It’s not news that Hollywood loves to write stories about white, cisgender, heterosexual people, but it never fails to piss me off.
Like pretty much everyone else in the world, I jumped on the hype train and went to see La La Land a couple of weeks ago. I’d heard a lot of good things about it and, as a big fan of both musicals and Emma Stone, I fully expected to enjoy the hell out of it. It’s a beautiful film, and Emma Stone is, unsurprisingly, amazing in it. However, I came away from it thinking that it wasn’t quite enough, and as time’s gone on and I’ve read more about the film and about its problematic erasure of black people from a story about the jazz movement, I’ve gotten saltier and saltier when it comes to discussing it.
How can it be the “Ground-breaking New Musical!” that everyone seems to say it is, when it’s literally just another film where two straight, white, able-bodied people fall in love?
La La Land is just one of many films that could be so vastly improved with more diverse casting, and, to prove my point, I’ve put together a list of just a few of the films that were released over the past two years that feature very white and very straight relationships, and that would be infinitely better if the writers had made it not-white and/or gay.
Side note before we begin: I’m not suggesting that no movies ever should feature straight, white people and relationships, but just that the media we’re consuming at the moment is overwhelmingly straight and white. Diversity is important and necessary, and right now, we’re just not seeing it on screen!
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
I’m a seasoned Harry Potter fan, but I’m well aware of the problems with diversity in both the films and the books. Is it plausible that there were no homosexual students at Hogwarts for the entire duration of Harry’s time there? Absolutely not. How much sense does it make that Lavender Brown miraculously changed from a black girl to a white girl as soon as her character had some plot significance? None whatsoever.
But Fantastic Beasts had the chance to do it right. It’s a new Harry Potter series for a new generation, and I really hoped that this time, there’d be some form of representation for minority groups and a real attempt at bringing diversity to the cast. They did cast a woman of colour, Carmen Ejogo, to play Seraphina, the President of MACUSA – not a main role, but better than nothing. Many have also said that the plot, which deals with discrimination and repression, is a metaphor for the impact of racism and homophobia. But this isn’t enough to be representation. Imagine how awesome it would’ve been to have had Newt Scamander meet a same sex couple in New York, rather than a pair of sisters? Or for a person of colour to have been cast as Newt? Or even if they’d simply stated that Jacob is Jewish, rather than just hinting at it? It would’ve been so easy to make the primary relationships within the film – between Queenie and Jacob, and Tina and Newt – not white and heterosexual, and yet, predictably, they did.
Let’s all just hold out hope for the next movie.
Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)
Way back in 2012, Pitch Perfect was pretty much my favourite movie – female empowerment and acapella singing are two of my favourite things in the world, to be honest – and I was super excited about the sequel when it came out in 2015. Looking back on it, though, the films are definitely problematic; the comedy often falls back on offensive stereotypes to make fun of queer, overweight, and, in particular, Asian and black characters. As well as this, there are certain things about the films that are kind of frustrating. And by certain things, I mean specifically the continual presence of the totally insignificant, insipid and uninspiring white male love interest that was seemingly thrown into both plots for no reason whatsoever.
Both films could totally stand up on their own without the addition of a romance, but, given that the films are about finding yourself and self-acceptance, writing in a relationship between two of the girls in the all-female acapella group, The Bellas, or between two of the guys in their male rival group, The Trebletones, would’ve really contributed something to the plot. But instead, we get a lacklustre heterosexual onscreen “romance” with no chemistry whatsoever.
Tragic.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015)
The Hunger Games films might sell themselves as action movies, but there’s no denying that there’s a pretty significant chunk of its fan base who are invested in the story because of the love triangle. I say this because, as a fourteen year old, I was very invested in the story because of the love triangle. There’s something about teenagers falling in love in an apocalyptic dystopian setting that apprently really resonates with young people, ok?
The film franchise did a spectacularly good job of whitewashing it’s leading lady; in the books, Katniss is “olive skinned”, unlike Jennifer Lawrence, who is definitely white. And so we have not one, but two white, heterosexual relationships at the forefront of the films, dominating a significant chunk of screentime. Given that the primary audience are teenagers, having a same sex relationship or a relationship featuring people of colour as one of the primary focuses of the films would’ve had a much more significant impact, and provided much needed representation. Or, better yet, they could’ve just not made romance such a key focus of the films. More action, less kissing.
Inside Out (2015)
This one stands out from the others, because it’s a movie intended primarily for children. I’m a big fan of Disney Pixar, movies that make me emotional, and Amy Poehler, and so, predictably, I loved this film. It was cute and clever, and dealt with mental health in a really smart way that made it accessible for children and adults. It basically follows a young girl called Riley, and the emotions that live in her head, and it’s 1000% adorable.
The Pixar short that was released with the film when it came out on DVD, however, is called “Riley’s First Date?” and features, you guessed it, Riley going on her first date. With a (white) boy. I know they’re animated, and I know it’s for children, but that doesn’t change the fact that it could’ve so easily been a non-white child that Riley went on a date with, or a girl, or even a non-white girl! Introducing non-white or same sex relationships in films for children would be a really beneficial way to normalise non-white and same sex relationships in real life, promoting tolerance, acceptance and diversity.
Honorary Mention: Love Actually (2003)
My honorary mention goes to Love Actually. It might have been released almost fourteen years ago – yep, 2003 was fourteen freaking years ago – but honestly, how could I not include it on this list? It’s so blindingly white and heterosexual, it kind of makes me wince. There’s a handful of token people of colour thrown through the narrative in background roles, but the main storylines focus on Alan Rickman, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy and Hugh Grant, among others. White man after white man after white man, the vast majority of whom spend the entire movie pursuing white women. The closest thing we get to diversity within this movie is Keira Knightley’s character and her husband, who is a black man – and this is only if you ignore the fact that she spends the entire movie being romantically pursued by her husband’s (white male) best friend.
In a movie that celebrates love, it seems pretty damn problematic that love apparently only exists within the context of heterosexual, white people. I do appreciate that this movie was released a while ago, but we still hold it up as “the best Christmas movie everrrrrrrrr!” Maybe we need to find a new movie to cry about every single Christmas. Preferably one that has at least one person of colour in a leading role. Just a suggestion.