With the previous essays I have produced based on diversity and ethics I concluded the best course for me to take in this analysis would be to analyse a company who is doing proportionately well in comparison to Netflix. I settled on A24 by observing the films associated with that company and the positive receptions they have garnered both online and in the film community. As I had not formally done the formative assessment previously due to health reasons I have been researching the possible social effects and reception of A24’s business model and Netflix’s shortcomings to approximate what Netflix may improve on. Through this analysis I will cover the current climate of diversification in the film industry specifically and A24’s structure, films and impact. I will then take the results and translate them into current applications that Netflix is a part of. As the climate of diversification and representation has grown (specifically since the inception of the Hollywood Diversity Report), films that bolster a diverse range of cast and culture produce an elevated source of revenue. A24 while doing so, also participates in performative allyship in some cases, however, the effort in creating authentic minority stories has catapulted them to the forefront of film. While Netflix’s programs are growing in diversity as well as their staff, albeit at a slow pace, Netflix still participates in performative allyship by giving problematic and harmful creators a platform while using content people in those harmed communities, have made to elevate their face value leaves room for Netflix to improve its business model by supporting meaningful diversification and representation.
Non Performative Diversification of the Film and TV Industry:
The diversification of media has become a driving source of inspiration, profit, and social progress in the West. With the current pandemic and recent rise of accessible streaming companies, the industry’s focus has switched from the silver screen to streaming. With the rise in social awareness and equality movements such as #oscarssowhite , Black Lives Matter, and Stop Asian Hate, films have seen a surge in telling stories characterised by experiences shared by minoritised communities. (Commun 2018) Most notably, films such as “The Farewell”, “Encanto”, and “Moonlight” have burst into front pages and broken barriers with their high percentage of diversity, authenticity, and quality. (Hammond 2017) Understanding why and how these films are received by the general public will provide an understanding of how better to connect with Netflix’s audience. In this analysis, I will be reviewing A24’s contribution to diversifying the film industry and how Netflix may learn from its growth due to diversification. (Williams 2020)
In a Vice article entitled “Why Seeing Yourself Represented on Screen Is So Important”, Carlos Cortes, an author focusing prominently on representation in media states, “First, whether intentionally or unintentionally, both the news and the entertainment media 'teach' the public about minorities, other ethnic groups and societal groups, such as women, gays, and the elderly,” (Lawson 2018) Visual representation is a primary source of emotional connection between those with and without knowledge of the “othered”. We are able to see this in the inception of the “Birth of a Nation” in which black people were shown to be violent, animalistic, and sexually motivated while white people were shown as elegant, literate, and civilised. (Disclosure 2020) This being produced during the Jim Crow era in 1915, was screened in the white-house. As social equity movements such as the suffrage, civil rights, and stonewall have come to fruition, so has the rising need for authentic representation as opposed to harmful representation. “Minorities realize—supported by research—that the media influence not only how others view them, but even how they view themselves.” (Lawson 2018) The Opportunity Agenda, based on a 2011 study, found that black men in media are overtly portrayed in a negative light, this coincides with “positive” attributes that only exist within stereotypes. Many of the characters, lost in the story to limitations placed on them through lazy storytelling. (Disclosure 2020) For a film to be considered diverse, it must meet requirements including providing minorities speaking, supporting and main cast roles. In 2017, USC Annenberg report showed 25% of the 900 movies reviewed didn’t have a speaking or named black character. (Lawson 2018) The result of such confined representations can lead to repercussions such as harsher sentencing in the legal system and elevated racial bias amongst the general public. Since then however, representation and diversity has risen and has shown an equally growing contribution to the success of films.
As stated previously, we have seen a spike in diversity and representation, albeit marginal considering the controlling party within visual media still belongs to cisgender, white men.
According to a Hollywood Diversity Report in 2020 from 2011 to 2018, racial diversity in the director’s role of Oscar winning films has risen from 0% to 36% with a small spike in 2013 to 25%. Considering the base percentage in 2011 was 0%, the amount of diversity attributable to critically acclaimed films has risen significantly (Williams 2020), yet this is not as representative of the industry as a whole. Based on the prior year’s diversity report, 77% of all film roles in 2017 were given to white people (image 2) showing a stark imbalance of power dynamics on set. While observing this report, the gendered section of the diversity analytics in cast on films didn’t even contain a measurement for trans actors (image 3) while the episodic TV portion does. (Darnell 2019)
While a lack of representation has been duly noted, the proceeds from diverse films have as well. With the emergence of progressive films, the box office ratings and profits have risen significantly giving way to more opportunities for people in minoritised groups in the name of profit as opposed to for the education and representation of minority communities. This is known as “performative allyship”.
Issues with diversifying organisations and pieces of media at face value only, create a shallow backdrop for a serious issue of inequity. Diversity matters, as stated by Aisha Thomas in her TEDTalk at Bristol in 2020. “...it provides an opportunity for your existence to be acknowledged in this world.” Through exploring racial representation through anecdotal and analytical data, she realises that though time has progressed not much has changed in the way of social acceptance saying “Is it different now?” (TEDx 2020). A sentiment backed by many vocal minorities online with the hashtag, #representationmatters . Representation matters is a hashtag used to both celebrate and call attention to diversity or lack thereof. In the digital age, the dissemination of information has become more accessible and fast creating both good and bad exposure for products, people, and pieces of media (State of Indiana 2021). Due to this heightened ability to organise and spread information, lack of representation or lack of meaningful representation may have a serious adverse effect on the film’s profit margin.
Aside from the representation that is readily available to the public (the cast in films), the diversity of production’s crews are more veiled than visible. “There has been reluctance amongst UKF&TV institutions, organisations and bodies responsible for diversity funding, training and support to be open and transparent about the success and impact of their diversity plans… the disinclination of organisations to make the data collected through their diversity schemes publicly available has curtailed the ability of subsequent diversity programmes and discussions to build upon previous initiatives by responding to the gaps and problems that may have emerged in the policy evaluation.” (Nwonka 2021) A reality in which face value diversity is readily observable, yet the installation of programmes put in place for the retention and fulfilment of diversification has been hidden means at a structural level the general public and anyone outside of those organisations is not privy to knowing if companies are in fact taking action towards dismantling systemic oppression at its core or if their refusal and lack of transparency is a product of performative allyship.
One film company that does seem to be advocating for diversification and representation is A24. A powerhouse cultivating films such as Moonlight, Ladybird, It Comes at Night, and Ex Machina, has and is bringing box office hits one after another earning a name as the “Super Brand” of cinema. “While Spielberg does have an immense brand, the main way he communicates with his audience is through mass media and expensive, metric-resistant platforms such as billboards and television commercials. By contrast, A24 has a direct relationship with a young, active audience and personal relationships with filmmakers who themselves enjoy close connections to their audiences.” (Philips 2021) Being at the forefront of film as A24 is, analysing its outlook on staff, productions, and reception by the media will provide an idea of how they have garnered such a title.
With a total of 25 Academy Award nominations, A24 (A24 Films) boasts an employment number of 306 (Linkedin). Valued at around 3 billion dollars and earning over $55 million on their film “Moonlight” (Hammond 2017), A24 is considered a mini major and is one of the most highly coveted companies in the industry. As such, a lot of internship opportunities for this company exist. However, when examining such opportunities, we stumble upon the reality of the film industry even in the “indie” production scene. A company that vies for diversity in their productions, telling stories of the minoritised and forgotten people while cultivating a toxic and non diverse environment at its core is worth mentioning (Images 4-7).
(Glassdoors 2021) Image 4/Image 5
This is a direct indication that though promotion of diversity or utilisation of diversity initiatives, at the base of the film industry, a fervent lack of ethics exists within companies. Marketing oneself as diverse to the public draws in consumers and workers with interests in upholding that diversity, and as some of the reviews suggest, when that promise has not been met there is a loss in faith and hope in what had previously been advertised. That being said, A24 is coveted for a reason. Their productions are always high value, promote stories that may not have been told, and give way to upcoming actors.
One of A24’s crowning achievements has been Lady Bird. Lady Bird is a film about a “quirky” teen girl experiencing the coming of age and the struggle to fulfil expectations. Being touted by the general public as one of A24’s most influential films for its focus on a feminist coming of age story, Lady Bird is also one of A24’s greatest shortcomings and expresses the meaning of performative allyship perfectly (Daniels 2016). “white feminists have managed to avoid dissecting these cultural and racial components of white femininity, although they have become eager to hear what black women have to say about their racialized and gendered identities”, as quoted by Ware in the publication “Beyond the Pale” (Daniels 2016). This, a sentiment shown explicitly in the film Lady Bird. with a plethora of can do attitude, lack of self awareness, the inclusion of only one gay character and two of colour whilst telling a story of “the hardships of white, bourgeoisie female adolescence without true concern for any other form of diversity.” (Daniels 2016) As such, white feminism as shown in Lady Bird becomes a film that is about a well to do girl with little to no repercussions and no other sense of diversity than the three token background characters, in turn avoiding the dissection of intersectional feminism, while providing white feminism as an alternative to what femininity means.
Another of A24’s greatest achievements has been Moonlight, a film accounting the experiences of a closeted black man in search of himself throughout his tumultuous life (A24 2016). Moonlight, a film directed by Barry Jenkins displays the complex hardships of growing up as a queer black man in the ghetto, taking into account homophobia, financial deficit, and race while creating powerful visuals and a plot that connects on an emotional level. Barry Jenkins attributed the success of this film to personal experiences living in Miami, and utilising the experiences of the script’s author to create an authentic representation of the original story. To represent the hardships of having an addict in the role of a mother is difficult to represent authentically especially when others are writing it (Vice 2016). With a complex history behind the discrimination of Black Americans through systemic segregation such as redlining, ghettos, and the Crime Bill. Contrast to Lady Bird, A24 and Barry Jenkins have created a unique, relatable, and touching piece of cinematic history highlighting the inequities of a black queer coming of age story.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco, is also a good example of viewing films in an intersectional light. While being directed by a white man, The Last Black Man in San Francisco tells an authentic story of gentrification and masculinity. The film, a collaboration between the director Joe Talbot and writer Jimmie Fails who plays the lead. Utilising pieces of Jimmie’s life experiences, Joe and Jimmie crafted a film around their relationship with each other and the relationship between them and the others in their community where the facade of masculinity is greatly valued. By casting locals and drawing on the realities of that community The Last Black Man in San Francisco earns its place in meaningful representation. (TIFF, 2019)
Due to the freedom of expression and diversity in their film acquisition, A24 has branched out into one of the most defining series of the century. Euphoria accurately represents the LGBTQIA+ community showing the strifes of going through high-school as queer teens.
“Euphoria flips the “sexually-deviant” sociopath trope on its head.” (Sapra 2021) Euphoria shows LGBTQIA+ stories in a light that is relatable to teens both queer and straight while detailing associations with substance abuse, sex, and pain in a way that focuses not on its relation to queerness but the characters themselves. While we like to think that stereotypes have digressed as the years have grown in number, however, shows such as Killing Eve, House of Cards, How to Get Away with Murder, and CSI all in recent episodes or as a key plot element utilise sexuality or gender as a motive for violence or punchline of a joke (Sapra 2021). As stated previously, stereotypical representations of minoritised communities can cause harm such as vilifying an entire community due to an identity they have no control over. “Rue is only able to become clean when she embraces her same-sex attraction. Jules smiles blissfully at nothing in particular when she is able to transition.”(Sapra 2021) making Euphoria a positive and meaningful ode to representation.
Due to the rise in a cultural awareness of the need for representation and diversity, Netflix should take this opportunity to capitalise on the shift in social standings minorities have been gaining for the past decade in not only a face value way, but an impactful way as well. “At the time when we were thinking about this report, it was on the heels of Black Panther, Coco, Crazy Rich Asians coming out…” said Gerald Higginbotham in a response to Greater Good’s journalist Kira Newman. The movies mentioned have both diverse representations as well as a more authentic representation of culturally diverse characters in reference to their backgrounds and ethnic makeup. (Newman, K., 2021) Netflix has primed itself for progress.
From 2018-2019, Netflix has shown little significant increase in positions of power for women of colour and people of colour leaving the only possible line of progression to be upwards for both cast and crew. “...researchers at the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA have produced a study that just might stick a pin in that defence, sorting through over 1,200 films and TV shows to reach a provocative conclusion:
Diversity makes more money and brings bigger audiences.” (Newman, K., 2021) In addition, the monetary value of productions with minority casts has proven to draw in a more stable source of revenue for companies as seen in the following image.
In 2019, films that had 41%-50% minority cast represented, drew the most financial success. A measurement that includes global sales, profits and opening gross profit according to the annual Hollywood Diversity Report. In addition, films with the lowest diversity, those with 11% minority cast or fewer, have had the poorest financial results in history. (Deggans 2014) To admonish the oversight of not contributing to diversity efforts past face value characters Netflix has the opportunity to address their shortcomings and fix the disparities within its own organisations. One example of this is the Dave Chappelle Closer debut on Netflix. While promoting shows and progressive films such as Disclosure and Sense 8, Netflix provides platforms to creators who have a long history of demonising and othering minority communities. (Netflix's support of Dave Chappelle is setting a dangerous precedent.) There is so much room to grow, Netflix just has to look at their audience and participate in corporate ethics.
Disclosure. 2020. [film] Directed by S. Feder. Netflix.
Lawson, K. 2018. Why Seeing Yourself Represented on Screen Is So Important. [online]
<https://www.vice.com/en/article/zmwq3x/why-diversity-on-screen-is-important-black-panther> [Accessed 9 December 2021].
Williams, J. 2020. Diversity in Hollywood: New Oscar rules, box-office profits driving change.
<https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/dversity-in-hollywood-new-oscar-rules-box-office-profits-driving-change-60733184>
[Accessed 3 December 2021].
Commun, H. 2018. Underrepresentation and Symbolic Annihilation of Socially Disenfranchised
Groups (“Out Groups”) in Animated Cartoons. [ebook] Maryland: NHS, pp.1-10. Available at: <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6124697/pdf/nihms-985713.pdf> [Accessed 29 November 2021].
Hammond, P., 2017. A24 Hits The Festivals & The Oscars With Diverse, Artist-Driven Slate.
[online] Deadline. Available at: <https://deadline.com/2017/05/a24-the-lovers-the-killing-of-a-sacred-deer-good-time-cannes-disruptors-news-1202094063/> [Accessed 3 December 2021].
Darnell H. 2019. Hollywood Diversity Report 2019. [ebook] Los Angeles: UCLA, pp.23-52.
Available at: <https://socialsciences.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/UCLA-Hollywood-Diversity-Report-2019-2-21-2019.pdf> [Accessed 19 December 2021].
State of Indiana. 2021. Authentic Disability Cultural Representation. [online] Available at:
<https://events.in.gov/event/disability_awareness_month_insilc_representationmatters_authentic_disability_cultural_representation> [Accessed 4 November 2021].
TEDx, 2020. Why Representation Really Matters. [image] Available at:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X-taPvKWbY> [Accessed 9 December 2021].
Nwonka, C. and Malik, S., 2021. Racial Diversity Initiatives in UK Film & TV. [ebook] London:
Film and TV Charity, pp.2-3. Available at: <https://filmtvcharity.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Racial-Diversity-Initiatives-in-UK-Film-and-TV-FilmandTVCharity.pdf> [Accessed 4 December 2021].
Philips, A., 2021. Why A24 is the future of film, and a super-brand in the making.. [online]
Available at: <https://theageofideas.com/a24-future-film/> [Accessed 7 November 2021].
Linkedin n.d. A24. [online] Available at: <https://www.linkedin.com/company/a24/people/>
[Accessed 7 November 2021].
Glassdoors. 2021. A24. [online] Available at:
<https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Reviews/A24-Reviews-E1327786.htm> [Accessed 12 November 2021].
Daniels, J., 2016. The Trouble with White Feminism. [ebook] New York City: CUNY, pp.4-15.
Available at: <https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1212&context=gc_pubs> [Accessed 8 December 2021].
A24, 2017. Lady Bird | Official Trailer. [video] Available at:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNi_HC839Wo> [Accessed 10 December 2021].
A24, 2016. Moonlight | Official Trailer. [video] Available at:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NJj12tJzqc> [Accessed 20 November 2021].
Vice, 2016. Director Barry Jenkins on Creating Empathy Through His Film 'Moonlight'. [video]
Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=318&v=NIgkDjqZQCo&feature=emb_title> [Accessed 21 December 2021].
TIFF, 2019. THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO is an Ode to Male Friendship. [video]
Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WlAWB64uSg> [Accessed 29 December 2021].
Sapra, M., 2021. From Clueless to Euphoria: The Precipitous Rise of LGBTQ+ Representation
in Films. [online] Available at: <https://honeysucklemag.com/clueless-euphoria-lgbtq-representation-films/> [Accessed 31 November 2021].
Newman, K., 2021. Diverse Films Make More Money at the Box Office. [online] Culture.
Available at: <https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/diverse_films_make_more_money_at_the_box_office> [Accessed 5 November 2021].
Oliver, D., n.d. Netflix's support of Dave Chappelle is setting a dangerous precedent.. [online]
Available at: <https://eu.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/2021/10/15/dave-chappelle-netflix-the-closer-set-dangerous-precedent/8450189002/> [Accessed 10 November 2021].
Deggans, E., 2014. Redefining Hollywood: 'Diversity Makes More Money'. [online] Available at:
<https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/02/12/275907930/redefining-hollywood-diversity-makes-more-money> [Accessed 26 November 2021].
Smith, S., 2021. Inclusion in Netflix Original U.S. Scripted Series & Films. [ebook] Los Angeles:
USC Annenberg, pp.2-9. Available at: <https://assets.ctfassets.net/4cd45et68cgf/4V7929tRhmJ3ysa6oVnq3F/284eddb84f24e4d8e4c71ec06063ddd1/Inclusion_in_Netflix_Original_Series_and_Films_Executive_Summary_2.26.21.pdf> [Accessed 4 December 2021].
