4%maleand40.6%female.Omittingthesefromtheanalyseschangestheoverallpercentageof
malesandfemalesminimally.31.4%offemalescomprisethesamplewithdemographicchanges,31.1%
withoutdemographicchanges.Justlikeallofourpreviousreports,demographicchangesareincludedin
allstatisticalanalyses.Theonlydeviationfromthiswasin2014inreportingLGBTcharacters.

Eachspeakingornamedcharacterwasmeasuredfordemographic,domesticity,andsexualization
indicators.Becausethesevariableshavebeendefinedinmultiplereports(seeMDSCInitiativewebsite,
http://annenberg.usc.edu/research/mdsci),weprovideacursoryreviewofourmeasuresbelow.For
demographicvariables,characterswerecodedfortype(i.e.,human,animal,supernaturalcreature,
anthropomorphizedsupernaturalcreature,anthropomorphizedanimal),biologicalsex(male,female),
race/ethnicity(i.e.,White,Hispanic/Latino,Black,AmericanIndian/AlaskanNative,Native
Hawaiian/PacificIslander,Asian,MiddleEastern,Other),andagegrouping(i.e.,05years,612years,13
20years,2139years,4064years,65yearsandolder).

Domesticrolesincludedparentalstatus(i.e.,nonparent,singleparent,coparent,parentrelationalstatus
unknown)andrelationalstanding(i.e.,single,married,committed/unmarried,committed/maritalstatus
unknown,divorced,widowed).Theselasttwomeasureswereonlyapplicablewhenenoughcueswere
presentinthestorylinetorenderareliablejudgment.Assuch,manyofthesamplesizesfortheanalyses
onthedomesticindicatorsaresmallandshouldbeinterpretedcautiously.

Threemeasurescapturedattributesofsexualization.Thepresenceorabsenceofsexuallyrevealingattire
wasassessed.BasedonanadaptationofDowns&Smiths(2010,p.725)definition,sexyattireistightor
revealingapparelthatdrawsattentiontothecurves,angles,ordetailsofthebodybetweentheneckline
andupperthighregion.Nudity,ortheamountofexposedskinwasmeasuredasnone,some(i.e.,
exposureofskininchest/cleavage,midriff,orhighupperthigh),orfull(formales,thisreferstoexposure
ofthegenitalareaorbuttocks;forfemales,thisreferstoexposednipples,inadditiontoexposing
buttocksorgenitalarea).ThismeasurewasalsoadaptedfromDowns&Smith(2010,p.725).Forvalidity

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 42

purposes,screenshotsofeverydepictionofsexuallyrevealingclothingandpartial/fullnudityweretaken
toverifythecodingdesignationsacrossfilmsandresearchassistants.Allpictureswerereviewedbythe
seniorleadershipteam.Disagreementswithcodingjudgmentswerediscussedandcontentwasre
watchedwhenadecisioncouldnotbemadebasedonthescreenshotscaptured.Onlycharacterswith
torsosthatreflectedahumanorhumanlikebodywereassessedforthesetwomeasures.

Lastly,physicalattractiveness(i.e.,verbalornonverbalreferences)wasexaminedforeveryspeakingor
namedcharacter.Eachcharacterwascodedasnone,onereference,ortwoormorereferences.Unlike
theothertwosexualizationindicators,attractivenesswasassessedacrosseveryspeakingornamed
characterinthesample.

Thevastmajorityofmeasuresfeaturedtwoadditionalcodinglevels:canttellandnotapplicable.Cant
tellwasusedwhenacharacterpossessedaparticulartraitbutitwasimpossibletoascertainwhatlevel
ofthevariableshouldbeapplied.Forinstance,acharacterthatonlysaysonewordinacoffeeshopmay
beshownwithababyinastroller.Theinformationinthescenemaynotbeenoughtorenderthe
characteraparent,nanny,relativesuchasanauntoranuncle,orakidnapper.Inthisexample,the
charactersparentalstatuswouldbecodedascanttell.Notapplicablewasusedwhenameasure
wasnotrelevanttoaparticularcharacter.Anthropomorphizedanimalsorsupernaturalcreatures(i.e.,
HeiHei,Moana)withouthumanlikebodiesmayexistincultureswherecharactersdonotwearclothing.
Insuchinstances,thesexuallyrevealingclothingandnudityvariablesarenotapplicable.

Westartedmeasuringsexualandgenderidentityinour2014report.Apparentsexualitycaptures
enduringromanticand/orsexualinterestinmen,women,orboth.Intheabsenceofexplicitinformation
aboutacharacter'ssexuality,westipulatedthatatleasttwocontextualcueshadtobepresentfora
charactertobecodedaslesbian,gay,orbisexual(LGB).Thismeasurewascollapsedintotwolevels:LGB
vs.notLGB.Wealsoexaminedwhetheracharacterwastransgender.Transgenderindividualsarethose
whosebiologicalsexdoesnotreflecttheirgenderidentity.Eachcharacterwascodedastransgendervs.
not.Twocaveatsareimportanttonoteaboutthisvariable.First,crossdressingcharactersorthose
performingindragarenotautomaticallycodedastransgenderwithoutadditionalinformation.Second,
notabletransgenderindividuals(e.g.,LaverneCox)makinganappearanceasthemselvesare
automaticallycodedastransgender.

Inadditiontovariablecodingatthecharacterlevel,eachfilmwasevaluatedforgenreandrating.These
distinctionsweremadeusingavarietyofonlinesources:IMDbPro.com,BoxOfficeMojo,andVariety
Insight.Finally,thetypeofnarrative(lead,colead,ensemblecast)structurewasevaluatedforeach
movie.Overtheyears,theMDSCInitiativeleadershipteamhasdiscoveredthatresearchassistants
sometimeshavedifficultyunderstandingwhetheramoviefeaturesasinglelead,twoleads,oragroupof
characters.Assuch,theleadershipteamisinvolvedinverifyingthesejudgmentsbasedonan
understandingofSydField'sthreeactstructure.

Thecodinginstrumentwastaughttoundergraduatesenrolledinaclassacross6weeks.Thesame
instructor(MarcChoueiti)hastrainedalloftheresearchassistantsevaluatingthe100topgrossingfilm
samplesfrom2007through2016.ThecodingwascompletedprimarilybycoderstrainedintheFallof
2016andSpringof2017.Oncetrainingisfinishedandseveralpracticediagnosticshavebeencompleted,
thesampleoffilmsareassignedforcoding.Threeresearchassistantsevaluateeachmovieindependently.
Unitizingandvariablereliabilityiscalculatedperfilmanddisagreementsareresolvedthroughdiscussion.
Afteralljudgmentswerefinalized,afourthevaluatorqualitycheckedthefinalfile.Qualitychecking
referstowatchingthefilmmeticulouslyandassessingallofthefinaldecisionswithouttheburdenof

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 43

buildingtheinitialexcelfile.Disagreementsdiscoveredinthequalitycheckingstagewerebroughttothe
attentionoftheMDSCInitiativeleadershipteam.

Eachmoviewasevaluatedforreliabilityintwoways.Unitizingreliabilitywasthenumberoflines
(characters)perfilmthatthemajorityofcoders(2outof3)agreedupon.Afilmwithaunitizing
agreementof100%indicatesthateveryspeakingcharacterwasidentifiedbyatleast2of3research
assistants.Agreementisreportedinquartiles:Q1100%90%(films125);Q289.71%83.72%(films26
50);83.33%76.39%(films5175);76.32%52.17%(films76100).Itmustbenotedthat10movieshad
unitizingreliabilitylessthan70%andonly2werebelow60%.

ThePotter&LevineDonnerstein(1999)formulaformultiplecoderswasusedtocalculatevariable
reliability.Thesamplewidemedianisreportedforeachmeasure,followedbythemeanandrange(low
tohigh)inparentheses:role1.0(M=.99,range=.631.0);type1.0(M=1.0,range=1.0);sex1.0(M=1.0,
range=1.0);race/ethnicity1.0(M=.99,range=.661.0);age1.0(M=.93,range=.651.0);parentalstatus1.0
(M=.99,range=.641.0);relationalstanding1.0(M=.99,range=.651.0);sexuallyrevealingclothing1.0
(M=.98,range=.611.0);nudity1.0(M=.98,range=.631.0);physicalattractiveness1.0(M=.996,
range=.631.0);apparentsexuality1.0(M=.996,range=.641.0);andtransgender1.0(M=.99,range=.61
1.0).

3.Hunt,D.,Ramon,A.C.,&Tran,M.(2016).2016HollywoodDiversityReport:Busine$$asUsual?RalphJ.
BuncheCenterforAfricanAmericanStudies.LosAngeles,CA.UCLA.NegronMuntaner,F.&Abbas,C.
(2016).TheLatinoDisconnect:LatinosintheAgeofMediaMergers.CenterfortheStudyofEthnicityand
Race.NewYork,NY.ColumbiaUniversity

4.ThechisquaretestforMPAArating(PG,PG13,R)andcharactergender(male,female)wasnot
significant,X2(2,4,583)=1.27,p=.53,phi=.02.

5.GenrewascollectedfromBoxOfficeMojoforeachfilm.Usingtheselabels,eachmoviewasgrouped
intoonlyoneofthefollowingcategories:Action/Adventure,Animated,Comedy,Drama,Horror/Thriller,
orNoneoftheabove(e.g.,Fantasy).Forsomefilms,moreinformationwassoughtfromIMDbPro.comto
assistcategorization.

6.MotionPictureAssociationofAmerica(n.d.,p.15).TheatricalMarketStatistics2016.Author.Retrieved
from:http://www.mpaa.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/03/MPAATheatricalMarketStatistics
2016_Final.pdf.U.S.CensusBureau(2016).QuickFacts.RetrievedJuly17,2017from
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/.

7.ItmustbenotedthatTylerPerrysportrayalinBoo!AMadeaHalloweenwasnotincludedinthis
number,asthefocuswasonunderrepresentedfemaleactors.

8.Wemeasuredtheageofeachleadandcoleadatthetheatricalreleasedateofthefilm.Eachactors
birthdaywasconfirmedusingVarietyInsight,StudioSystem,orotheronlinesources(e.g.,Twitter,
Facebook,ornewsarticles).ThereleasedateofeachfilmwasobtainedfromIMDbPro.com.

9.Priortoanalysis,theparentalstatusmeasurewascollapsedintotwolevels:notaparentvs.parent
(single,coparent,parent/relationalstatusunknown).Thechisquareanalysisrevealedanassociation
betweenparentalstatus(no,yes)andcharactergender(male,female):X2(1,1,038)=18.55,p<.05,
phi=.13.Itmustbenotedthatthecharactersamplesizedecreasessubstantiallyonallanalysesinvolving

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 44

parentalstatusandrelationalstanding.Thisisduetothefactthatlittleinformationonthesevariablesis
providedacrossthevastmajorityoftertiarycharactersthatonlysayoneorafewwordsonscreen.

10.Relationalstandingwascollapsedintotwolevelsbeforetheanalysiswascomputed:nocurrent
relationship(single,divorced,widowed)andcurrentrelationship(married,committedrelationship/not
married,committed/maritalstatusunknown).Romanticrelationshipswereassessedwithoutregardto
thegenderoftheparticipants.Theassociationbetweencurrentromanticrelationship(no,yes)and
charactergender(males,females)wassignificant,X2(1,1,042)=12.13,p<.05,phi=.11.

11.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),p.16151628.
Opplinger,P.A.(2007).EffectsofGenderStereotypingonSocialization.InR.W.Press,B.M.Gayle,N.
Burrell,M.Allen,&J.Bryant(Eds.)MassMediaEffectsResearch:AdvancesThroughMetaAnalysis.
Mahwah,NJ.LEA

12.Beforecomputingachisquare,theagevariablewascollapsedintofourlevels:012years,1320
years,2139years,or40yearsandolder.Therelationshipbetweencharacterage(012,1320,2139,40
andolder)andcharactergender(male,female)wassignificant,X2(3,4,282)=96.95,p<.05,V*=.15.

13.Thechisquareanalysisforsexuallyrevealingclothing(no,yes)andcharactergender(male,female)
wassignificant,X2(1,3,921)=323.87,p<.01,phi=.29.Priortorunningtheanalysisonnudity,thevariable
wascollapsedintotwolevels:nonudityvs.somenudity(some,full).Theassociationbetweennudity
(none,some)andcharactergender(male,female)wasalsosignificant,X2(1,3,922)=185.79,p<.01,
phi=.22.Fullnudityrarelyoccurred(n=31of570instances).Whencharactersweredepictedfullynude,
48.4%weremaleand51.6%werefemale.

14.Theattractivenessmeasurewasbifurcatedintotwolevels:noattractivenessreferencevs.
attractivenessreference(oneormore).Then,achisquarewascomputedonthisvariableandcharacter
gender(male,female).Asignificantassociationwasrevealed,X2(1,4,583)=107.57,p<.01,phi=.15.

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.Journalof
Communication,56,p.366386.

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

17.Analysesforfemalecharactersage(teen,youngadult,middleage)bythetwosexualization
measuresweresignificant:SRCX2(2,1,044)=21.10,p<.01,V*=.14;nudityX2(2,1,044)=21.82,p<.05,
V*=.15.Theattractivenessmeasurewasnotrelatedtofemalecharacters'age,however:X2(2,
1,152)=3.74,p=.15,V*=.06.

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 45

Thoughnotincludedinthebodyofthereport,wewantedtohighlighthypersexualizationpatternsfor
malecharactersacrossthesamethreeagegroups.TableApresentsthethreesexualizationindicatorsfor
maleteens,youngadult,andmiddleagedcharacters.Twoofthethreeanalyseswerestatisticallyand
meaningfullysignificant:SRCX2(2,2,215)=9.59,p<.01,V*=.07;nudityX2(2,2,215)=14.87,p<.01,V*=.08;
attractivenessX2(2,2,544)=6.48,p<.05,V*=.05.Maleteens(9.4%)weremorelikelytobeshowninsexy
attirethanweretheir4064yearold(4.3%)counterparts.Asimilarpatternemergedfornuditybetween
thesetwoagegroupings:16%vs.7.1%.Therewasnomeaningful(5%orgreater)differencebetween
attractivenessforthesethreeagegroups.

TableA
MaleCharacterSexualizationbyAge:2016

1320 2139 4064

Measure
yearolds yearolds yearolds
%insexyattire 9.4% 7.2% 4.3%
%w/somenudity 16% 11.1% 7.1%
%referencedattractive 6% 4.1% 2.5%

Note:Cellsforeachmeasureshowcasetheproportionofmaleswithineachagegroupacross100films.The
percentageofmalecharactersforwhomtheattributewasabsentcanbefoundbysubtractingfrom100%.

18.Todeterminewhoworkedasdirectors,writers,andproducersacrossthe100topfilmseachmovie
wasresearchedusingIMDbPro.com.Asmallsubsetoftheresearchteamcompliedlistscontainingeach
creditedindividualineachofthethreecategories.IndividualswhowerelistedinIMDbPro.comas
uncreditedaswellasthosecreditedforsupervisoryorexecutiveroles,suchasProductionExecutive
andProductionSupervisor,werenotincluded.Eachindividualwasonlyincludedoncewithina
productioncategory.Oncethelistswerecomplete,fiveresearchassistantslookedupthegenderofall
directors,writers,andproducers.Onlinefilmindustrydatabases(e.g.,VarietyInsight,StudioSystem,
IMDbPro.com)andothersources(e.g.,photos,news,personalwebsites)wereusedtoconfirmeach
creditedworkerasmaleorfemale.Thegenderandsourceofeachdecisionwascheckedasecondtime
byanotherresearchassistantbeforeanalyseswerecompleted.Onlyoneindividual(creditedtwiceasan
associatecoproducerontwofilmsinthesample)wasunabletobeconfirmedasmaleorfemaleandwas
thusexcludedfromanalyses.

PreviousdatacollectedforMDSCInitiativeresearch(seeourInclusionintheDirectorsChair?2017
report)aswellasdatabases(StudioSystem,VarietyInsight,DirectorsGuildofAmerica)andonline
sources(e.g.interviews,biographies)wereusedtoconfirmraceforfilmdirectors.Directors
representativeswerecontactedincaseswhereracedatacouldnotbeverifiedusingonlinesources.Five
directorsoutof120wereunabletobeconfirmedafterallmethodstoverifytheirracewereutilized.Their
photoswereusedtomakejudgmentsregardingrace(allfivewereinferredtobenotBlackandnotAsian).

Datacollectionforfilmcomposersandclassifyingtheirgenderfollowedthesameprocedureasabove.

19.Thechisquarebetweendirectorgender(femaleattached,nofemaleattached)andcharactergender
(male,female)wasnotsignificant,X2(1,4,583)=1.15,p=.28,phi=.02.

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 46

20.Screenwritergender(femaleattached,nofemaleattached)andcharactergender(male,female)was
significant,X2(1,4,583)=50.43,p<.01,phi=.11.

21.MotionPictureAssociationofAmerica(n.d.,p.15).U.S.CensusBureau(n.d.).

22.Ananalysisrevealedanonsignificantrelationshipbetweencharacterrace/ethnicity(White,Black,
Latino,Asian,Other)andcharactergender(male,female),X2(4,3,752)=3.77,p=.44,V*=.03.

23.Thechisquareanalysesformalecharacters'race/ethnicityandthetwodomesticitymeasureswere
notsignificant;parentalstatus(X2(4,481)=2.38,p=.67,V*=.07),relationalstatus(X2(4,493)=3.10,p=.54,
V*=.08).

24.Forfemalecharacters,theassociationbetweencharacters'race/ethnicity(White,Black,Latino,Asian,
Other)andparentalstatus(no,yes)wassignificant,X2(4,406)=11.52,p<.05,V*=.17.Norelationship
emergedwithrelationalstanding,however;X2(4,388)=3.51,p=.48,V*=.09.

25.Twoofthethreesexualizationmeasuresvariedbycharacterrace/ethnicity(White,Black,Latino,
Asian,Other)forfemalecharacters:SRCX2(4,1,228)=21.55,p<.01,V*=.13;Nudity,X2(4,1,228)=18.88,
p<.01,V*=.12.Nodifferencesemergedforfemalesinphysicalattractivenessbyrace/ethnicity,X2(4,
1,228)=5.51,p=.24,V*=.07.

26.Noneofthesexualizationindicatorsvariedbyrace/ethnicity(White,Black,Latino,Asian,Other)for
malecharacters:SRCX2(4,2,524)=2.35,p=.67,V*=.03;NudityX2(4,2,524)=1.64,p=.80,V*=.03;
AttractivenessX2(4,2,524)=3.02,p=.55,V*=.03.

27.Smyth,J.E.(2008).ClassicalHollywoodandtheFilmicWritingofInterracialHistory,19311939.InM.
Beltran&C.Fojas(Eds.)MixedRaceHollywood.NewYork,NY.NewYorkUniversityPress.seep.24.
Bastiaans,A.D.(2008).DetectingDifferenceinDevilinaBlueDress:theMulattaFigure,Noir,andthe
CinematicReificationofRace.InM.Beltran&C.Fojas(Eds.)MixedRaceHollywood.NewYork,NY.New
YorkUniversityPress.seep.239.Dagbovie,S.A.(2007).Starlight,starbright,stardamnnearwhite:
mixedracesuperstars.TheJournalofPopularCulture,40(2),p.217237.Shaheen,J.(2003).Reelbad
Arabs:HowHollywoodvilifiesapeople.TheAnnalsoftheAmericanAcademyofPoliticalandSocial
Science,588(1),p.171139.

28.Thechisquarebetweenblackdirector(no,yes)andblackcharacter(no,yes)wassignificant,X2(1,
3,752)=370.36,p<.01,phi=.31.

29.Therelationshipbetweenblackdirector(no,yes)andblackfemalecharacter(no,yes)wassignificant,
X2(1,3752)=189.74,p<.01,phi=.23.

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

31.Inthe2014report,weexcludeddemographicchangesintheLGBTsection.Therewereatotaloftwo,
asdelineatedinthefootnotesectionofthatinvestigation.Thedemographicchangeswerenotincluded
intheoverallnumberofLGBTcharactersastheportrayalsweresignificantlyshorterthanthecharacters

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 47

"mainline"inthefilm(i.e.,TheImitationGame,AlanTuring'sflashbacktochildhood).Therewereonly2
demographicchangesin2014andnonein2015.Seeour2014report,footnote29.

Thisyear,giventhatMoonlightfocusesroughlyathirdofthestoryonthreedifferentagesofChiron,we
decidedtoleavetypechangesin.Therewereonly4acrossallofthemovieswithanLGBTcharacter.In
doingsuch,wererananalysesfrom2014andincludedthedemographicchangesintheLGBTsectionof
thereport.ThesavvyreaderwillseethatitincreasedournumberofLGBTcharactersby2inthereport.

32.Thedefinitionofdisabilityinthisreportalignswiththatusedinourpreviousstudy,Inequalityin800
PopularFilms.Assuch,threestipulationshadtobefulfilledtobecodedwithadisability.One,characters
hadtopossessaconditionaffectingtheform,function,and/orstructureofthebody.Two,charactershad
toexperienceapresentrestrictioninmajorlifeactivitiesormajorbodilyfunctions.Three,thecondition
andrestrictionhadtobeprolonged(orbeexpectedtolast)foratleastsixmonths.Moreinformationon
theADAdefinitioncanbefoundat:https://www.ada.gov/regs2016/final_rule_adaaa.html

Inthisanalysis,characterswithscarspresentontheirhands,feet,orfacewereevaluatedforadisability.
WhenscarsmetseveritythresholdssetbytheU.S.militaryforcompensation,theywereconsidereda
disability.Thiswasassessedusingphotosofthecharactertomeasurethesizeandwidthofthescar.
Whenscarringormissingdigitsgleanedremarksfromothersthatwereconsideredsocialcensure(e.g.,
jokes,nonverbalexpression),charactersaffectedbytheseconditionswereautomaticallyincludedas
possessingadisability.

Additionalparametersalsoinfluenceddisabilityjudgments.Severaltypesofcharacterswerenotallowed
topossessadisability.Thosewere:celestialbeings(i.e.,creatureshailingfromsupernaturalcontextssuch
asdemons,ghoulsandthelike),theundead(i.e.,zombies,vampires),androbots(i.e.,machinery,
technology).Thisstipulationoccurredbecausethenatureofthesebeingsissuchthatrestrictionson
majorbodilyfunctionsorlifeactivitiesarenotpossible.

Thesecondrequirementwasthatwhendisfigurementwasassessed,eachcharactersspecieshadtobe
discernible.Thefantasticalworldscreatedinfilmmakeitpossibleforcharactersfromotherplanetsor
dimensionstobedepicted.Inthesecases,asinglecharacterwhopossessednonhumanfacialfeatures
hadtobecomparedtoanothercharacterfromtheirspeciestodeterminewhatwastypicalforthe
speciesbeforedisabilitycouldbeascertained.Whencharacterswerepresentedwithoutthecontextof
othersfromtheirspecies,otherphysical,mental,orcommunicativedisabilitieswerestillassessedwhen
theymettheelementsofthedefinition.

InlinewiththeADAdefinition,certainconditionswereexcludedfromtheanalysis.Addictionwasnot
includedasadisabilityinthisanalysisduetomeasurementissues.PertheADA,theremainingexclusions
were:(1)Transvestism,transsexualism,pedophilia,exhibitionism,voyeurism,genderidentitydisorders
notresultingfromphysicalimpairments,orothersexualbehaviordisorders;(2)Compulsivegambling,
kleptomania,orpyromania;or(3)Psychoactivesubstanceusedisordersresultingfromcurrentillegaluse
ofdrugs.Citedfrom:https://www.ada.gov/regs2016/final_rule_adaaa.html

Threeindependentevaluatorsassessedeachfilmforthepresenceofcharacterswithadisability
separatelyfromdatacollectionforunitizingandjudgmentofdemographic,domesticity,andsexualization
measures.Afterrenderingajudgment,theydiscussedeachfilmwithamemberoftheMDSCleadership
teamandadecisionwasmade.Followingthis,theMDSCleadershipteamexaminedthesetofnotesand
judgmentsmadeacrossthesampletocreateafinaldecisiononeachcharacterwithadisability.Reliability

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 48

wascalculatedperfilmacrossthesample.Here,samplewidestatistics(median,mean,range)are
reported:disability1.0(M=1.0,range=1.0);communicative1.0(M=.96,range=.611.0);mental1.0
(M=.97,range=.611.0);andphysical1.0(M=.97,range=.611.0).

33.Thisfiguredoesnotinclude4characterswithasupernaturaldisability.Includingtheseindividualsin
theanalysiswouldincreasethepercentageofcharacterswithdisabilitiesto2.8%(n=128).

34.Brault,M.W.(2012).AmericanswithDisabilities:2010.U.S.DepartmentofCommerceEconomicsand
StatisticsAdministration.Available:
https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2012/demo/p70131.pdf.

35.Brault(2012).

36.Fredrickson&Roberts(1997).Roberts&Gettman(2004).Aubrey(2006).

37.Smith,S.L.,Pieper,K.,&Choueiti,M.(2015).ExploringtheCareersofFemaleDirectors:PhaseIII.
ReportpreparedforWomeninFilmLosAngelesandSundanceInstitute.Media,Diversity,&Social
ChangeInitiative.LosAngeles,CA.USCAnnenberg.Smith,S.L.,Pieper,K.,&Choueiti,M.(2014).Exploring
theBarriersandOpportunitiesforIndependentWomenFilmmakersPhaseIandII.Media,Diversity,&
SocialChangeInitiative.ReportpreparedforSundanceInstituteandWomeninFilmLosAngeles.Media,
Diversity,&SocialChangeInitiative.LosAngeles,CA.USCAnnenberg.

38.Powers,S.P.,Rothman,D.J.,&Rothman,S.(1996).HollywoodsAmerica:Socialandpoliticalthemesin
motionpictures.Boulder,CO:WestviewPress.

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

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

41.Smith,S.L,Weber,R.&Choueiti,M.(2010,August).Femalecharactersandfinancialperformance:An
analysisof100topgrossingfilmsattheboxofficeanddvdsales.Paperpresentedatapostersessionat
theannualconferenceoftheAssociationforEducationinJournalismandMassCommunication.Denver,
CO.

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH
 49

AppendixA
ListofFilmsinthe2016Sample

RogueOne:AStarWarsStory Don'tBreathe Lion
FindingDory MissPeregrine'sHomefor TheHuntsman:Winter'sWar
CaptainAmerica:CivilWar PeculiarChildren KuboandtheTwoStrings
TheSecretLifeofPets TheAccountant ManchesterbytheSea
TheJungleBook(2016) TeenageMutantNinja Warcraft
Deadpool Turtles:OutoftheShadows HowtoBeSingle
Zootopia ThePurge:ElectionYear MikeandDaveNeed
BatmanvSuperman:Dawnof AliceThroughtheLooking WeddingDates
Justice Glass WarDogs
SuicideSquad Pete'sDragon(2016) AlmostChristmas
Sing TheGirlontheTrain(2016) MoneyMonster
Moana Boo!AMadeaHalloween Allied
FantasticBeastsandWhere Storks Nerve
ToFindThem 10CloverfieldLane Risen
DoctorStrange LightsOut TheNiceGuys
HiddenFigures HacksawRidge TheBoy(2016)
JasonBourne TheDivergentSeries: DirtyGrandpa
StarTrekBeyond Allegiant Ouija:OriginofEvil
XMen:Apocalypse NowYouSeeMe2 The5thWave
Trolls IceAge:CollisionCourse Inferno
LaLaLand TheBoss Mother'sDay
KungFuPanda3 LondonHasFallen PatriotsDay
Ghostbusters(2016) MiraclesfromHeaven GodsofEgypt
CentralIntelligence DeepwaterHorizon CollateralBeauty
TheLegendofTarzan WhyHim? Hail,Caesar!
Sully MyBigFatGreekWedding2 WhentheBoughBreaks
BadMoms JackReacher:NeverGoBack Zoolander2
TheAngryBirdsMovie Fences Moonlight(2016)
IndependenceDay: MeBeforeYou TheFinestHours
Resurgence TheBFG FlorenceFosterJenkins
TheConjuring2 Neighbors2:SororityRising HellorHighWater
Arrival TheShallows TheForest
Passengers(2016) OfficeChristmasParty BenHur(2016)
SausageParty Assassin'sCreed TheWitch
TheMagnificentSeven(2016) Barbershop:TheNextCut BridgetJones'sBaby
RideAlong2 13Hours:TheSecretSoldiers WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot
ofBenghazi

2017DR.STACYL.SMITH