Hollywood's lack of diversity in key creative positions: an evaluation study of phantom productions

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Content RUNNING HEAD: HOLLYWOOD’S LACK OF DIVERSITY 1

HOLLYWOOD’S LACK OF DIVERSITY IN KEY CREATIVE POSITIONS: AN
EVALUATION STUDY OF PHANTOM PRODUCTIONS

by

Robert Mark Carpenter

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2019

Copyright 2019 Robert Mark Carpenter

Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I recognize that I am fortunate, privileged, and blessed to have had incredible
professional mentors in my life and career, and I would like to acknowledge a few of them:
Mr. Adan Jones, my high school geometry teacher who was the first teacher to truly
believe in me, and
Mrs. Cynthia Hinton, my high school English teacher who ignited in me a love of
learning about and telling incredibly diverse stories, and
Dr. Jack Pitney who has supported every crazy dream I have ever had, and
Dr. Jay Conger, my leadership guru who has been a light guiding my path, and
Dr. Eric Canny who tightened my thinking and expanded my vision, and
Dr. Doug Lynch who was always there to support my personal and professional
development, and to cause me to see things from so many diverse perspectives.
In addition, I would like to thank my dissertation committee who has loved,
encouraged, challenged, and supported me every step of the way in this writing:
Dr. Darline Robles for your deep insights about diversity which made my research
better and more transformative, and
Michael Taylor, for your support and endless knowledge about the entertainment
industry which aided in grounding this study in truth and reality, and
A special thanks in particular to my chair, Dr. Fred Freking, who served as an amiable
and fun guide in my academic and personal development through my years at USC.
To all the faculty and staff members who participated in my doctoral program – thank
you for teaching, guiding, and supporting me, and for believing in my ideas and calling to
change the world. Your love and support have been such fuel for me and will continue to push
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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my efforts to drive change throughout the world.
To my doctoral colleagues, thank you for being such an awesome and supportive group
of change makers. This journey has been so much better because I have gotten to take it with
you. I am proud to call you all doctors and friends.
And finally, and most importantly, I want to say thanks to my family. My Mom and
Dad have been there as my rocks in ways big and small. My sister has been an encouraging
guide. My Grandma has always stepped up when I needed her the most. And to my kitty,
Twinkie, who has been such a great little fury friend during my academic adventures. I love
you all more than words can say!
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements 2
List of Tables 5
List of Figures 6
Abstract 7
Chapter 1: Introduction 8
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature 15
Chapter 3: Methodology 49
Chapter 4: Results and Findings 58
Chapter 5: Solutions and Implementation 85
References 107
Appendices 119
Appendix A: Interview Protocol – Phantom Productions Creative Development
Executives 119
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Organizational Mission, Global Goal and Stakeholder Goals 11
Table 2 Results and Findings Summary 78
Table 3 Annual, Voluntary Implicit Bias Training 80
Table 4 Predictive Analytics Diversity Database 84
Table 5 Streamlined Mentorship/Apprenticeship Training 87
Table 6 Voluntary Cap and Trade Diversity Program 90
Table 7 Summary of Solutions and Implementation: Voluntary Implicit Bias Training 94
Table 8 Summary of Solutions and Implementation: Predictive Analytics Diversity
Database
95
Table 9 Summary of Solutions and Implementation: Streamlined Mentorship and
Apprenticeship Programs
96
Table 10 Summary of Solutions and Implementation: Cap and Trade Diversity
Program
97

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Creative Development Executives Conceptual Framework 40

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ABSTRACT

Phantom Productions has suffered from a lack of diversity with respect to people of color since

1935. However, since 2007 an increase in research, media, and activism around diversity in

Hollywood in general and Phantom Productions in particular have put a spotlight on the

organization to reform or face serious legal, financial, and reputational consequences. The gap

analysis framework was used to analyze the knowledge and skills, motivation, and

organizational causes preventing Phantom Productions from becoming more diverse. Twelve

interviews were conducted with insiders at Phantom Productions, and a qualitative analysis

revealed 21 findings leading to four recommended solutions. To increase diversity, it is

recommended that Phantom Productions launch voluntary implicit bias training, create a

predictive analytics diversity database, establish a streamlined mentorship and apprenticeship

program, and implement a voluntary cap and trade diversity program. Together with an

implementation and evaluation plan, this study demonstrates how Phantom Productions and

other Hollywood studios can evaluate and address their lack of diversity.

Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM OF PRACTICE
Hollywood’s lack of diversity in key creative positions-specifically among actors,
writers, and directors-is causing significant harm to entertainment companies and the
entertainment industry (Hunt, Ramon, and Price, 2014). In particular, people of color make up
only 16% of television actors, 7.6% of writers, and 12% of directors while comprising nearly
40% of the U.S. population. This lack of diversity has negative professional implications for not
only people of color (Erigha, 2015), but also has been shown to reduce ratings, revenues, and
social media engagement for entertainment projects (Hunt, 2013). The average “non-diverse”
movie, for example, generates $55M in box office receipts while the average diverse movie
generates $120M. In addition, this lack of diversity has been shown to decrease self-esteem
among children of color (Martins et al., 2012) and contribute to stereotype threat (Aronson et al.,
2009). When Hollywood studios lack diversity, they risk not only losing money, but also
worsening the mental, behavioral, and social prospects of people of color (Hunt et al 2013;
Aronson et al., 2009).
Organizational Context and Mission
Phantom Productions (a pseudonym) is a global diversified media and information
services company that operates movie studios, television shows, and other enterainment
properties The mission of Phantom Productions is to create and distribute authoritative and
engaging content to consumers and businesses throughout the world. It is primarily
headquartered in New York City with major offices in Los Angeles and other parts of the world,
and is one of six media companies that control 90% of television shows and feature films
produced in the United States. Currently, it has 10 board directors (8 of whom are men, 2 of
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

9

whom are women, and none of whom are people of color); 16 executive team members (11 of
whom are men, 5 of whom are women, and one of whom is African American); and 47,600
employees (with less than 10% of overall employees being people of color and less than 10% of
actors, writers, and directors being people of color).
Organizational Goal
Phantom Production’s goal is to increase overall workforce diversity by 10% through
talent attraction and development efforts by June 2019. Phantom Productions established this
goal in 2012 and uses annual internal reports to assess progress across the Company’s
businesses. This goal was set by both the Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee of
the Board and the Company’s Corporate Diversity group. If the goal is not achieved, Phantom
Productions will face increasing negative public scrutiny as well as potential lower financial
returns in its feature film and television divisions, among others. It will also risk potentially
denying job opportunities to people of color and the threat of lawsuits. Evaluating the
organization’s performance will enable stakeholders to gather data to assess whether its diversity
initiatives are succeeding and how that impacts their corporate culture, competitiveness, financial
prowess, and reputation.
Related Literature

For decades, Hollywood has had a problem with representing people of color (Russell,
1991). Not only has Hollywood historically stereotyped people of color in racist films like Birth
of a Nation (1915) and many others, but they also have implicitly and explicitly used the theory
of consumer discrimination (Becker, 1957) to justify why they have not employed more black
and brown faces in films and television. The reasoning is that even if employers within
Hollywood wanted to be more egalitarian, their customers—advertisers and viewers-would not
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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pay to watch these types of shows (Younkin et al, 2016). Thus, a never-ending cycle of shows
like Amos ‘n’ Andy came out that negatively portrayed people of color (Boyd, 2008). Boyd
demonstrates that this type of behavior led to social disintegration between whites and people of
color, as well as structural inequality in representation among people of color in Hollywood.
In a research study analyzing over 172 theatrical films and 1,061 television shows
between the 2011-2012 season, Hunt et al. (2014) found that people of color, specifically actors,
writers, and directors, were underrepresented by a factor of more than three to one. This lack of
diversity on-screen not only generates less viewership, ad revenue, and social media engagement
for non-diverse shows compared to diverse shows (Hunt et al, 2013), but it also impacts people
of color outside of Hollywood. Martins et al (2012) demonstrated that as a consequence of
watching television without diverse faces, children of color are suffering negative mental health
effects. In a study of over 400 children, Martins’ shows that children of color suffer from
feelings of decreased self-esteem, decreased self-confidence, and decreased self-worth after
watching fictional television shows. This is in contrast to white boys, whose self-esteem
improves while watching television in part because casts look like them.
Importance of the Evaluation
It is important to evaluate Phantom Production’s performance in relationship to its
performance goal for a variety of reasons. If the organization fails to reach its goals, for example,
it will risk losing viewership, potentially generate less revenue and profits, and face declining
social media engagement. Lower financial and social returns could lead to mass layoffs for not
only existing shows, for example, but also to layoffs for the business infrastructure that supports
these shows, such as accountants, marketers, and food service personnel. Increased lost revenue
could cause organizational failure in an industry with historically slim profit margins and stiff
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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competition. Evaluating the organization’s performance will enable stakeholders to gather
formative data that can be used to assess Phantom Production’s diversity initiatives that
positively impact people of color’s job prospects as well as their own financial condition.
Description of Stakeholder Groups
While the efforts of all stakeholders at Phantom Productions will be necessary to achieve
the organizational compliance goal of increasing people of color at the organization, it is crucial
to evaluate where key employees are now in their pursuit of this goal. Therefore, it is necessary
to examine the three stakeholders responsible for this goal: Human Resources Managers,
Creative Development Executives, and Executive Producers. The Human Resources
stakeholder’s goal, supported by the Board of the organization, is to recruit and hire highly
qualified people of color on the business side of the organization to diversify the company. The
Creative Development Executive’s stakeholder’s goal is to increase the number of movies and
television shows made by people of color, including shows that more positively represent people
of color. And the Executive Producer’s stakeholder goal is to recruit and hire highly qualified
people of color on the creative side of the business (i.e., directors, writers, producers, and
showrunners who are competent and experienced) to diversify the company.
Compliance procedures include regular reviews of the number of people of color in the
organization; the number of people of color serving in key creative positions; and qualitative
reviews on the types of portrayals of people of color on screen. As mentioned earlier,
noncompliance will lead to possible lower viewership, lower ad revenues, and lower consumer
engagement with the shows and movies of the organization. In addition, noncompliance will lead
to continued lack of opportunities for people of color at the company and missing of its
organizational performance goals.
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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Stakeholders Groups’ Performance Goals

Table 1.
Organizational mission, global goal and stakeholder goals
Organizational Mission
The mission of Phantom Productions is to create and distribute authoritative and engaging
content to consumers and businesses throughout the world.

Organizational Performance Goal
The goal of Phantom Productions is to increase the number of people of color by 10% at the
organization by June 2019.

Human Resource
Managers

By June 2019,
Human Resource Managers
will conduct an audit of
Phantom Productions
to determine progress
toward goal.

Development Executives

By June 2019
Creative Development Executives
will develop an action plan
to address Phantom Productions’
concerns.

Executive
Producers

By June 2019,
Executive Producers
will implement action plannn
in their daily activities.

Stakeholder Group for the Study
While the joint efforts of all stakeholders will contribute to the achievement of the overall

organizational goal of increasing the number of people of color, it is important to evaluate where

Phantom Productions is currently with regard to their performance goal. Therefore, the

stakeholder of focus for this study was Phantom Production’s Creative Development

Executive. The stakeholder’s goal, first established by the Phantom Productions’ Board of

Directors in 2012, is that there will be an increase in the number of people of color making

movies and television shows by 10% by June 2019 (see Table 1). Compliance procedures

include regular reviews of the number of people of color in the organization; the number of

people of color serving in key creative positions; and qualitative reviews on the types of
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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portrayals of people of color on screen.

Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this project was to evaluate the degree to which Phantom Productions

Creative Development Executives were meeting their goal of increasing the number of people of

color at their company by 10%. The analysis focused on knowledge, motivation, and

organizational influences related to achieving the organizational goals. While a complete

performance evaluation would focus on all stakeholders, for practical purposes such as time

constraints the stakeholder focused on in this analysis was Creative Development Executives.

As such, the questions that guide this study are the following:

1. What is the Creative Development Executives’ knowledge and motivation related

to achieving Phantom Productions’ goal of increasing workforce diversity 10% by

June 2019?

2. What is the interaction between Phantom Productions’ organizational culture and

context and Creative Development Executives’ knowledge and motivation?

3. What are the recommended knowledge, motivation, and organizational solutions

for Phantom Productions?

Methodological Framework
This project will employ a qualitative method of data gathering and analysis. Phantom

Production’s creative development executive’s current performance in relationship to the

organizational goal will be assessed using a literature review and interviews. Research-based

solutions will be recommended and evaluated in a comprehensive manner.

Definitions
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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Creative Development Executive: Those individuals responsible for evaluating and approving
which television shows and movies are put on the air and who makes and stars in those shows.

Hollywood: The universe of movie studios, television networks, production companies, content
streaming organizations, talent management agencies, and other individuals and organizations
pursuing narrative and documentary filmmaking projects in Los Angeles and the broader United
States.

People of Color: African American, Latino, Asian, Native American, Arab, and other ethnically
underrepresented, marginalized, or diverse groups in the United States.

Diversity: of or related to people of color.

Organization of the Project
Five chapters are used to organize this study. This chapter provided the reader with the key

concepts and terminology commonly found in a discussion about diversity in Hollywood. The

organization’s mission, goals and stakeholders and the framework for the project were

introduced. Chapter Two provides a review of current literature surrounding the scope of the

study. Topics of historical racism in Hollywood, portrayals of people of color on screen, the lack

of opportunities for people of color, and their financial and social impacts on the entertainment

industry will be addressed. Chapter Three details the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences to be examined as well as methodology when it comes to the researcher’s choice of

participants, data collection, and analysis. In Chapter 4, the data and results are assessed and

analyzed. Chapter Five provides solutions, based on data and literature, for closing the perceived

gaps as well as recommendations for an implementation and evaluation plan.

Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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Chapter 2
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Hollywood’s lack of diversity among writers, directors, and cast members is contributing to
significant professional obstacles for people of color, losing entertainment companies vast sums
of money, and negatively impacting social outcomes for populations of color. However, few in
the entertainment industry deeply understand how their decisions about who is in front of and
behind the camera affect ratings, revenue, and social perceptions and behaviors. This chapter will
first review the literature with respect to the history of how people of color have been treated
within the entertainment industry, the theories behind consumer discrimination and stereotype
threat among others, and the ways non-diverse programming have negatively impacted people of
color within and outside of the entertainment industry. Next, this chapter will review the role
Creative Development Executives at Phantom Productions who are working to make their
organization more diverse followed by an explanation of the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences considered in this study. Finally, this chapter will end by
presenting the conceptual framework for this study.
Influences on the Problem of Practice
From its beginning, Hollywood has deliberately limited roles for actors, writers, and

directors of color (Yuen, 2016). This was due in part to the explicit and implicit racism present in

Hollywood as well as the white supremacist ideology in America (Yuen, 2016; Russell, 1992;

Horton, Price, & Brown, 1999). But although Hollywood maintained these overt biases, it still

wanted to portray people of color on screen so it resurrected an old practice to cast white actors

to play non-white characters to entertain its audiences (NKang, King, & Udo, 2009). This

practice was called ‘blackface’ and it was the dominant way people of color, particularly blacks,

were portrayed in the 19
th
century and for decades into the 20
th
century (Yuen, 2016; NKang,

King, & Udo, 2009; Horton, Price, & Brown, 1999). Blackface eventually fell out of favor,

however, and Hollywood found new ways to appropriate non-white culture (Murgia, 2018).

Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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Although there were a handful of ‘diverse production companies’ in the early 20th century, most

of their productions did not reach a mainstream audience or change the way people of color were

mirrored on screen (Horton, Price, & Brown, 1999). Throughout its early and middle history

from the 1890s to the 1950s, Hollywood deliberately chose to portray people of color as violent;

stupid; lazy; poor; and hyper-sexualized (Yuen, 2016; Horton, Price, & Brown, 1999). People of

color eventually fought back to protest this portrayal and the image of people of color improved

in some ways as a result in the 1980s and 1990s, but Hollywood nevertheless continued to find

ways to deny hiring people of color for key creative roles up until the present (Yuen, 2016;

Younkin, 2016; Horton, Price, & Brown, 1999).

Executives in Hollywood have implicitly used the theory of consumer discrimination to

justify why they have not hired more people of color (Younkin, 2016; Becker, 2010). Although

Hollywood currently denies any bias or racism, the number of people of color has remained

significantly low up until the present – people of color are underrepresented by more than 300%,

for example (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015; Hunt & Price, 2014). While this lack of

representation is a problem for people of color within the entertainment industry, its presence is

felt beyond Hollywood given Hollywood’s substantial influence on the minds and behavior of its

audiences (Aronson & Dee, 2011; Bell & Janis, 2011; Croizet et al, 2004; Inzlicht & Schmader,

2012) . Both the lack of people of color within the industry as well as the industry’s negative

portrayals of people of color have contributed to stereotype threat for people of color, which is

the notion that people tend to behave in accordance to their worst stereotypes because others are

stereotyping them (Aronson & Dee, 2011; Bell & Janis, 2011; Croizet et al., 2004; Inzlicht &

Schmader, 2012). This stereotype threat has negatively impacted life outcomes for people of

color in fields as diverse as education, jobs, and law enforcement (Bell & Janis, 2011).

Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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Hollywood has attempted to address this problem, specifically the lack of people of color and

negative portrayals of people of color within the industry, but its workforce diversity initiatives

have largely failed (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015). The relevant literature is presented below

that addresses this phenomenon.

Hollywood’s Racist Beginnings

From its beginning, Hollywood was not shy about demonstrating explicit racism in its

films (Yuen, 2016; Russell, 1992; Horton, Price, & Brown, 1999). The movie Birth of a Nation

(1915), which portrayed blacks as wild savages and glorified the Ku Klux Klan as noble saviors,

became the first huge commercial success of the era despite the NAACP’s attempt to have the

film banned from distribution (Dixon & Wintz, 2015). The film would later be credited with

sparking the rise of the second era of the Ku Klux Klan (Stokes, 2007). Other popular films such

as The Jazz Singer (1927), Babes in Arms (1938), and The Singing Fool (1928) all demonstrated

the overt racism against blacks prevalent in Hollywood (Rogin, 1992; Rogin, 1994). But

Hollywood did not limit its racism to blacks; it also expressed its bias against other non-black
groups (Murgia, 2018). Racist films negatively portraying Arabs hit the screen with movies such
as The Sheik (1921) and The Son of Sheik (1926), which portrayed Arabs as savage beasts (Slide,
2004; Murgia, 2018). Racist films negatively portraying Asians began with Charlie Chan starring

in the film Fu Manchu (1920) and with the making of follow up films The Mystery of Dr. Fu-

Manchu (1923) and The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929) (Murgia, 2018). Likewise, racist

films negatively portraying Native Americans such as the Last of the Mohicans (1920) and the
Three Stooges Whoops, I’m an Indian! (1936) were made as well (Murgia, 2018). These movies
were not exceptions to the rule, given Hollywood’s overt racism in its feature films (Yuen, 2016;
Murgia, 2018).
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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Likewise, in television Hollywood demonstrated both explicit and implicit racism on the

small screen (Yuen, 2016). The original Little Rascals television series (1922-1944) negatively

portrayed black children while the popular show Amos ‘N Andy (1951) negatively portrayed

black adults (Staples & Jones, 1985). The popular The Dick Tracy Show (1961-1962) negatively

portrayed both Asians and Latinos (Trendle & George, 1949; Hausner, Rubin, & Blanc, 1961).

Shows such as The Lone Ranger (1949-1957) and Looney Tunes (1930-1969) also negatively

portrayed Native Americans and blacks, Latinos, Asians, and Jews, respectively (Valdez, 2016;

Slade & Narro, 2012). Like the movies of their era, these television shows were not the

exceptions to the rule, they were the rule in terms of Hollywood’s explicit and implicit portrayals

of racism on the small screen (Murgia, 2018).

White Actors Cast to Play People of Color

In its early days through the Civil Rights movement from the 1890s to the 1950s,

Hollywood primarily cast white actors to play people of color (Yuen, 2016; Murgia, 2018). This

practice began following a long American tradition called “minstrelsy,” the popular form of

entertainment in the United States that existed before radio and vaudeville acts in the 1830s

through the 1870s (Cockrell, 1997; Bean, Hatch, & McNamara 1996). In minstrel shows, which

were live stage performances, white actors were cast in blackface to perform with the purpose of

making fun of and demeaning black people (Cockrell, 1997; Bean, Hatch, & McNamara 1996).

White actors used burnt cork, grease paint, and shoe polish to blacken their skin, and often used

ragged clothes and cross-dressing to portray blacks (Bauch, 2011). Common minstrelsy

characters included the slave, the dandy, mammy and old darky, the black soldier, and the

mulatto wench (Bauch, 2011). The content for these shows consisted of songs in which blacks

were roasted, fished for, smoked like tobacco, peeled like potatoes, planted in the soil, or dried

Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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up and hung like advertisements (Bauch, 2011). Minstrel shows were extremely popular to lay

audiences but they also faced substantial controversy (Bauch, 2011). Activists such as Frederick

Douglass described blackface actors as “the filthy scum of white society, who have stolen from

us a complexion denied them by nature, in which to make money, and pander to the corrupt taste

of their fellow white citizens” (Douglass, 1848, October 7). Although these shows eventually lost

popularity in the marketplace in the late 19th century due to the likes of new kinds of bizarre

entertainment created by P.T. Barnum and others, they set the precedent for how people of color

would continue to be portrayed in entertainment for decades to come (Lott, 1991).

In the films Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1903) and Birth of a Nation (1915), all of the major

black roles were played by white actors (Murgia, 2018). Other popular films such as The Jazz

Singer (1927), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Oklahoma! (1955), Holiday Inn (1942), Babes on

Broadway (1941), and Annie Get Your Gun (1950) all featured white actors in blackface

(Murgia, 2018). But blackface was not limited to live actors; it was also present in cartoons

(Lehman, 2001; Sperb, 2005). In Southern Fried Rabbit (1953), Bugs Bunny was portrayed in

blackface (Lehman, 2001). Disney also attempted to join this tradition in its 1946 movie Song of

the South, but the film faced backlash and has not been released to this day (Sperb, 2005).

The practice of blackface began to diminish in films in the 1930s when it became

associated with racism and bigotry (Rogin, 1994). Up until that time, the biggest white stars in

Hollywood proudly portrayed black characters on screen (Murgia, 2018). Stars such as Judy

Garland, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Fred Astaire, among others, all played in blackface at

one point in their careers (Murgia, 2018). Despite the fading popularity of blackface, however,

white stars were not reluctant to stereotypically portray other non-white characters (Murgia,

2018). In the films The Sheik (1921), The Thief of Bagdad (1924), The Son of Sheik (1926), and
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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Cleopatra (1963) white actors were cast to portray Arab characters (Murgia, 2018). In the films

Charlie Chan Carries On (1931), The Good Earth (1937), Dragon Seed (1944), and Anna and

the King of Siam (1946), The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956), The King and I (1956),

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962) white actors were cast to play

Asian characters often in ‘yellowface’ (Yuen, 2016; Murgia, 2018). In the films Fiesta (1947),

Lost Boundaries (1949), Touch of Evil (1958), West Side Story (1961), The House of Spirits

(1993), Carlito’s Way (1993), and Argo (2012), white actors were cast to play Latino characters

sometimes in ‘brownface’ (Yuen, 2016; Murgia, 2018). In Winchester ‘73 (1950), Apache

(1954), The Outsider (1961), and Stay Away, Joe (1968), white actors were cast to play Native

American characters (Yuen, 2016; Murgia, 2018). Within the last decade, white actors were also

cast to play Native American characters in films such as Avatar: The Last Airbender (2010), The

Lone Ranger (2013), and Pan (2015) (Yuen, 2016; Murgia, 2018). These films were not small

independent films; they were major studio productions featuring the top stars of their era and

representative of the kind of whitewashing Hollywood has clung to during its 100 plus year

existence (Yuen, 2016).

Hollywood’s Historically Negative and Prejudicial Portrayals of People of Color

It is not that Hollywood only cast white actors to play non-white characters, it is that it

also negatively, prejudicially, and stereotypically portrayed these non-white characters (Yuen,

2016; Horton, Price, & Brown, 1999). But before discussing the specific portrayals of non-white

characters - usually portrayals of people of color as violent, stupid, lazy, poor, and hyper-

sexualized - it is important to briefly address how Hollywood has portrayed white characters on

screen to better understand the context (Yuen, 2016; Horton, Price, & Brown, 1999). With very

few exceptions, Hollywood has almost never cast a non-white actor to play a white character
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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(Sherker, 2014). White characters played by white actors represent the range of human behavior

- good, bad, generous, violent - but white people are almost never negatively stereotyped

(Hughey, 2014). More often than not, whites are usually portrayed as rational (Hughey, 2014).

When ethnicity is a major theme in a film, it is usually the ethnic group of color being saved by a

white hero (Vera & Gordon, 2003). This ‘white savior syndrome’ is present in popular films

such as To Kill A Mockingbird (1962), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's

Nest (1975), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Dances with Wolves (1990), and

Dangerous Minds (1995). This white savior syndrome is also present in films from the last few

years, including popular movies The Last Samurai (2003), Blood Diamond (2006), and The

Great Wall (2017), among others, which all portray white characters as the only hope for non-

white ethnic groups (Murgia, 2018; Hughey, 2014). It is unclear if there has ever been a

Hollywood film that portrays a ‘non-white savior’ as the only hope for a white ethnic group

(Sherker, 2014).

Hollywood Has Historically Portrayed People of Color as Violent.

In terms of specific portrayals of people of color, Hollywood has often portrayed non-

white ethnic groups as violent (Yuen, 2016; Russell, 1992; Horton et al., 1999). Early films such

as Birth of a Nation (1915) portrayed blacks as vicious rapists preying upon and forcibly

violating innocent white women (Yuen, 2016; Rusell, 1992; Horton et al., 1999). Other films

such as Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), Boyz N the Hood (1991), and Menace II Society (1992)

portrayed blacks as violent, murderers, thieves, and gang members (Murgia, 2018). In a

study of 26,000 major U.S. films, approximately 64% of all portrayed ‘gang members’ are black

(Nash, 2016). According to the National Gang Center, 35% of all gang members in ‘real life’ are

black (National Gang Center, 2011). The most watched reality television show in history, Cops
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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(1989), did even worse in its depictions of blacks. The show overrepresented black criminals by

more than 300% compared to real life and dramatically underrepresented white criminals

(Oliver, 1993). Similarly, the show overrepresented Latinos by a factor of more than three to one

(Oliver, 1993). A line by a white character in the film Nothing To Lose (1997) perhaps says it

best when it comes to how black or Latino people are portrayed in Hollywood: “You are a bad

person” (Bredman, Jinks, and Oedekerk,1997). Other ethnic groups have also been portrayed as

violent. In films such as Back to the Future (1985), Death Before Dishonor (1987),

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), True Lies (1994), Aladdin (1995), and Rules of

Engagement (2000), Arabs are portrayed as inherently violent or as terrorists (Shaheen, 2003).

Popular television shows such as Law and Order (1990) portray Arabs in the same way (Tasker,

2012). Native Americans have also been portrayed as violent savages in a series of television

shows and feature films (Rollins, 2011).

Hollywood Portrays People of Color as Lazy, Stupid, and Poor.

In Wooing and the Wedding of a Coon (1905), How Rastus Got His Turkey (1910),

Hearts in Dixie (1915), Stand Up and Cheer (1934), David Harum (1934),

and The Singing Vagabond (1935), Hollywood portrays people of color - specifically blacks - as

‘coons’ (Murgia, 2018). A coon, short for raccoon, is a lazy, stupid, cowardly, inarticulate black

character who is a perpetual child incapable of escaping his lowly status (Murgia, 2018). He is

a slow-talking buffoon who does nothing more than eat watermelons, steal chickens, destroy

things, and bumble the English language (Murgia, 2018). This is in contrast to the other image

Hollywood also preferred to portray blacks as the Sambo (Murgia, 2018; Leab, 1973). The

Sambo is a black character who graciously accepts his status, assimilates to Jim Crow, and is

generally a ‘house negro’ compared to the wild and untamed ‘nigger’ coon (Murgia, 2018; Leab,
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

23

1973). The characters Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939) and Georgina in Get Out (2017)

both represent Sambo characters while Buckwheat in The Little Rascals (1934-1944) represents a

coon character. Both the coon and the Sambo got their start in minstrelsy performances, and

Hollywood extended this negative stereotype on the big and small screens (Murgia, 2018). While

these depictions lost favor after the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, Hollywood adjusted its

more explicit racism and began to portray black characters in more implicitly racist ways,

particularly in sitcoms featuring comedic and stereotypical black characters (Coleman, 2014).

Shows such as That’s My Mama (1974), Good Times (1974), Sanford and Son (1972), What’s

Happening!! (1976), and The Jeffersons (1975) are examples of sitcom series featuring comedic

and stereotypical black characters (Coleman, 2014). However, Hollywood did not adjust its

explicitly negative portrayals of other non-black people of color (Murgia, 2018).

Portrayals of Arabs, for example, are still overtly harsh as Arabs are often portrayed as

‘oil-rich dimwits’ (Shaheen, 2003). In a study of over 900 films featuring Arab characters, Arab

characters are consistently shown as ‘stupid’ (Shaheen, 2003). In the same study, only 50 of the

films portrayed Arabs in a positive or neutral way (Shaheen, 2003). Portrayals of Latinos in film

are similar (Berumen, 2014). Latinos have often been portrayed as ignorant buffoons (Berumen,

2014). The popular film Viva Villa (1934) about the powerful Pancho Villa typifies this notion

by portraying the general as a drinking, smoking ‘dumb guy’, but who in reality was a brilliant

strategic general who never drank or smoked (Murgia, 20018). Other shows and films such as I

Married Dora (1987) and Maid in Manhattan (2002) portray Latinos as poor (Berumen, 2014).

Likewise, Native Americans are often portrayed as lazy, stupid, and poor (Rollins, 2011).

Hollywood Portrays People of Color in Hyper-Sexualized Ways. Another way Hollywood

often portrays people of color is in hyper-sexualized ways (Yuen, 2016). In addition to being
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

24

portrayed as violent, dumb, and poor, characters of color - particularly male characters - have

been portrayed as having uncontrollable libidos (Yuen, 2016). Black characters have frequently

been portrayed as rapists while Latino characters have been portrayed as ‘Latin Lovers’ (Yuen,

2016). For example, films and shows such as Birth of a Nation (1915), American Gigolo (1980),

The Color Purple (1985), ER (1994), and Law and Order (1990), among others,

disproportionately portray black men as rapists (Murgia, 2018). Films such as Legally Blonde

(2002) and How to be a Latin Lover (2017), among others, portray Latino men as Latin lovers

(Murgia, 2018). In terms of portrayals of females of color on screen, black women have often

been portrayed as ‘hoochies’ and welfare queens. Latinas have often been portrayed as

sexpots and whores, including in popular shows like Desperate Housewives (2006) (Merskin,

2007). Arab and Asian women have frequently been portrayed as silent and submissive or

hypersexual, for example (Yuen, 2016; Picherit-Duthler & Yunis, 2011).

People of Color Fight Back the Era of Discrimination

Starting in the 1920s and 1930s, production companies led by people of color started to

form to counter images put out by films like Wedding of a Coon (1905) and others (Horton,

Price, & Brown, 1999). However, the few films these diverse production companies put out did

not override the dominant narrative about people of color in Hollywood. Due to financial strains

many of these companies quickly shut down (Horton, Price, & Brown, 1999). Positive strides

were nevertheless made in parallel with the Civil Rights Movement, and by the 1950s and 1960s

audiences gradually started to accept more positive portrayals of people of color, particularly

blacks, by embracing films like Lillies in the Field (1963), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

(1967), and In the Heat of the Night (1967) (Nelson, 1963; Kramer, 1967; Jewison and Mirisch,

1967). By the 1970s and 1980s, audiences quickly embraced television shows like The Cosby
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

25

Show (1984) and the rise of the black superstar (Havens, 2000; PBS, 2016). Stars such as

Michael Jackson, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Oprah Winfrey, and Denzel Washington crossed

racial boundaries in entertainment, and audiences rewarded these mega-entertainers for

their talent (Havens, 2000; PBS, 2016). In the 1990s and 2000s, audiences

embraced shows with majority casts of color like The Fresh Prince of Bel Air (1990),

Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper (1992), Sister, Sister (1994), The George Lopez Show (2002), and

others (Borowitz & Borowtiz, 1990; Franklin, 1992; Bass, Gilbert, & Shafferman, 1994; Helford,

Lopez, & Borden, 2002). These shows proved to have pro-social effects, positively enhancing

audience members’ racial attitudes (Bodenhausen, Schwarz, Bless & Wanke, 1995; Mastro &

Tukachinsky, 2011). But despite a few breakout movies, television series, and superstars,

Hollywood has primarily remained closed to shows featuring people of color, with over 80% of

lead actors being white (Yuen, 2016; Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015).

Native American and Asians, for example, remain virtually non-represented in Hollywood

to this day, with Native Americans commanding less than 1% of speaking roles and Asians less

than 5% (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015). Very little is known about these groups on screen

beyond the sheer rate of appearance, and few television shows or mainstream films with majority

Native American or Asian casts have ever been made (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015).

Likewise, when Arabs are portrayed they are disproportionately portrayed in terrorist roles and

few shows or mainstream films with majority Arab casts have ever been made in Hollywood

(Rollins, 2011). Portrayals are more positive with blacks, but they are still disproportionately

portrayed in crime dramas and banal sitcoms on television (Mastro & Greenberg, 2010).

When Latinos are portrayed, they are disproportionately portrayed in sexual or criminal roles on

television (Mastro & Greenberg, 2010). After years of studies emanating from research
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

26

institutions like the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los

Angeles describing Hollywood’s lack of diversity, little progress has happened and, in some

ways, representation has gotten worse for people of color in Hollywood (Smith, Choueiti, &

Pieper, 2015; Hunt & Price, 2014). Similarly, after years of popular social movements like

#OscarsSoWhite, little has changed in Hollywood with respect to improving the number of

people of color within the industry or their portrayals (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015).

Perception Equals Reality

The reason representation and portrayal of people of color on screen is so important is

because it influences how people of color are perceived and treated in the real world

(Kulaszewicz, 2015; Mastro, 2009; Morgan & Shanahan, 1997). In other words, the creation of

characters of color and their corresponding narratives in Hollywood influences social conditions

and outcomes for people of color (Kulaszewicz, 2015; Mastro, 2009; Morgan & Shanahan, 1997;

Ford, 1997) Today, most communities are homogenized (Williams & Collins, 2001).

Consequently, very little social interaction is occurring between white and non-white

individuals and communities (Pettigrew, 1998). And because entertainment media is the primary

way people get information about other ethnic groups - Americans spend 40% of their ‘free time’

watching television - the portrayals of people of color on screen are directly influencing what

whites believe about people of color (Mastro, 2009; Short, 2013). When whites are exposed to

negative stereotypes about blacks, for example, they are more likely to make negative social

judgments about blacks (Mastro, 2009). This negative stereotyping is true even if blacks are

being portrayed negatively in ‘harmless comedies’ like sitcoms (Busselle & Crandall, 2002). In

fact, playful humor about or against people of color has been shown to increase discrimination

(Ford, 1997).
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

27

The same is true with respect to white children believing negative stereotypes about

children of color (Fujikoa, 1999). In a study measuring white children’s perceptions of blacks,

television was the primary source of information about blacks for 50% of white children

surveyed, for example (Fujikoa, 1999). White children believe these portrayals of people of color

are true to life (Fujikoa, 1999). As such, Hollywood is helping construct social perceptions

about people of color (Kulaszewicz, 2015; Mastro, 2009; Morgan & Shanahan, 1997; Ford,

1997). But it is not just that white children and adults believe these portrayals about people of

color, children of color are likely to internalize these negative representations about themselves

(Valentino, 1999). It has been shown that children of color, particularly black girls, have

decreased self-esteem after watching a half hour of television (Denzer-King, 2016). White

boys, conversely, have been shown to have increased self-esteem after watching a half hour of

television (Denzer-King, 2016). What this means is that these children are learning things about

themselves and others through direct observation that may not be true but that they nevertheless

determine to be true (Denzer-King, 2016).

Social Cognitive Theory

This is known as social cognitive theory, the notion that learning occurs by observing

others’ attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1961; Bandura, 1986).

According to Bandura (1986), most human behavior is learned observationally through

modeling: from observing others, one forms an idea about how new behaviors are formed, and

on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action. In social cognitive

theory, four constructs must be met for effective modeling to occur: attention, retention,

reproduction, and motivation (Bandura, 1986). Attention is the amount of attention one pays to a

phenomenon. Retention is remembering what one pays attention to, including symbolic coding
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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and mental images. Reproduction is reproducing the image of what one pays attention to. And

motivation is having a good reason to imitate the model, including tradition, imagined incentives,

and vicarious reinforcement (Bandura, 1986). These modeling constructs interact in a complex

way with one’s environment, one’s behavior, and one’s psychological processes, meaning that

behavior is neither determined solely by one’s surrounding environment nor one’s own mental

constructs (Bandura, 1986). In other words, the behavior one demonstrates in one’s environment

is influenced by at least two phenomenon: the environment itself and one’s ability to entertain

images in the mind (Bandura, 1986).

Cultivation Theory and Media Priming Theory

For the past 100 years, Hollywood has been a primary source about the images individuals

hold about people of color (Russell, 1992; Horton, Price, & Brown, 1999). As a consequence, the

thoughts and beliefs both whites and non-whites have about people of color are directly

influenced by the images they have seen in Hollywood about people of color (Kulaszewicz,

2015; Hurley, Jensen, Weaver & Dixon, in press). In academe, this notion is better known as

cultivation theory, or the idea that exposure to media stereotypes changes one's own beliefs about

oneself as well as stereotyped groups (Potter, 1993). It is not just thoughts and beliefs that

Hollywood is influencing. According to media priming theory, the behavior of whites and non-

whites with respect to people of color has also been directly influenced by the images they have

seen on screen about people of color because individuals tend to conform to the attributes the

media displays (Roskos-Ewoldsen, 2002). These behaviors help contribute to the systematic

stereotyping of people of color in the real world through a phenomenon called stereotype threat

(Aronson, & Dee, 2011).

Stereotype Threat Theory
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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In stereotype threat - or social identity threat - individuals are at risk of confirming

negative stereotypes about their group (Aronson, & Dee, 2011). It is the notion that one might be

judged in terms of negative stereotypes about one’s own group instead of by individual merit

(Aronson, & Dee, 2011). Numerous research has demonstrated that stereotype threat negatively

impacts people of color, particularly blacks and Latinos, among others (Aronson, & Dee, 2011).

These negative impacts occur in part because of decreased social identity, a reduced sense of

belonging, and reduced self-control (Croizet, Depress, Gauzins, Hugeut, Leyens, 2004). It has

been demonstrated that stereotype threat increases anxiousness, decreases self-confidence,

decreases working memory, triggers negative emotions and psychological stress, and hinders

performance (Croizet, Depress, Gauzins, Hugeut, Leyens, 2004). In addition,

it has been demonstrated that when members of a group underperform, their educational,

economic, and career opportunities diminish (Aronson, & Dee, 2011; Inzlicht & Schmader,

2012). In other words, this reduced performance occurs in part because of the limited self-

efficacy beliefs stereotype threat helps create within stereotyped individuals (Aronson, & Dee,

2011). What this means practically is that these stereotypes in Hollywood may be negatively

exacerbating problems in the real world for people of color (Greenberg, Lewis, & Dodd, 1999).

While the scope of this study does not include an exhaustive review of every major stereotype

threat Hollywood may be contributing to, it will look at three of the most important stereotypes

that may be impacting people of color (Aronson, & Dee, 2011; Bell & Jannis, 2011).

Hollywood’s Impact on Educational Outcomes for People of Color

In terms of educational outcomes for people of color, Hollywood has contributed to some

negative social impacts (Bell & Jannis, 2011; Greenberg, Lewis, & Dodd, 1999). Although no

meta-study has been conducted to examine the impact on educational outcomes of Hollywood’s
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

30

100-year history of portraying blacks as coons, Sambos, and buffoons, for example, focused

contemporary studies have shown that attitudes shaped by Hollywood can impact school grades

(Bell & Jannis, 2011). More specifically, attitudes shaped in part by Hollywood can reduce or

lower grades for blacks (Bell & Jannis, 2011). When blacks watch characters of color on screen

who are portrayed as consistently intellectually inferior or socially disruptive, this may trigger

stereotype threat in the real world when they go to school (Bell & Jannis, 2011). As a result,

negative or counterproductive behaviors may increase, and academic performance may suffer

(Bell & Jannis, 2011). In addition, attitudes shaped in part by Hollywood have also lowered the

likelihood of college admissions for blacks, particularly black boys and black men (Bell &

Jannis, 2011). This might be because the perception of black men as academically or socially

behind diminishes admission officers’ desire to admit them, but this notion is inconclusive

(Green, 2016). There is limited literature with respect to Hollywood’s impact on other groups of

color and their educational outcomes.

Hollywood’s Impact on Job Opportunities for People of Color

In terms of job opportunities for people of color, Hollywood has also contributed to some

negative impacts (Bell & Jannis, 2011; Oliver & Armstrong, 1998). For example, attitudes

shaped in part by Hollywood affect job opportunities for people of color, particularly blacks

(Bell & Jannis, 2011). First, outlooks influenced by Hollywood impact both self-realization

and individual development for blacks (Denzer-King, 2016; Bell & Jannis, 2011; Oliver &

Armstrong, 1998). Donaldson (2015) shows when portrayals of blacks on television and in

movies glorify only certain professions (e.g., being a rapper or professional athlete) and diminish

others (e.g., being a teacher, engineer, or some type of other professional) it effects what blacks

believe they can become professionally. As a result, they may aspire to some statistically
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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difficult to achieve professions and shy away from other, more stable and achievable professions

with no fallback plans (Donaldson, 2015). When teachers try to guide them into more stable

professions this may trigger stereotype threat because blacks may not believe they will be good

at these professions and therefore resist them (Bell & Jannis, 2011). Second, outlooks influenced

by Hollywood can directly affect the likelihood of blacks being hired or promoted (Bell &

Jannis, 2011). In numerous studies conducted, blacks who had identical work resumes,

educational histories, and professional accomplishments as whites get 50% less callbacks for

interviews than whites simply because their names ‘sound black’ (Bertrand & Mullainathan,

2003). This may be because the biases of interviewers are in part shaped by negative portrayals

of blacks on television and in movies (Greenberg, Lewis, & Dodd, 1999). Third, attitudes shaped

in part by Hollywood can directly affect the likelihood of blacks receiving a personal or business

loan to invest in a startup or small business (Ellis, 2012). It has been noted that blacks have been

shut out of credit markets and receive less than .05 of 1% of all venture capital dollars (National

Venture Capital Association, 2014). This may be shaped in part by stereotypical perceptions of

blacks being thieves and servants and not wanting to do business with them (Murgia, 2018; Bell

& Janis, 2011; Inzlicht & Schmader, 2012; Aronson & Dee 2011; Croizet, Depress, Gauzins,

Hugeut, & Leyens, 2004). There is limited literature with respect to Hollywood’s impact on

other groups of color and their job opportunities.

Hollywood’s Impact on Law Enforcement Outcomes for People of Color

In terms of law enforcement outcomes for people of color, perspectives influenced in part

by Hollywood can affect policing procedures (Oliver & Armstrong, 1998). As stated in the

People of Color Fight Back Era of Discrimination section, Hollywood disproportionately

portrays people of color, particularly blacks and Latinos, in criminal dramas (Mastro &
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32

Greenberg, 2010). Hollywood also disproportionately portrays people of color as criminals,

sometimes 300% more often than in real life (Mastro & Greenberg, 2010). In addition,

Hollywood disproportionately portrays gang members as being black or Latino in comparison

with real life numbers (Mastro & Greenberg, 2010). In real life the use of questionably excessive

force and punitive law enforcement procedures used against people of color may be shaped in

part by disproportionately negative portrayals of people of color on screen as thugs and criminals

(Mastro & Greenberg, 2010; Oliver & Armstrong, 1998). That is, white police officers could

hold conscious or subconscious prejudices or perceptions about people of color because of the

overwhelming negative images they view of them on a regular basis on television shows and in

movies, and may not be able to distinguish between fact and fiction (Mastro, 2009). Likewise,

people of color may feel stereotype threat when police officers are in their communities in part

because of attitudes shaped by Hollywood and thus conform to these negative stereotypes when

interacting with law enforcement (Aronson, & Dee, 2011; Mastro & Greenberg, 2010; Oliver &

Armstrong, 1998). There is limited literature with respect to Hollywood’s impact on other groups

of color and their law enforcement outcomes.

How Hollywood is Currently Treating People of Color

Historically, Hollywood used the theory of consumer discrimination to

initially justify why it refused to cast people of color in its films in the late 19th and early 20th

Centuries (Younkin, 2016). The theory of consumer discrimination states that majority white

audiences will not buy or support products that feature people of color (Becker, 2010; Younkin,

2016). Hollywood later extended this theory from feature films to television, refusing to

cast people of color in lead roles (Younkin, 2016). There were a few exceptions to this rule

starting in the 1960s and 1970s, but Hollywood explicitly and implicitly believed that having
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

33

people of color on set would lead to lower ratings, lower ad revenue, and less profits (Hunt &

Price, 2013). This belief is expressed in the oft-cited mantra ‘black does not travel,’ with black

being a description for both black casts and an implied synonym for casts of color (Anderson,

2017).

White Executives and Audiences Rejection of Consumer Discrimination

As it stands now, six Hollywood studios control 90% of all creative content produced

world (Ryan, 2016). All of the chief executive officers who run these studios are white (Ryan,

2016). Approximately 94% of the executives at these studios are white (Variety, 2016). Yet the

evidence shows that when studios cast people of color in lead roles in feature films, these films

earn more than twice the box office receipts than when whites are cast in lead roles (Hunt &

Price, 2015). Films with diverse leads earn an average of $120 million at the box office

compared to $50 million at the box office for white leads (Hunt & Price, 2015). It is similar in

television. Television series with diverse casts earn higher ratings, higher advertising revenues,

and have higher social media engagement than series with white casts (Hunt & Price, 2013). This

supports the notion that audiences have a ‘taste for diversity’ and that consumer discrimination is

neither strong nor pervasive (Leonard, Levine, Giuliano, 2010). Recent films such as Black

Panther (2018) and Coco (2017), which primarily featured casts of color and positive portrayals

of people of color and respectively earned over $1.2 billion and $760 million at the box office

(Box Office Mojo, 2018). Nevertheless, white executives are still reluctant to make films and

television shows with casts of color (Harwell, 2015).

People of Color Still Being Discriminated Against in Hollywood

In fact, Hollywood has recently been less welcoming of people of color, particularly

actors, directors, and writers of color. In a multiyear study of more than 1,000 television shows,
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

34

it was demonstrated that actors of color are underrepresented by a factor of more than 300%,

worse than in the 1990s (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015; include 90s citation). Black and

Latino actors, for example, accounted for less than 16% of all scripted roles despite being 40% of

the U.S. population (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015). However, when disaggregating this data

the numbers look even more bleak. Despite being 17% of the population, Latinos only accounted

for 5.8% of all speaking roles, while Latinas account for less than three percent of all acting roles

(Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015). The same is true for Asians, as the majority of

roles are non-speaking (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015). In a multi-year study from

2007-2014 analyzing Hollywood characters, Hollywood made virtually no progress in portraying

characters from non-white or ethnic backgrounds (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015).

Likewise, Hollywood has made almost no progress in hiring directors of color (Smith,

Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015). Currently, directors of color are underrepresented by a factor of more

than 10 to 1 (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015; Hunt & Price, 2014). Only 15% of the 153 new

television shows on the air in the 2016-2017 season were directed by people of color, and of this

number only 3.2% of these shows were directed by women of color (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper,

2015; Hunt & Price, 2014). In terms of feature films, only 18% are directed by people of color

(Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015; Hunt & Price, 2014). In a study of the 1,000-top grossing

films, only three films were directed by a black woman or Latina. Prior to 2018, of the 101 films

released by Disney not a single film was directed by a person of color (Smith, Choueiti, &

Pieper, 2015; Hunt & Price, 2014).

Like with underrepresented actors and directors of color, writers of color are

underrepresented by factor of more than three to one (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015; Hunt &

Price, 2014). The Writers Guild of America estimates that writers of color make up only 13% of
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

35

television writing rooms (Writers Guild of America, 2016). Only two percent of broadcast

television shows are created by writers of color (Smith et al., 2015; Hunt & Price, 2014).

And only 10% of the 500 scripted television shows are run by a person of color, usually the head

writer (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015; Hunt & Price, 2014). The numbers are similar in feature

films. Of the 132 films distributed by the major studios in 2016, only 11 were written by people

of color (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015; Hunt & Price, 2014). In other words, only 8% of films

were written by people of color which means writers of color are underrepresented by a factor of

more than 500% in feature films. This means that films and television series are not being

created by people of color (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015; Hunt & Price, 2014). Consequently,

few roles are being written for actors of color and few roles are being given to directors of color

(Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015; Hunt & Price, 2014).

What is Hollywood Doing to Fix This

As mentioned earlier, virtually no progress has been made over the last 10 years since this

issue has come to national and international prominence (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015).

Despite the publicity-saturated efforts by studios to launch ‘diversity initiatives,’ which are

primarily comprised of a handful of mentorship sessions with a dozen or so writers, directors, as

well as actors of color annually little else has been done (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2015).

When white studio executives are asked why this is the case, they have said because they ‘cannot

seem to find enough talented or qualified’ people of color to make shows or films with (Finke,

2006). Just as with consumer discrimination theory, it is not that Hollywood claims not to want

to work with people of color they just keep finding all of these reasons to justify why they do not

(Finke, 2006).

Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

36

Role of Stakeholder Group of Focus

The Creative Development Executive is the stakeholder of focus for this study and they are

are responsible for discovering and providingopportunities for people of color in Hollywood

(Bloore, 2012). Whether in television or movies, Creative Development Executives work to

develop a several script projects concurrently. This often includes researching a television

or movie project, giving advice on story structure and character development, and attaching

specific writers and actors and directors to a script project (Bloore, 2012). In short, the creative

development executive is the professional who plays the crucial “middleman” role between the

creatives on the team (the writers, actors, and directors) and the entertainment company that

finances the potential script project. They can, for example, make or break a script written by a

person of color or decide to include or exclude an actor of color for a project that is already

approved (Bloore, 2012). Over 90% of Creative Development Executives are white (Variety,

2016).

Clark and Estes’ (2008) Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences
Framework

The gap analysis framework designed by Clark and Estes (2008) is used by organizations

to identify gaps between where an organization’s performance actually is compared to

where they want it to be (i.e., the organization performance goal). More specifically, this

framework examines stakeholders’ knowledge, motivation, and organizational (KMO) influences

that may affect performance gaps within the organization (Clark & Estes, 2008). In terms of

knowledge of stakeholders, Krathwohl (2002) identifies 4 types of knowledge that impact

reaching a performance goal: factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge.

In terms of motivational influences, Rueda (2011) identifies self-efficacy, attributions,

values, and goals as being paramount factors impacting stakeholders’
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

37

performance. Finally, in terms of organizational influences that affect performance, Clark and

Estes (2008) identify work processes, resources, and organizational culture.

(2008) identify work processes, resources, and organizational culture.

Each of the influences of Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analysis will be addressed in this

section in terms of Creative Development Executives’ knowledge, motivation, and organizational

needs to reach their performance goal of increasing the number of creative people of color by

10% by June 2019. The first section will be a discussion of the assumed knowledge and skills

needed by the stakeholders to reach the performance goal. The second section will be a

discussion of the assumed motivational influences needed by stakeholders to reach the

performance goal. And the third section will be a discussion of the assumed organizational

influences that are impacting stakeholders’ achievement of the performance goal. Each of these

assumed stakeholder knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences on performance will

then be examined through the methodology discussed in Chapter 3.

Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences

In terms of knowledge influences, several are important to understand when analyzing

Phantom Network’s stakeholder goal of increasing people of color by 10% by June 2019. These

knowledge influences include Creative Development Executives’ knowledge about the

lack of people of color in Hollywood; knowledge of their step-by-step methods and strategies to

include people of color; and knowledge about their own effectiveness in solving the

performance problem. It is important to categorize the knowledge influences

into corresponding ‘knowledge types’ to better understand why Creative Development

Executives need these specific types of knowledge in order to meet their organizational goal. The

knowledge types include factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge per
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

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Krathwohl (2002). Conceptual knowledge is knowledge that allows stakeholders to make

meaningful inferences by linking prior and current information (Krathwohl, 2002; Rueda, 2011).

Procedural knowledge is the practical, step-by-step knowledge and skills needed to perform a

task (Krathwohl, 2002; Rueda, 2011). And metacognitive knowledge is reflective knowledge

about one’s own knowledge, skills, performance, and ability to solve a problem (Rueda, 2011).

Below, each knowledge influence will be paired with a knowledge type (i.e., stakeholders’

knowledge about the lack of people of color will be paired with the knowledge type of

conceptual knowledge) and related literature will be examined.

Knowledge About the Lack of People of Color

Creative Development Executives need knowledge about the lack of people of color in

Hollywood. Currently, writers, directors, and actors of color have limited opportunities and are

greatly underrepresented (Hunt et al, 2014). As the general literature showed, from 2007 to 2014

Hollywood made virtually no progress in portraying non-white characters on screen (Smith et al,

2014). This lack of representation has not only limited opportunities for people of color, but it

has also created lower financial returns for television shows and movies (Hunt et al, 2014). In

addition, the lack of people of color in Hollywood has had another negative side effect: it has

helped lower the self-esteem of children of color and contributed to stereotype threat (Martins et

al, 2012; Aronson et al, 2011). Creative Development Executives need this conceptual

knowledge to help them make better decisions for their organization (and society). A lack of

people of color correspond to both lower financial returns as well as perpetuates negative social

outcomes.

Knowledge About Diversity Initiatives

Creative Development Executives need knowledge about step-by-step methods and
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strategies to hire and include people of color in key creative roles. Creative Development

Executives must see the specific steps they are taking, or not, and how these steps are impacting

current performance (Krathwohl, 2002; Rueda, 2011). In particular, they must be aware of the

literature that demonstrates that many ‘diversity initiatives’ fail because they are either

improperly designed or implemented or because they threaten ‘high-status groups’ (Bytos, 1992;

Dover, 2016). Creative Creative Development Executives must connect the dots between the

lack of diversity at Phantom Productions and the approaches they have taken to address it (Hunt

et al, 2014; Smith et al, 2014; Bytos, 1992). When they use this procedural knowledge type, it

will help them more effectively solve their performance problem.

Knowledge About Stakeholder Effectiveness

Creative Development Executives need knowledge about their own effectiveness in

solving their performance problem. In particular, they need to reflect on the strategic and tactical

knowledge they have or do not have to increase access for people of color. For example, they

will need to see if they are properly managing expectations with people of color and internal

stakeholders at Phantom Productions (Bytos, 1992). They will need to reflect on the actions they

are taking to reach their performance goal and whether these actions are threatening white

colleagues (Dover, 2016). If these actions are, it could be slowing their progress toward

achieving their performance goal (Rueda, 2011; Bytos, 1992).

Motivation Influences

Creative Development Executives need to have the correct motivation to achieve their

performance goal. Motivation is defined as whether people (or professionals) will start, continue,

and complete a task (Rueda, 2011). In Hollywood, this is important as professionals have a

notoriously fickle nature, get easily distracted, and often do not successfully finish projects
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(Galloway, 2016). Therefore, their motivation to reach their performance goal must be high.

Motivation is a complex phenomenon and can be influenced by multiple constructs (Rueda,

2011). These motivation constructs - attributions, utility, and goal orientation – will be discussed

in further detail below, along with literature related to these motivational influences on

Creative Development Executives (Rueda, 2011).

Motivational Attributions Theory

In terms of motivation, attributions is one of the most important variables

(Anderman & Anderman, 2006). Attributions theory states that individuals do not

accomplish their goal due to their own effort and skills (Anderman and Anderman, 2006).

Individuals look to their own shortcomings and not that of others to better understand why they

do not achieve their goals (Anderman and Anderman, 2006). This theory, in summary, discusses

the notion of what individuals attribute to the success or failure of their own performance goals.

For Creative Development Executives, attributions is paramount. Although Hollywood had

the goal of increasing people of color for over a decade, it has failed (Smith et al, 2016; Molina-

Guzman, 2016). Development executives believe they have done everything possible to increase

the number of people of color, but cannot seem to find diverse and “qualified” candidates

(Levine, 2017). Creative Development Executives attribute failure to reach their

performance goal to the pool of talent, not themselves. However, DE may not be putting in the

proper effort or designing the right solutions to reach their goal (Bytos, 1992). DE solutions

may be overly simplistic, inflexible, and poorly communicated which may lead to performance

failure (Arredondo, 1996). The failure to reach the performance goal of increasing the number of

people of color by 10% may be due to Creative Development Executives own efforts and skills,

not the shortcomings of others (Anderman & Anderman, 2006; Bytos, 1992).
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Utility Theory

A second theory of motivation related to Creative Development Executives reaching their

performance goals is utility value. Utlity value theory is the idea that individuals need to see the

value, relevance, or benefit of pursuing a particular goal (Eccles, 2006). If individuals do not see

relevance, or benefit of pursuing a particular goal (Eccles, 2006). If individuals do not see the

the goal as relevant, worthwhile, or having some sort of benefit to themselves it may be difficult

to motivate Creative Development Executives to do whatever it takes to achieve their goal

(Mayer, 2011).

Creative Development Executives may believe in the moral value or utility of increasing

the number of people of color but this may not be enough to sustain motivation to look for new

solutions when old solutions fail (Smith et al, 2016). This is possible as creative development

executives are looking at the performance goal as a “means to an end” and not an “end” in itself

(Bytos, 1992). In other words, Creative Development Executives may only be looking at their

performance goal as a moral value instead of as an economic goal (Bytos, 1992; Hunt et al.,

2013). In particular, Creative Development Executives may be unaware of the recent

research on how diversity improves ratings, revenues, and social media engagement

for both television shows and movies (Hunt et al, 2013). As a consequence, DE may not be

motivated to come up with “creative” or “innovative” solutions (Smith et al, 2016). They may

need to change their outlook from looking at diversity as a “moral issue” and instead as a

“financial issue,” one that can put more money in their organization’s bottom line and gross

revenue (Bytos, 1992).

Goal Orientation Theory

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A third theory of motivation related to Creative Development Executives reaching the

performance goal is goal orientation. In goal orientation theory, there are two approaches: a

learning-goal orientation and a performance-goal orientation (Yough and Anderman, 2006). In

learning-goal orientation, an individual seeks to improve one’s own learning and skills to achieve

a task (Yough and Anderman, 2006). In performance-goal orientation, an individual wants to

achieve a goal either to receive positive feedback or to avoid negative feedback (Yough and

Anderman, 2006).

Given the backlash faced in Hollywood for its lack of diversity, creative development

executives may have high goal orientation (Smith et al, 2016). Specifically, they may want to

avoid negative feedback they have been receiving from both academic studies and popular press

(Hunt et al, 2013; Smith et al, 2014). It is unclear if executives have committed to advancing

their own knowledge or skills, however, because their efforts to achieve their performance goals

have fallen short given their design and implementation (Bytos, 1992; Arredondo, 1996; Smith et

al, 2016).

Organizational Influences

One of the most important factors of any organization is its culture, which can be assessed

by two related phenomena: cultural settings and cultural models (Gallimore & Goldenberg,

2009). Cultural settings are similar to organizational settings in that they are highly contextual

and involve an organization’s HR practices, its employees and their reasons for completing their

procedural tasks, and the social setting within which an organization takes place. Cultural

models, on the other hand, are an organization’s shared cultural practices and beliefs (Gallimore

and Goldenberg, 2009). The cultural setting within many creative Hollywood development teams

is often transient because creative executives and employees are constantly changing jobs and

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organizations (Grantham, 2000). From a cultural settings perspective, two specific factors may

be at work to explain the cause of organizational problems within development teams: 1)

development executives are overwhelmed by an overabundance of tasks, and 2) high employee

turnover prevents development executives from fully committing to their performance goals

(Grantham, 2000).

Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholder’ Knowledge and Motivation and
the Organizational Context

A conceptual framework showcases the most important concepts about a research
phenomenon; guides a sampling strategy; guides data collection and related instruments; and
guides data analysis. At its core, a conceptual framework is a theory, however tentative or
incomplete, that presents the “ideas and beliefs that you hold about the phenomena studied”
(Maxwell, 2013, pp. 39-40). This conceptual framework comes from 4 different resources –
empirical literature, theoretical literature, personal experience, and thought experiments – that
weaves these unique items together to demonstrate their interactivity and form a tentative theory
or construct. This theory or construct is then placed in the context of building on or contributing
to previous research efforts (Merriam and Tisdell, 2016). The conceptual framework justifies the
need for the research and helps identify the most appropriate methods for exploring the research
questions (Maxwell, 2011). In this study, the previous body of research on workforce diversity
initiatives is considered in the context of Phantom Productions. More specifically, the previous
body of research helps identify the methods that are most important for the organizational needs
at Phantom Productions. As a result, this conceptual framework and the following worldview
interact to inform this study.
Two theoretical worldviews inform this study: a constructivist worldview and a pragmatic
worldview. A constructivist worldview seeks to explain meaning about phenomena being studied
(Crewswell, 2014). In a pragmatic worldview, the researcher seeks to understand the research
problem from multiple perspectives (Creswell, 2014). With this dualistic and converging
approach, both antecedent conditions and practical ones will be considered. This enables the
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research to construct meaning and better understand how it will work within the context of
Phantom Productions.
In this conceptual framework, the influences of knowledge, motivation, and organizational
constructs will be examined in relation to each other to better assess how they are collectively
impacting the stakeholders’ ability to reach their performance goal. The factual/conceptual,
procedural, and metacognitive knowledge influences of development executives are discussed in
particular relation to their motivational and organizational influences here (Krathwohl, 2002;
Rueda, 2011). The motivational influences discussed include utility, attributions, and goal
orientation (Anderman and Anderman, 2006; Rueda, 2011; Pajares, 2006). The organizational
influences discussed include cultural models and cultural settings (Senge, 2006). These
influences all interact in the sense that it is development executives who must have the relevant
facts about their performance problem (factual knowledge); understand how their various past
and present decisions are impacting their performance (conceptual knowledge); know the steps
for reaching their performance goal (procedural knowledge); and have both the motivation and
organizational capacity to use their knowledge to increase workforce diversity.

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Figure Y
Development Executives Conceptual Framework.

Stakeholder Knowledge
:
Factual/Conceptual:
Magnitude and impact of problem
needs to be understood
Procedural:
Strategies and procedures that work
need to be identified and pursued
Metacognitive:
Development executives need to
understand their responsibilities and
capabilities

Increasing the number of creative
people of color by 10% by June 2019.

Organizational Settings
Cultural models:
Phantom Productions identity,
conflict and creative fiction
Cultural Settings: Institutional
models and values
Stakeholder Motivation

Utility value:
Embracing moral and financial value of
increasing the number of people of color
Attributions:
Development executives need to see
achievement of goal due to their own
efforts, not others
Goal orientation:
Development executives need to examine
their true commitment to their goal

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As Figure Y demonstrates, the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences all
interact in a seamless way to impact the global stakeholder goal. In the green concentric circle to
the left, relevant knowledge influences are presented. More specifically, the factual/conceptual
influences that development executives need to both know relevant information about the lack of
people of color and connect this phenomenon with past and present decisions they have made
that may have helped contribute to this problem (Hunt et al, 2013; Smith et al 2014). The
procedural knowledge influence includes the notion that development executives need to
understand how to implement strategies to reach their performance goal (Bytos, 1992; Dover,
2016). The metacognitive influence presented includes the notion that development executives
need to be aware of their responsibilities and capabilities (and lack thereof) regarding their
performance goal and not over or under-emphasize their own skills and strategies to solve their
problem (Bytos, 1992; Dover, 1996).
In the orange concentric circle to the right, relevant motivation influences are presented.
Development executives must see the utility value – or relevance or benefit of their goal – to be
motivated enough to achieve it. They must see there is not only a ‘moral value’ in reaching their
goal, but also a financial one (Smith et al, 2016; Hunt et al, 2013; Bytos, 1992). Development
executives must also see that the achievement of their goal is due to their own attributions, or
their personal efforts to achieve their goal as they have previously attributed their performance
failures to “lack of external talent” and not themselves (Smith et al, 2016; Molina-Guzman,
2016; Levine, 2017). In addition, development executives will need to examine their own
commitment to their goal, as 10 years of past effort has demonstrated there has been little
organizational buy-in and ironically decreased organizational diversity after the implementation
of their initiatives (Smith et al, 2016; Bytos, 1992; Dover, 2016).
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These knowledge and motivation influences relate to and influence the relevant
organizational influences, present in the blue concentric circle below. But before discussing the
organizational influences, a brief discussion is necessary for why both the stakeholder knowledge
and stakeholder motivation circles exist outside of the organizational setting and not within it. In
Hollywood, development executives are constantly changing organizations and therefore there is
limited institutional commitment to their organizations (Carpenter, 2018). The only thing that
remains consistent is the intellectual property of a firm like a movie or merchandise, not the
creative or decision-making personnel (Carpenter, 2018). As a result, the knowledge and
motivation development executives are bringing to their organizations, specifically around
increasing diversity (since this is a goal for most Hollywood companies), is a more important
factor in solving performance problems than the organizational settings since it is a universal
issue affecting people and not bureaucratic structures (Carpenter, 2018).
In this organizational settings circle, relevant cultural models and settings are presented. In
terms of cultural models, issues around organizational identity, creativity, and conflict are
presented (Nudell, 2005; Senge, 1990; Senge, 2014). In terms of cultural settings, issues around
organizational values are presented (Rogers, 2002; Goldberg, 2001; Schein, 2004; Schneider,
1996). Together, these knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences all impact the
performance goal, which is highlighted in the purple square box. Neither the stakeholder
knowledge or motivation is more important than the other, which is why the blue arrows are bi-
directional. However, the stakeholder knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences all
combine to significantly influence the performance goal, as the blue arrow from the
organizational settings circle indicates. Figure Y shows that this conceptual framework offers the
tentative theory that if knowledge and motivation influences of development executives
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simultaneously interact within organizational settings, then the achievement of the stakeholder
goal will be more likely.
Summary
The purpose of this study was to conduct a needs analysis in the areas of knowledge,

motivation, and organizational resources needed for Creative Development Executives to reach

the organizational performance goal of increasing workforce diversity by 10% at Phantom

Productions. The literature presented in Chapter 2 related to Hollywood’s racist beginnings;

Hollywood’s historic and modern portrayals of people of color as violent, stupid, and hyper-

sexualized; and the lack of people of color in Hollywood. The literature also presented the roles

that social cognitive theory, cultivation theory, media priming theory, and stereotype threat play

in influencing how white and non-white audiences perceive themselves and treat people of color

in the areas of education, jobs, and law enforcement as a consequence of consuming Hollywood

content. Chapter Two also presented literature related to the knowledge, motivation, and

organizational influences needed by Creative Development Executives to reach their

performance goals, and introduced the conceptual framework of this study. The conceptual

framework includes the worldview this study takes as well as this study’s interacting knowledge,

motivation, and organizational influences. Chapter 3 will present this study’s methodological

approach.

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Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY

The purpose of this project was to conduct a needs analysis in the areas of knowledge,

motivation, and organizational resources needed to reach Phantom Production’s

performance goal of increasing workforce diversity by 10%. This needs analysis was conducted

using the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis framework, which helped examine knowledge,

motivation, and organizational influences contributing to the organization’s performance

problem. The analysis generated a list of all possible needs and then examined these needs

methodically to focus on actual or validated needs. While a complete analysis would have

focused on all stakeholders, for practical purposes the stakeholder of focus in this analysis was

the group of Creative Development Executives at Phantom Productions.

As such, the following questions guided this study:

1. What is the development executives’ knowledge and motivation related to achieving

Phantom Productions’ goal of increasing workforce diversity 10% by June 2019?

2. What is the interaction between organizational culture and context and development

executives’ knowledge and motivation?

3. What are the recommended knowledge, motivation, and organizational solutions for

Phantom Productions?

Participating Stakeholders

The stakeholders who were sampled were Creative Development Executives at Phantom

Productions. Creative Development Executives are responsible for selecting which television

shows or movies will be made, who will write and direct them, and who will be cast in them.

They are also responsible for giving feedback and approving content of these projects.

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There are several types of Creative Development Executives: script readers (who are

the people responsible for reviewing all scripts and saying yes or no to whether they will be

seen by higher level executives); junior Creative Development Executives (the people

responsible for deciding which television shows and movies they will advocate for,

who may possibly direct and act in them); senior Creative Development Executives (the

people who make the decisions on which television shows or movies actually get made and

which shows and movies get canceled or put on hold); and screenwriters and executive producers

(the people responsible for generating content for scripts and running shows and movies,

respectively). For the purposes of this study, the stakeholders who were sampled included both

junior and senior Creative Development Executives as well as screenwriters and executive

producers. The reason for this choice included the fact that this combination of creative

development executives was responsible for doing most of the work for turning a script into a

real television or movie project. Therefore, they were a strong choice for being the participating

stakeholders given their power to shape which television or movie projects are seen

Interview Sampling Criteria and Rationale

Tenure at Phantom Productions. Creative Development Executives must have been with

Phantom Productions for at least one year.

Gender Diversity. Creative Development Executives must have been both male and female.

Experience with Diversity. Creative Development Executives must understand or have

experience with the role diversity plays at their organization.

Interview Recruitment Strategy and Rationale

The interview strategy was purposeful, or chosen deliberately so that the research

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questions could be answered (Johnson & Christensen, 2015; Merriam and Tisdell, 2016).

Approximately 12 participants were sought because this was a sufficient number of people to

probe to generate insights about the organization, its needs, and its performance problem

(Johnson & Christensen, 2015). Access to the participants was gained through an informal

network of associates given the secrecy of Phantom Productions (i.e., e-mails, phone numbers,

and other information was not publicly available for the participants) (Johnson & Chistensen,

2015). Of these 12, half were writers or executive producers and the other half were junior or

senior Creative Development Executives. Part of the reason for this breakdown was because

to better understand Phantom Production’s performance gap, a variety of backgrounds,

worldviews, and experiences were needed to see which shows and movies were

greenlighted or not (and why). For example, junior Creative Development Executives were

interviewed because their role involves identifying which scripts and projects will

ultimately be options for the organization to make and which people (i.e., directors and actors)

will make them.
Data Collection

In this study, the research questions were descriptive and designed to explore the

knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences on the performance of creative

development executives’ in entertainment. Although descriptive research questions can be

answered using either a quantitative or qualitative approach, this study used a qualitative

methodological approach (Samkian, n.d.-a). Qualitative research collects data in a naturalistic

setting to describe and construct meaning, explore what is happening, and to at times generate

theory (McEwan & McEwan, 2003). It is an exploratory approach examining the process of how

something works (Samkian, n.d.-a). This inquiry method was chosen because the study’s purpose

is to describe, evaluate, and understand what is happening in the organization that impacts
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Creative Development Executives’ knowledge and performance at Phantom Productions with

respect to their organizational performance goal.

As noted, the qualitative design methodology for this project took into account a

knowledge, motivation, and organizational gap analysis which required qualitative data from

Creative Development Executives. This qualitative inquiry process was an inductive approach

designed to generate themes from the small, purposeful sample of creative development

executives (Creswell, 2014). Data from this process was collected in two phases. The first phase

collected data in interviews and the second phase interpreted these interviews using thematic

coding (Creswell, 2014). Although observations, focus groups, and document analysis would

also have been good tools to collect and interpret qualitative data, these methods were

unavailable for this study given the tight restrictions on broad access at Phantom Productions.

Therefore, open-ended and semi-structured interviews were the inquiry instruments of choice

(DiCicco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006). Interviews were face-to-face exploratory interactions

designed to build rapport and provide rich insight into participants’ perceptions and experiences,

and were a distinct method of qualitative inquiry for this study (DiCicco-Bloom & Crabtree,

2006). These interviews were inherently subjective, and so therefore a note on my role as the

researcher is warranted.

The researcher is the most important instrument in the design, collection, and

interpretation of data in any qualitative research study (Creswell, 2014; Locke, Silverman, &

Spirduso, 2010). As such, it is imperative that the researcher understands that they bring

potential biases that can influence the findings of the study. These biases must be explicitly

stated up front and continuously examined throughout the process of data collection and

interpretation through the process of reflexivity (Creswell, 2014; Locke, Silverman, & Spirduso,
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53

2010). If they are not, the researcher and their biases can threaten the internal validity of the

study (Creswell, 2014). The research questions asked, the methodological approach chosen, the

data collection design, the sample participants, and the interpretation of the findings all depend

on the researcher (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Therefore, the researcher must be aware of their

own experiences and worldview and how these things might influence their study (Creswell,

2014; Locke, Silverman, & Spirduso, 2010). If they are not, the findings may not be objective

and could create resistance to future research initiatives.

In my case as a researcher, I have a constructivist worldview that believes multiple

realities may exist depending on the participants of a study and other contextual factors (Merriam

& Tisdell, 2016 ). This pluralistic perspective aligns with the exploratory nature of qualitative

research, and highlights my bias for using a qualitative design (Creswell, 2014). In this

qualitative inquiry process, if the inquiry design is bounded by time and activity, the unit of

analysis is defined and specific, and data is collected over time, the inquiry design is considered

to be a case study. Therefore, my design was a case study and more specifically an ethnographic

case study. An ethnographic case study seeks to understand the knowledge, beliefs, behavior,

and decisions of a group, among other things (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Ethnographic strategies

draw upon collecting data where the group works or lives (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). I had to be

sensitive to my constructivist worldview as I interviewed participants and interpreted

their perceptions for this ethnographic case study.

Data Analysis

For my interviews, data analysis was begun during data collection. I wrote analytic
memos after each interview, and documented my thoughts, concerns, and initial conclusions
about the data in relation to my conceptual framework and research questions through reflective
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journaling. Once I left the interviews I then transcribed and coded them with a priori and axial
coding. In the first phase of analysis, I used open coding, looking for empirical codes and
applying a priori codes from the conceptual framework. For the second phase of analysis I
aggregated empirical and a prior codes into analytic/axial codes. In the third phase of data
analysis, I identified pattern codes and themes that emerged in relation to the conceptual
framework and study questions.
Credibility and Trustworthiness

To increase and maintain the credibility and trustworthiness of the study, I

incorporated triangulation, member checking, and rich, detailed descriptions to enhance the

validity of this study and provide a more holistic account of this group (Creswell, 2014).

Triangulation involves using multiple data sources to produce an understanding. In this case,

multiple theoretical perspectives (constructivist and practical worldviews) were examined to

interpret the data (Creswell, 2014). Member checking (feedback) was used to improve the

accuracy, credibility, validity, and transferability of the data (Creswell, 2014). And rich, detailed

descriptions refers to the detailed account of field experiences the researcher makes explicit in

the context of the research, which I used as well (Creswell, 2014).

Ethics

The ethics of conducting an ethnographic analysis of Creative Development Executives

in the entertainment industry have been carefully considered. As such, this project was

conducted in full compliance of the research ethics norms, codes, and practices of the

University of Southern California’s Institutional Review Board. During the project, sensitive and

qualitative information was gathered such as efforts around race-related initiatives, and

critical reflexivity was employed during unexpected ethical issues using reflective journaling and

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consultations with mentors. Critical reflexivity is the ideas that the researcher brings certain

biases that could skew the research, and that these biases must be examined to make the research

as valid as possible.

The data collected involved interviews with Creative Development Executives

in the entertainment industry to which these executives provide special consent. These

participants were not paid, and prior to the collection of their data, they were provided with

a participation document to gain their informed written consent. Several key details were

included in this participation document. First, my contact details. Second, the aims and intentions

of the research which included understanding the knowledge, motivation, and organizational

influences impacting increasing diversity in Hollywood. Third, a sincere obligation to do no

harm, which meant to not undermine the individuals or organizations involved or to expose them

to legal, financial, or reputational harm. Fourth, the intended outputs of project including

recommendations for how to improve diversity in Hollywood. Fifth, how data was

private and confidential. And sixth, the participants’ rights to anonymity, confidentiality,

and to withdraw from the study at any time.

All data was fully anonymized at both the individual and institutional level by creating

pseudonyms, and collected data was securely stored and password protected in a

cloud storage account.

Limitations and Delimitations

There is surprisingly little empirical research that holistically assesses Creative

Development Executives’ role with respect to achieving workforce diversity goals in

entertainment. This gap informs the purpose of this study and chosen methodological approach.

The qualitative approach was employed to explore Phantom Productions’ organizational

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context and inductively make meaning throughout the study of this problem. An ethnographic

case study was bounded by particular Creative Development Executives in entertainment, and

the truthfulness of respondents. A qualitative methodological approach helped answer the

research questions about the gaps in knowledge, motivation, and organizational resources that

are impeding development executives’ as a unit from achieving their goal to increase workforce

diversity 10% by June 2019.

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Chapter 4

Results and Findings

The lack of diversity at Phantom Productions was the focus of this study. Based on a

robust review of existing literature, learning and motivation theories and context-specific

knowledge, assumed knowledge, motivation, and organization causes were examined and

generated as part of the gap analysis framework. This framework allows for the assessment and

potential validation of assumptions for lack of diversity based on interview findings. This chapter

begins with the research instrument used and the population selected for this study. Knowledge,

motivation, and organization categorized results and findings are presented and synthesized. Key

findings from results and validated causes are italicized. Finally, the overall findings are

summarized for solution development in the next chapter.

Interviews

Interviewees were invited to participate in a 1 hour in-person or telephonic semi-structured
interview. Those who agreed to be interviewed were immediately contacted to confirm
participation and format. A total of 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted over the
collection period. Eight interviews were conducted telephonically and four were conducted in
person. All interviews were at the interviewee’s preferred time and date. A secured interview log
in the cloud tracked progress of all data collection activity including interview requests and
confirmed appointments.
Before each interview, participants were given either a paper or digital copy of the

approved University of Southern California (USC) Institutional Review Board (IRB) information

sheet or were read it while being interviewed. Particular emphasis was placed on the

interviewee’s right to skip any questions or terminate the interview at any time. Additionally,

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confidentially and anonymity for each interviewee was stressed.

Each interview was recorded on a paper notepad and kept in a protected file in the

researcher’s office before it was shredded and discarded in a refuse basket. Each transcript was

reviewed at least two times to ensure exact wording of each interviewee was captured.

Member checking was practiced during each interview wherein specific comments were

repeated back to the interviewee to ensure accuracy in comprehension (Merriam, 2009). Specific

phrases included, “So that I understand, you said?” and “Could you say that in a different way?”

alongside other elements of interviewee testimony and contradictions to ensure truthfulness.

Each question was asked in an open-ended, semi-structured way to solicit specific and rich

responses.

Observation and document analysis were not conducted. A detailed description of

stakeholder demographics follows, along with interview findings organized by knowledge and

skills, motivational, and organizational assumed causes.

Participating Stakeholders

The stakeholders who were sampled represented three populations: writers, producers, and

studio executives who have developed and created television shows and feature films for

Phantom Productions. Taken together, they are known as “Creative Development Executives.”

They are responsible for selecting which television shows or movies will be made, who will

write and direct them, who will be cast in them, and what storylines and creative content will

make it to air.

Interviewee Demographics (n = 12)

Of the 12 total interviews conducted with Creative Development Executives, 50% of the

research subjects were female and 25% were people of color. Producers comprised 40% of the

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sample while writers comprised 25% and studio executives 35%. Three research subjects were

showrunners (the top executive on a television show, usually the writer-creator) and one subject

was a past president (an original founder) of Phantom Productions Television.

Results and Findings for Knowledge and Skills Causes

Knowledge can be categorized as factual, conceptual, procedural, or metacognitive

(Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). Any gap or breach in either knowledge or skill can diminish the

attainment of a performance goal (Clark & Estes, 2008). This GAP Analytic Framework

provides a framework through which to analyze knowledge gaps and build evidence-based

solutions and interventions.

Assumed knowledge causes that contributed to the lack of people of color at Phantom

Productions were examined through this GAP framework. These assumptions were based on the

literature review and scanning interviews at Phantom Productions and classifying them

according to their knowledge component - either factual, conceptual, procedural, or

metacognitive. Interviews validated or invalidated the causes. A review of causes and

interview results is provided in the following section.

Factual knowledge.

Factual knowledge is the most basic form of information representing

terminology, ideas, truth, and facts about specific items, people, and cultures (Anderson &

Krathwohl, 2001). To assess factual knowledge, interview questions focused on awareness of the

lack of opportunities for people of color at Phantom Productions.

It was assumed that Phantom Productions interviewees were aware of the lack of

opportunities for people of color at their organization by virtue of having been inquired.

Nevertheless, interviewees were asked, “What opportunities, if any, exist for people of color?” to

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assess awareness. They were also asked about knowledge of diversity programs’ effectiveness

when asked, “what have been the results of diversity initiatives?”

Finding: Opportunities Remain Scarce for People of Color at Phantom Productions.

The 12 executives interviewed for this study were aligned to the belief

that professional opportunities for creative people of color remain rare at Phantom Productions

and in Hollywood. Throughout their interviews, approximately 80% of industry executives

stressed that part of the reason for this is because of the competitiveness of the industry, but also

because people of color looking for more opportunities are not being included in meetings,

interviews, and the normal channels of doing business. For example, Jonathan, a former

President of Phantom Productions said,

Hollywood is not scientific. It operates as a business. Most people are just trying to

survive – to be the last man standing so to speak - and are not making decisions out of

altruism. They are just trying to see what can work.

What Jonathan indicated here are a number of things. First, that Hollywood implicitly

believes being inclusive with people of color is considered charity, not business. In other words,

white people meeting with and conducting deals with other white people is business, but white

people meeting with and conducting deals with black or brown people is considered charity.

Approximately 30% of respondents directly or indirectly referenced this notion. Second, that

there is a belief that suggests doing things right and doing the right things are in natural

(financial) tension. That is, that making socially conscious choices about increasing the

number of people and projects from people of color presumably lead to less revenues. The same

30% of respondents as above referenced this idea. And third, that there is a belief that trying to

see what can work inherently does not include seeing what can work with and for people of

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color. That said, Jonathan’s implicit response - along with other explicit comments he and others

interviewed made - illustrate and confirm the knowledge assumption that executives were aware

of the problem of the lack of people of color.

Conceptual knowledge.

Conceptual knowledge involves generating and formulating concepts

from factual knowledge through the process of creation and synthesis (Anderson & Krathwohl,

2001). The primary difference between factual knowledge and conceptual knowledge is how

information is analyzed and interpreted (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). When information is

analyzed and interpreted, it gets transferred from facts to concepts and

categorized as conceptual knowledge instead of factual knowledge. Conceptual knowledge

questions in this study, “Can you describe how you feel people of color have been treated in

Hollywood?”

Finding: A Different Racial Dynamic May Exist for People of Color

Hollywood is a Byzantine maze of talent agencies, studios, networks, independent

production companies, freelancers, and many others. The experience of one professional of color

in an executive job in an office may be different than another professional of color who is acting

or working on a movie set. Consequently, racial dynamics and opportunities may vary depending

on where a professional of color is in the business. Said Beverly, “Dynamics are different for

freelancers versus office workers. Offices may run more by the book but being on set is like the

wild wild west.”

There is no singular experience that can be representative of people of color across such a

diverse and complicated industry like Hollywood. Therefore, when discussing treatment and

opportunities for people of color it is important to distinguish which part of the industry they are

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in: as an executive at the studio at Phantom Productions, in costume on set or in some other ,

aspect of Hollywood. Opportunities may vary for people of color depending on

where they are in entertainment, and this may dictate how they are treated. This is a new concept

that was not considered prior to the study but which nevertheless was echoed by three

respondents.

Finding: Professionals of Color Get Blacklisted for Pointing Out Inequities at Their

Workplaces

Phantom Productions functions not as a meritocracy, but as an aristocracy and increasingly

as an oligarchy. Money, power, and respect float to the top, and most voices only get heard if

they are considered a certain status. For example, if an A-list star, name-agent or executive

complain about the lack of diversity, it will become headline news or a priority for Phantom

Productions or any other studio they are dealing with. But if an entry-level or mid-level person

complains about the same thing, they will get blacklisted. According to Jennifer,

“The only people who are ever heard are stars. If you're mid-level, nobody listens to you.

You'll get blacklisted if you try to point out what's wrong and won't get work again.”

This perspective was echoed by several interviewees. The status-obsessed organization

(and industry) will retaliate against whistleblowers behind the scenes even if they applaud

diversity’s virtues publicly. Retaliators do not see themselves as hypocrites or defenders of the

old white, patriarchal power system; they retaliate because they do not want to be embarrassed

by an “inferior” or because they want to show their power or simply because they can. Similar to

above, this was new conceptual knowledge that was not considered prior to the study but which

was nevertheless echoed by 75% of respondents. Respondents believe the fear of being

blacklisted is what keeps many silent in the industry.

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Finding: There is an Implicit, Subconscious Belief That White Males Have More

Talent Than People of Color

Approximately 80% of interviewees suggested the idea that white males in positions of

power at Phantom Productions are perceived as having more talent than people of color. This fits

the dual notions of diversity initiatives being seen as charity as well as the belief that there are

not enough talented people of color to recruit. Said Beverly,

“People just assume that if you are white and male you have more talent and experience

than everybody else. I think lots of women and people of color assume these things as

well because it is beaten into them.”

Given this sentiment, recruiting people of color to become writers, directors, producers,

and actors may not sound appealing because it implicitly suggests that Hollywood is trying to

recruit less talented people. Not only does this sound unappealing, it also does not create

motivational or organizational desire - or, relatedly, incentives - to pursue diversity initiatives

with strategic passion. This was a new concept not considered prior to the study.

Procedural knowledge. Procedural knowledge is defined as “how-to” knowledge, or routine,

systematic knowledge for how to solve a performance problem (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001).

While it was assumed there were limited procedural knowledge gaps from creative development

executives, a few assumptions were tested. Respondents were asked, “What does a successful

diversity initiative look like?” and “What obstacles or challenges, if any, stand in the way of

making projects with diverse casts and crews?”

Finding: Phantom Productions May Be “Over-Correcting” For Diversity Challenges

but With “Wrong Solutions”

The onslaught of criticism Phantom Productions and other studios have faced because of
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diversity challenges has created a heightened sensitivity over the issue. Diversity is on the lips of

every studio and executive, and there is a public relations effort to be perceived as wanting to

solve the issue. That said, four interviewees suggested the idea that given the high-profile

nature of the crisis, Hollywood may be “over-correcting” for diversity. Said Beverly,

“I think the industry is over-correcting. I mean, I agree with the diversity push but nothing seems
to be working. It’s like everyone wants to be seen as doing something about it.”

Over-correction could be creating an inauthentic environment of faux-moral outrage but

little strategic or operational direction or results. Executives may be scared on the one-hand to

not look like they are being idle, but on the other hand launching diversity initiatives with little

strategic forethought about how effective they might be. Pushing for results with ineffective

strategies or programs could lead to frustration and continued backlash. This finding indicated a

lack of procedural knowledge for how to solve this diversity performance-gap.

Finding: Most Television Networks with Adequate Diversity “Fell Into Them By

Accident,” Not by Careful Planning, Strategy, or Social Responsibility

At Phantom Productions, for example, Jonathan indicated that they were considered quite

diverse in terms of having ample shows with talent of color. But, this was not as a result of a

mastermind or people making conscious decisions to ensure this reality. Said David,

I wish I could say that having [shows redacted for confidentiality] with lots of people of

color was because we were trying to be progressive and inclusive. But that wasn’t the

case. We just happened to greenlight shows with people of color that found audiences

made up of white and black people that we could air. Some people will say, “well, it was

because we knew what we were doing.’ But it wasn’t. We only realized what we were

doing after we looked at the data and we fell into them [diverse shows] by accident.
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During one era at Phantom, they were considered the paramount example for how to be

diverse and inclusive, but it was just chance according to 25% of respondents. That era faded and

the default reality set in of a network that continued to be mostly racially homogenous.

According to David, there was no careful planning, strategy, and socially

responsible ethos or desire to diversify; it just happened by luck. When this idea was mentioned

to four additional participants in separate interviews, they all agreed with the assertion. This

notion demonstrates a lack of procedural knowledge in that executives were unsure how they

achieved these results and whether they could strategically replicate them.

Finding: Current Phantom Productions Diversity Programs Do Not Work

For over 10 years, quantitative research coming out of the University of Southern

California has shown that diversity in Hollywood in general - and at Phantom Productions in

particular - has either been frozen in time or gotten worse by many measures (Smith, 2015).

While it is difficult to ascertain if any formative or summative studies have been conducted to

determine correlational or causal reasons for why this is the case at Phantom Productions, part of

the reason may be because Phantom Productions is not designing effective recruitment, training,

and retention programs. Said Jennifer,

“These writers and directors programs for women and people of color are good PR but I

haven't really seen the people in them get hire. They don't really lead to anything.”

What can be inferred from Jennifer's comments is that little substantive results occur for

either the participants in these diversity programs or for the companies that are conducting them.

While this may not be true in every case and while there might be exceptions to the rule, five

interviewees seemed to believe the way the programs are designed are creating exercises in

futility. Phantom Productions has had over a decade to experiment and improve upon its
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programs, but data show they have mostly failed. Like previous findings, this indicates a lack of

procedural knowledge on the part of Phantom Productions because they have not ascertained the

steps necessary to design effective programs that reach their goals.

Metacognitive knowledge. Metacognitive knowledge is a self-awareness of one’s own

thoughts and thought patterns (Baker, 2010). In particular, this type of knowledge is

appropriate for when an individual knows when and how to use particular strategies for problem-

solving. Metacognitive questions in this study included, “Why do you think [diversity initiative]

results turned out the way they did?” and “What role, if any, does diversity play in the projects

you decide to make?”

Finding: “White Savior Syndrome” Subtly Permeates Many Executive Suites at

Phantom Productions and in Hollywood

The term “white savior” is the notion that the only way people of color can change their

plight is if a white person rescues them from it. For Phantom Productions, this idea is subtle and

subconscious if not pervasive. It goes hand in hand with earlier findings that suggest diversity

initiatives are seen as charity, not as business strategy. On this notion, Alan was particularly

animated,

No Motherf@%ker, you don't need to save me. You're in your position not simply

because you worked harder or outsmarted everybody else. You benefit from a power

structure and privilege that is invisible to you or that you are oblivious to but that is

obvious to everyone else. You're in these roles because people [who look like you]

assume you're smarter and more hard-working, and you subconsciously assume it too.

You create these diversity programs as the white savior thinking you have all the right

answers and you continuously fail at it. You then blame people of color saying that you
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can't find anybody qualified to fill roles using your strategies, programs, and assumptions

that have historically only benefited white males.

What Alan is getting at is the idea that 58% of interviewees echoed: that white executives

in power believe they know how to solve the issue as the all-knowing white savior but really do

not as evidenced by countless research studies that quantify their failures. However, they have

not internalized or reflected on their failures but have instead blamed people of color for not

being “more qualified” or “established” within the existing Hollywood power structure. As a

result, the continued lack of people of color in Hollywood is not because white saviors may be

using the wrong assumptions and wrong recruitment and hiring strategies to increase diversity; it

is because they believe in a country of 120 million people of color that there just are not many

talented, creative people of color. This notion seems farcical, but Alan noted that if you extend

the logic of many white executives to their inevitable conclusions - that they cannot find talented

people of color - the implication is that little to no talented people of color actually exist who

executives believe could be successful in Hollywood. This notion demonstrates that executives

are not metacognitively aware of how their own assumptions and strategies may be inhibiting

their own performance goals.

Finding: Diverse Stories and Professionals Seem Foreign and Unrelatable to White

Executives

Approximately 90% of decision makers in Hollywood - executives at major studios and

the like - are white (Austin, 2016). They bring a particular perspective and history that, while not

necessarily uniform per se, is different than people of colors’ perspectives and experiences writ

large. It is similar to rural Americans having a different understanding and engagement with the

world than urban or suburban Americans. As a consequence, the way white executives reach
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decisions about how to identify, recruit, train, hire, and promote professionals of color may be

completely different than how black or Latino executives might reach decisions. In other words,

deciphering how to bring diverse voices and stories to Hollywood may be foreign and

unrelatable to white executives. Said Alan,

“Black people are like unicorns to Hollywood. They're these mythical creatures who are

supposed to be stronger, run faster, and be impervious to pain. They're totally foreign and

unrelatable to white executives, and they don’t know how to find us.”

If people of color are foreign and mythical unicorns, how do you recruit them? Where do

you find them? What do you say to them? These questions are logical corollaries to the idea that

even if found, white executives may not have the skill set or understanding of how to interact

with people of color which could limit opportunities for people of color.

Finding: Cultural Demographics and Economics will Force Phantom Productions to

Diversify

The idea of “demographics as destiny” – or that demographics will determine

organizational and social outcomes – is a powerful one. This is a common belief, and one that

John mentioned in his interview. In particular, John believes that an increasingly diverse

customer base will change viewing habits (i.e. the types and content of shows being made) which

will in turn change the economic calculus of Phantom Productions. Once Hollywood has to make

shows featuring people of color because eyeballs and/or ad subscription dollars depends on it, it

will. Said John,

“Change is inevitable. I'm frustrated it hasn't happened more quickly, but ultimately

viewers and the market will make it happen.”

While this perspective is shared by many, the reality is the economics already favor
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television shows and movies with diverse voices. For example, as mentioned in Chapter 2, a

movie with a diverse cast will make twice as much at the box office and a television show with a

diverse cast will have higher ratings and revenue. This notion illustrates that white executives

believe demographics and economics will drive change, but at present they have not.

Metacognitively, change may not be happening because Phantom Productions is still not

adopting the right strategies to reach their performance goals even if demographics and

economics are favorable in terms of the population of people of color increasing and the

financial results people of color achieve who enter Phantom Productions.

Synthesis of Results and Findings for Knowledge Causes

Interview results indicated that 100% of participants were aware of the problem of the lack

of people of color at Phantom Productions. It is an issue on which every respondent agreed:

that opportunities for people of color remain scarce. Four participants

believed this is because diversity issues are considered “charity” and not as a part of the core

business strategy. They also believed that, implicitly, hiring more people of color may mean

hiring less qualified people and generating less revenue.

Conceptually, 16% of participants indicated that people of color may be treated differently

depending on whether they were in executive roles, creative roles (on set), or crew roles. As a

consequence, this might affect opportunities for people of color in Hollywood in general and at

Phantom Productions in particular. Twenty five percent of participants also acknowledged that if

a person of color complains about a lack of opportunity for minorities or discrimination, they get

blacklisted unless they are a major star or Hollywood power-broker. Finally, 50% of participants

indicated that there may be a subconscious bias that white males are more qualified and

experienced than people of color and that this may affect opportunities for people of color.
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In terms of procedural knowledge, three participants believed that Phantom Productions

may be overcorrecting for their performance problem but with the wrong solutions. In particular,

they felt much was being said about the diversity challenges but little effective solutions have

been proposed or implemented. Similarly, three participants believed that the current diversity

programs within Hollywood (not just at Phantom Productions) do not work and that the main

reason for why Phantom Productions at one time had diverse representation on its productions is

because of luck or accident. In addition, one participant indicated that part of the reason for the

results from diversity initiatives is because white male executives have subconscious “white

savior syndrome,” believing they know how to best solve performance gap when data shows

otherwise.

Results and Findings for Motivation Causes

Motivation is not a trait but is a phenomenon influenced by one’s sociocultural,

environmental, and internal factors (Clark & Estes, 2008; Dembo & Seli, 2012). Motivation

impacts how individuals learn and reach their goals (Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett &

Norman, 2010). In particular, motivation is determined by active choice, persistence, and mental

effort and, for this study, motivational challenges were assessed through semi-structured

interviews (Clark, 2012). Assumed motivational causes were grouped around themes of

incentives, public and private perception, and legal liability.

Incentives.

It was assumed that Phantom Productions had the proper moral and financial

incentives to reach their performance goal of increasing the number of people of color at the

organization by 10% by June 2019. As shown in the previous knowledge area, participants were

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aware of their performance challenges and aware that opportunities for people of color remained

scarce. Participants were also aware that diversity programs were not effective and perhaps even

counter effectual.

Finding: Phantom Productions Is Only Interested In Buying Projects From A

Certain Professionals

Twenty five percent of participants indicated that because Hollywood operates as a

business, it uses the formula for what works over and over again to conservatively invest in

individuals and projects in believes will be financially successful. This formula mitigates risk

and uncertainty for executives, and often causes them to choose “safe” individuals and projects

it believes will be financially successful. This formula mitigates risk and uncertainty for

executives, and often causes executives to choose “safe” and “tried-and-true” individuals and

projects over “new” and “innovative” but “risky.” In this case, the formula what works is

synonymous with who is selling the most projects or has the most shows on the air, which

creates a dilemma for people of color. On the one hand, Hollywood claims it wants equality and

diversity, but on the other hand it is mostly interested in buying from a few already successful

white male producers or show creators. This is not done out of racism; it is done out of what

appears to be a combination of logic, convenience, favoritism, and fear of the unknown. As

previously mentioned, professionals in Hollywood are just trying to “survive,” and the most

cautious and self-interested way to survive is to buy from those already at the top in hopes that

their projects will be hits so that current executives can keep (and advance in) their jobs. If this

means that talented but risky people of color are not given a chance that is the way it is given the

prevalence of self-interest. As Samantha, a development executive at Phantom Productions

indicated,

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“Hollywood only buys from the same 10 people. The agents will only talk to certain

people, and network and studio executives will only take meetings with certain people.

And it’s the same people over and over again, while most everyone else gets shut out

regardless of how talented they are.”

Finding: Phantom Productions Has Not Made A Genuine, Robust, Effective Effort to

Search for Talented People of Color

Recruiting people of color to join the ranks of Hollywood has failed. Despite news articles,

television clips, writers and directors’ programs, and a series of other initiatives aimed at

increasing the number of people of color in the entertainment industry, the needle has not moved

according to four interviewed industry veterans. Part of the reason for this, Alan believes, is

because Hollywood is looking in the wrong places.

“You don't just say I've searched everywhere and can't seem to find anyone [talented

people of color]. Motherf#$ker, you don't go to the Palisades to find the next Shonda

Rhimes. You go to Inglewood. You don’t just say talented people of color don't exist.

They do and you just don't know them. Your friends don't know them. Just because you

don't know them doesn't mean they don't exist.”

What Alan is getting at is that he believes Hollywood executives are searching in all of the

areas where people of color tend not to be. He also believes that Hollywood executives truly feel

they are looking everywhere, but are mistaken by their limited geographic searches and

understating about how to find talented people of color. For example, Phantom Productions is

based on the westside of Los Angeles and this could bias their searches to geographic areas

convenient for them like Beverly Hills or West Hollywood – and these areas may not necessarily

be where talented creatives of color spend much time. In addition, finding talent of color may

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mean the traditional way of recruiting talent – through personal introductions – may not be

conducive to identifying the right people because personal introductions come from an

executive’s network, which may be limited to people who share attributes similar to themselves.

Finding: Phantom Productions Only Wants to Make “First Black Movies” About

Black People Being Black

Like other studios, Phantom Productions may be interested in telling some unique and

original stories even if consumer-trends and box-office realities push it to make numerous

remakes and sequels). In line with this is that idea that Phantom Productions is interested in

telling unique and original stories about people of color. That said, a surprising finding

percolated when discussing why there were not more diverse television shows or feature

films. Said Alan,

“Hollywood only wants to make ‘first black’ movies,” said Alan. “It wants to make

movies about black people talking about and dwelling on being black. It doesn’t want to

make movies with interesting characters that just so happen to be black. It’s all about who

is the first black astronaut. Tell that story. Who is the first black Nascar driver. Tell that

story. Who is the first black this, the first black that. The movie Hidden Figures might

have been hidden to white people, but it wasn’t to me. But they just wanted to make that

movie about the first black women at Nasa. It’s all about firsts and that’s why more

stories from diverse storytellers aren’t being told. It’s like the only black stories that are

worth being told are about the unicorns.”

This insight suggests a peculiar insight about how Hollywood deals with the content of the

stories they want to tell about people of color. For example, there is rarely a discussion about

only making films with white people in them focused on them being white. In other words,

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whiteness is not central to white characters or white stories in Hollywood’s eyes. Blackness and

brownness is, however, central to the characters and stories Hollywood wants to tell about black

or brown people. And this may be creating perceptions among executives that black or brown

people cannot exist in stories that are not stories about being triumphant firsts or in stories that

examine more than just the color of their skin. Movies such as Black Panther, Black

Kkklansman, Sorry to Bother You, Crazy Rich Asians, and the like all speak to the idea of

diverse projects comprised of people of color but that make race central to their characters and

storylines.

Public and Private Perceptions.

It was assumed that Creative Development Executives at

Phantom Productions were cognizant of and sensitive to public and private perceptions of the

lack of people of color. In particular, it was assumed that the organization did not want to be seen

as being “tone deaf” or unresponsive to public opinion that they diversify. It was also assumed

that, privately, executives did not want to be seen as doing nothing or not being socially

responsible over the issue.

Finding: Phantom Productions Is Only Paying Lip Service to Wanting to Hire

More People of Color but in Reality Doing Very Little to Make it Happen

Research coming out of the University of Southern California combined with movements

like #OscarsSoWhite have raised the curtain on racial disparities that exist within Hollywood.

For over a decade a clarion call has been issued to address the crisis, but little in the way of

results has been achieved. Statistically, things may even be getting worse. According to Jennifer,

a successful writer-producer,

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Hollywood’s diversity push is bull$h!t. It’s all smoke and mirrors. I mean, you have some
people that actually care about the issue but most at the top only care as it relates to any negative
press they might be getting over it.

Motivationally, Jennifer is saying that there is no real desire for executives to solve this

challenge other than perception. What can be inferred from this is that if research, social

activism, and media attention were not pressing this issue it would not be a problem Hollywood

would voluntarily take on. This is a possible reasonable assumption given that, prior to the issue

being raised by external stakeholders, little was done in the decades leading up to the present to

address this phenomenon.

Legal Liability.

It was also assumed that Phantom Productions did not want to incur any legal

liabilities for not employing more creative professionals of color. In particular, it was assumed

that it did not want either litigation or the threat of litigation to legally or financially be held over

its head. It was assumed that this would decrease or destroy morale.

Finding: Phantom Productions Is More Concerned with Not Being Sued Than

Providing Real Opportunities to People of Color

Similar to earlier findings, interviewees expressed the idea that Hollywood is pushing for

diversity initiatives mostly as good PR strategy and as a way to avoid potential lawsuits. Given

the very conservative and risk-averse culture of the industry - made up of mostly very

progressive people - this fits in line with the ethos of Phantom Productions and other companies.

Fear, avoidance, and the threat of lawsuits may be driving strong motivating factors rather than

increased revenue or equality. Said Alan,

“Make no mistake, Hollywood just doesn't want to get sued. Diversity initiatives are not

really about black or brown people, they're about the studios trying not to land in hot
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water.”

While this can neither be proven or disproven given the constraints of this study, it is

nevertheless, compelling that multiple successful veterans of the industry expressed this point

not only about Phantom Productions but about the broader industry writ large. Initiating diversity

projects to avoid getting in trouble is a very different thing than beginning them to truly solve a

major historical and social challenge that to date has been left fundamentally unresolved.

Synthesis of Results and Findings for Motivation Causes

Based on motivational interview findings, incentives, public and private perceptions, and

legal liability all played a role in motivation causes. With respect to incentives, participants

noted that currently incentives only exist to work with existing successful, established writers,

directors, and creatives (of any ethnic background) and, by definition, not with new, unproven

people of color. Since there are so few established creatives of color, there are limited

opportunities for talented people of color who have not already made it. Relatedly, participants

indicated that there is not a robust effort or any tangible incentives in place (or know- how) to

recruit people of color outside of traditional pipelines and geographies. In addition, given the

belief that Phantom Productions wants to make projects with people of color primarily focused

on race, this provides limited incentives to work with creatives of color who have projects that

are not focused on race.

In terms of public and private perceptions, participants illustrated that they believe the

push to diversify is “smoke and mirrors.” They do not believe there are racists at the organization

or that there is disingenuousness toward the performance goal, but they believe diversity

initiatives are more pro forma (in name only) than substantive (and results-based). In terms of

legal liabilities, participants believe Phantom Productions is more concerned with not being sued
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or held legally liable over the low-level of people of color employed by the organization.

Results and Findings for Organization Causes

An organization is comprised of the individuals within it as well as the myriad of internal

and external factors that influence it (Rueda, 2011). Assessing performance problems and gaps

within organizations requires, first, identification of these problems and gaps and, second,

assumptions about their causes. It is through this framework that organizational structures were

assessed.

Finding: Anemic Entry-Level Pay is A Form of Socio-Economic Discrimination

One of the ways Phantom Production identifies and nurtures creative talent is by having

them start at the “bottom” and work their way up the system to become writers, directors, and the

like. This often means starting off in jobs delivering mail to executives, being a production

assistant on a set, or being an assistant to a heavyweight executive, writer, or producer. However,

the very low levels of pay - entry level pay is often below the living wage in Los Angeles –

usually only makes doing this type of work possible for young creatives from families of some

type of financial means. In other words, Phantom Production’s (and Hollywood’s) economic

structures discriminate against people who may not come from some level of economic

abundance or stability or who may have to pay off heavy student debt. This disproportionately

affects young people of color who may be hoping to break in, work their way up, and be nurtured

by the Hollywood machine. Said Beverly,

“The slave labor the industry runs on is reverse discrimination and shuts out so many

talented people of color who otherwise would have a shot at being successful.”

This economic structure has been at Phantom Productions for decades, and it remains

despite the vast wealth that can more equitably be distributed so that all professionals (not just
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established ones) can pay their bills. Although executives at Phantom Production know this, the

prevailing sentiment from the “old guard” is that if they had to work their way up on “very little”

then everybody else does too, people of color included. This perspective was shared by four

interviewees, but seems firmly rooted in nostalgia rather than fairness. It is possible that many

lives have been negatively impacted or destroyed because Hollywood clings strongly to income

inequality it describes as “pulling yourself up from your boot straps.” For example, if Phantom

Productions refuses to pay a living wage to entry level employees like production assistants –

even in light of them paying celebrities tens of millions and some development executives

millions – it is excluding people from certain lower socioeconomic backgrounds, which may

include young people of color hoping to break in.

Finding: The Freelance System of Hiring at Phantom Productions Limits Recruiting

Professionals of Color

As mentioned previously, Phantom Productions relies on a large, semi-connected network

of freelancers to accomplish its work, particularly staffing television shows and movies with

crew. However, the freelance system of work is defined by relationships and not a formal

application process. Therefore, the professionals being hired to crew on shows have to already

know somebody on the shows. Because it is believed that 90% or more crews are white, it

means that people of color are at a strategic disadvantage of being hired because current

crewmembers are looking to work with and hire other crew members they have worked with in

the past. If these current crew members have worked with other [white] crew members from the

past, they are biased toward bringing in people they already have a relationship with. They have

no incentive to try to hire new, diverse voices nor do they have the professional networks to.

Under law, because they are not W-2 employees and are only independent contractors they may
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not fall under the same strict requirements of providing equal opportunity employment.

Said Beverly,

The freelance system Hollywood relies on makes it nearly impossible to diversify.

Unlike more sophisticated or established industries like tech, consulting, or banking, the

entertainment industry's hiring practices are nearly entirely relationship-driven. There are no

methodologically sound systems in place to even the playing field for people of color hoping to

land jobs, for example. A few well-meaning diversity training and placement programs exist to

staff mostly entry-level workers on a few shows, but their size and impact is a drop in the bucket

compared to what is needed to institute fundamental change participants believed.

Finding: Phantom Production’s Culture of Fear Makes It Risk

Averse to New People of Color

Three additional interviewees described the “culture of fear” that dominates Phantom

Productions and Hollywood in explicit and implicit ways. People are afraid of losing their jobs

and as a consequence do not want to take chances on unproven talent. They do not also want to

be embarrassed if their choices do not work out. As a result, this culture of fear creates an

environment of conservatism and risk-aversion that could be hurting the prospects for people of

color attempting to break into the entertainment industry. It is classic economics: a white

executive is not going to look out for a person of color before they look out for themselves. Self-

interest is widened and deepened where fear is present. Said Jonathan,

“People are just trying to survive. Nobody wants to be fired. Hollywood has always been

built on fear.

When an ethos of self-interested anxiety permeates an entire organization and industry.”

change can be difficult particularly if it risks the status or jobs of those advocating for - or allying
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with - change. This notion may help give insights into why this diversity challenge has been so

pesky, persistent, pernicious, and pervasive. Because self-interest comes before service to others

– and particularly people of color - at Phantom Productions, being a champion for change may

not be the best professional move and this may be perpetuating inequality.

Finding: Despite an Increase in the Number of Shows Being Made, There Are Less

Opportunities for People of Color

Hollywood is in the golden age of television and more shows are being made than ever

before. There are currently more than 500 scripted shows on the air in the United States not to

mention the explosion of countless unscripted shows and millions of hours of other content on

platforms like Vimeo and YouTube. Audiences have more choice and are consuming content in

unprecedented ways. That said, Beverly, a showrunner with several successful shows at Phantom

Networks and elsewhere, does not believe this has been helpful to people of color. Said Beverly,

“Sure, women of color like Shonda Rhimas may be getting huge deals and opportunities to create
lots of shows, but this isn’t the reality for most who have been successful in the business. From
what I can tell, there seem to be less opportunities for people of color despite this golden age of
television. Things haven’t really changed.”

The aggregate data over the last 10 years support’s Beverly’s assertion (Smith, 2018). The

percentage of people of color in roles as actors, writers, directors, and producers across all

groups of color seem to be frozen in time during the time frame of 2007-2017 (Smith, 2018).

Therefore, it might be a golden age for some but for others it is still a gilded age.

Finding: There Are Marginal Opportunities for Some Groups of Color, But Not All

Invoking the term people of color - as if vastly different ethnic groups can be represented

as a whole in a singular monolithic phrase - is misleading. As a consequence, this phrase can be

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used to suggest that if there is some progress for a certain group of color then there is progress

for all groups of color. As Alan, a successful actor and upcoming executive producer said,

“Black people might be getting a few more crumbs [opportunities] tossed to them from the table,
but that doesn’t mean Mexicans or Puerto Ricans or Native Americans are. Different groups are
getting different things and it’s not fair.”

What Alan is getting at is when talking about diversity, representation, and inclusion, more

precise words should be used to get a better and more accurate understanding of how various

groups of color are progressing - or not - in Hollywood in general and Phantom Productions in

particular. Blacks might be getting a few more shows on the air but Latinos may be getting half

as many despite being a larger demographic population. For example, there may be more

network shows built around black families like Black-ish and Happy Together than Latino

families or Native American families.

Finding: Answers for Phantom Production’s Diversity Challenges Exist But Political

and Organizational Willpower Does Not

Many solutions to diversity challenges exist outside of Phantom Productions and

Hollywood. In particular, other industries such as education, banking, and technology have

implemented programs to increase the number of people of color at their organizations but their

learnings have not been transferred to Phantom Productions. Jennifer believes that Hollywood

has not solved the issue because it is not genuinely interested in solving it. Said Jennifer,

“Hollywood talks a big game, but the fact that the issue hasn't been solved year after year

shows it's not really interested in solving it.”

There seems to be either a lack of political or organizational will to address the diversity

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crisis or a lack of know-how. But to date, as mentioned earlier by interviewees, the issue has not

been solved because some major decision makers do not believe they can find talented people of

color. It is an issue of blaming people of color instead of looking in the mirror at the political and

organizational practices and will regarding the issue. It could be possible, for example, that

executives at Phantom Productions may not have set up policies, procedures, and systems to

identify, recruit, train, deploy, and retain talented people of color.

Finding: Opportunities for People of Color will Increase As Television Shows And

Movies Become More Niche and Streaming-Based

Interviewees were in agreement that as television shows continue to become more

segmented and niche-based, particularly as Phantom Productions and most of Hollywood)

begins to move in unison toward a subscription-based streaming business model as the default

way to make money, they will also become more diverse. As five participants pointed out,

audiences are shrinking and therefore programming can be more specifically geared toward

narrower demographic and psychographic perspectives. Said Jonathan,

“There is a huge opportunity for Hollywood to become more diverse simply because the

business model is changing. With streaming, content doesn't have to reach multiple

demographic and geographic groups. It doesn't have to appeal to all of America. It only

has to appeal to some of it. And this is how change can happen.”

This is a compelling opinion, though some interviewees believe this optimism must be

supported by specific, intentional choices and decisions executives make to ensure content will

feature and be made by more people of color. As Alan said, “people aren't just going to

voluntarily give up their power.” In other words, change can happen in an evolutionary way but a

revolutionary spirit must push it to guarantee its fruition.

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Synthesis of Results and Findings for Organization Causes

Based on organizational interview findings, several causes play a role in Phantom

Production’s performance gap. First, participants believed that low levels of entry-level pay

discourages more talented people of color from pursuing opportunities at Phantom Productions

and may even be a form of socioeconomic discrimination. Second, the freelance system on

which the organization (and most of Hollywood) relies currently enables mostly white crew

members to hire their friends and past colleagues without requiring them to interview potential

diverse candidates. Third, participants believed that Phantom Productions is conservative and

risk averse which discourages them from taking chances on talented but unproven creatives of

color.

In addition, participants believed that organizational opportunities exist or

some groups of color but not all groups. For example, blacks may have more opportunities than

Latinos or Asians. Fifth, Phantom Productions may not have the organizational and political

willpower to solve their performance problem. And sixth, participants believed that

opportunities for creative talent of color will increase as shows being more streaming and niche-

based.

Interview findings from participants validated select assumed causes in the knowledge and

skills, motivation and organization gap analysis framework. Solutions to the lack of people of

color were built upon validated claims, and relevant case studies, research, and analysis is cited

as evidence based solutions in the next chapter.

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Chapter 5

SOLUTIONS, IMPLEMENTATION, AND FUTURE RESEARCH

In this study, assumed causes contributing to the lack of diversity at Phantom Productions
were identified and examined through a GAP analytic framework (Clark & Estes, 2008). This
framework looked at the knowledge and skills, motivation as well as organization aspects of the
company to see how each impacted Phantom Productions’ performance goal. Four knowledge
types were assessed: factual knowledge, conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge and
metacognitive knowledge. Assumed motivational causes for this study were coded around the
themes of incentives, public and private perceptions, and legal liability. In addition, assumed
organizational causes were also examined in terms of work processes, resources, and culture.
Interviews with Creative Development Executives – writers and producers, network
executives, and studio heads - validated assumptions. This chapter presents the causes and
findings organized by category - knowledge and skills, motivation and organization – and
merges them into thematic groups. The reason for this is because studying findings cannot be
assessed independently of each other. Research-based solutions and a recommended
implementation plan are included in this chapter as part of the next steps in the gap analysis
process, as well as limitations on this study and recommendations for future research.
A total of 21 findings were identified in the previous chapter – each
of varying significance. Although the small sample sizes warranted further
testing and triangulation, the findings have connection across their
knowledge and skills, motivation and organizational categories. A summary
of the findings is presented in Table 2.

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Table 2

Results and Findings Summary Table

Knowledge Motivation Organization

Factual
One hundred percent of
participants were aware of the
lack of people of color at
Phantom Productions and that
opportunities for these groups
remain scarce.
Conceptual
Participants indicated a
subconscious belief that white
males are perceived as more
talented and that this influences
how people of color are treated in
myriad ways, compounding
inequities.
Procedural
Current diversity programs may
be overcompensating but do not
work and if diversity exists
adequately somewhere in
organization, fell into it by
accident.
Metacognitive
By projecting a white savior
persona, white executives seem
unable to relate to stories about
people of color and believe that
diversity in their organization will
happen naturally with
demographics without specific
intervention on their part.

Incentives
Phantom Productions looks at
diversity as ‘charity’ and
consequently has not made robust
effort to recruit people of color,
instead relying on buying projects
from limited number of people.
Public/Private Perceptions
Participants indicated that Phantom
Productions is only concerned
about perception of diversity but in
reality doing little to make it
happen.
Legal Liability
Phantom Productions is more
concerned about not being sued
that truly solving their
performance problem.
Anemic Pay
Low level entry pay acts as a
form of socio-economic
discrimination.
Freelance System
Freelance hiring system for
production does not ensure cross-
checks for diversity.
Risk Aversion
Culture of fear dominates
Phantom Productions and
executives fear if they hire a
person of color who does not work
out they will get fired.

Lack of Willpower
Executives believe they cannot find
qualified people of color but they may not be
looking in the right places.

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While not all findings were of equal importance, there were multiple findings that when
combined together would address the lack of people of color at Phantom Productions. Key
findings were therefore grouped together resulting in five thematic blocks for solution
generation. These four solutions are organized in order of time anticipated, from short-term to
long term: (1) Launch voluntary implicit bias-training for all Phantom Production employees
(Fall 2019; (2) Create predictive analytics diversity database to increase workforce diversity
(Fall 2019); (3) Establish streamlined mentorship/apprenticeship program (Fall 2019 to Summer
2020); and (4) Implement a voluntary ‘Cap and Trade’ diversity program (Summer 2020 to
Spring 2021). Each unique solution is presented below along with their costs. A brief discussion
then follows with the problems with assumptions embedded within the solutions.
Validated Causes Selection and Rationale
Launch Annual, Voluntary Implicit Bias Training
Findings from interviews indicated that the implicit biases of executives may have been
critical in supporting or hindering the recruitment, hiring, and retention of people of color at
Phantom Productions. This was validated by most participants who revealed that the
assumptions, expectations, and subjectivity of executives influence whether people of color are
hired, promoted, and retained. In other words, participants indicated that the implicit biases of
executives influence how people of color are perceived and received within the organization.
Knowledge, motivation, and organization interview findings are summarized in Table 6. After
this table, a review of literature associated with implicit bias is presented.

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Table 3

Launch Annual, Voluntary Implicit Bias Training

Launch Annual, Voluntary Implicit Bias Training

Estimated Timeframe for Implementation: Fall 2019

Gap Analysis Category: Interview Finding

Knowledge Participants indicated that white males are perceived as more talented and
qualified than people of color

Motivation Diversity is perceived as charity, not business

Organization White production employees are implicitly encouraged to hire people
they have previously worked with, who are also white.

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While this study did not measure the implicit biases of Phantom Production’s employees
directly, it nevertheless underscored the importance of this phenomenon in the organization’s
performance problem. It was shown that implicit bias (defined below) was an important source
impacting all of Phantom Production’s diversity initiatives.
Implicit bias is the socio-cognitive phenomenon that individuals hold about members

toward racial groups different than their own that are exempt from conscious awareness

(Lebrecht, Tarr, & Takana, 2009). These biases are automatic and uncontrollable, and indicate

that people generally hold negative implicit associations about racial groups other than their own

(Lebrecht, Tarr, & Takana, 2009). Implicit bias influences perceptions, memory, and behavior,

and cannot be measured by self-reporting (Dovidio et al, 2002; McConnell et al, 2001; Richeson

et al, 2005). It is different than explicit bias, when a person is aware of their bias and feels

justified in it, and has been shown to be both common and persistent (Blair et al, 1996; Fazio et

al, 1995; Devine, 1989). Explicit bias has dramatically decreased in the past 50 years and is

considered socially unacceptable, but implicit bias has not seen similar reductions (Bobo, 2001).

Accumulating evidence indicates that implicit bias is linked to discriminatory outcomes, such as

poorer workplace interactions and constrained employment opportunities for people of color

(McConnel & Leibold, 2001; Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2004). More specifically, this manifests

itself when people of color find difficulty being hired, for example, a person of color with an

identical resume as a Caucasian person gets 50% less call backs for job interviews (Bertrand et

al, 2002). This implicit bias also manifests itself when, even if people of color are hired, they are

substantially more likely to face uncomfortable interpersonal interactions, negative feedback, and

limited promotion opportunities within the workplace. Taken together, implicit bias has been a

pernicious obstacle preventing underrepresented groups from advancing professionally.
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It is not clear if any implicit bias testing of Phantom Production executives or Hollywood

executives - who are 94% Caucasian - has ever been conducted. However, when Caucasian

executives in other industries have been tested for implicit bias studies have shown they not only

have strong negative implicit biases against both African Americans and Latinos but also

strong “pro-White” biases (Blair et al, 2013). In particular, Caucasian executives are

subconsciously much more likely to associate African Americans and Latinos with negative

words and associations than other Caucasians (Blair et al, 2013). Approximately 90% of

Caucasian executives favor Caucasian professionals over African American ones, for example

(Blair et al, 2013). This is true even when Caucasian executives self-report zero explicit bias

against people of color (Blair et al, 2013).

That said, potential solutions to implicit bias do exist through robust workplace training

programs. Programs that have been proven to be successful are interventions that are “habit-

breaking” (Amodio et al, 2007; Montieth, 1993; Plant and Devine, 2009). Habit breaking

programs are interventions that require understanding the contexts and situations that trigger

bias and how to replace these biases with one’s non-prejudiced goals. For example, people must

know that their bias exists and be concerned about the consequences of their bias (Devine and

Montieth, 1993; Plant & Devine, 2009). When people believe they have acted with bias or

prejudice, they experience guilt that leads to efforts to disrupt their automatic, unconscious bias

and prevent future expressions of bias. This awareness raising can be measured in at least 7
ways. First, through implicit bias testing of Creative Development Executives. Second, it can be
measured by educating executives on the effects of discrimination. Third, by stereotype
replacement and counter-stereotype imaging (i.e., replacing negative stereotypes with unbiased
responses and imaging of positive portrayals of members of the stereotyped group). Fouth,
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through a process known as individualization (i.e., through seeing stereotyped groups as
individuals rather than as just another member from that group). Fifth, through perspective
taking (i.e., seeing things from the point of view of the stereotyped member). And sixth, through
increased opportunity for contact (i.e., more encounters and positive interactions with
stereotyped groups).
For Phantom Productions in particular, implicit bias training to combat their performance
problem can take the following form. First, it should be voluntary. Voluntary implicit bias
training is known to increase outcome results by as much as 25% compared to compulsory
training which often makes results worse (Blair et al, 2013). Second, the training must replicate
successful, research-tested and proven trainings that have previously worked in a variety of
institutional contexts. Third, trainings must focus on testing, education, and be multi-
methodological (i.e., stereotype replacement and perspective taking). And finally, these trainings
should be measured for the outcomes they produce with respect to the specific performance
problem for Phantom Productions and Hollywood. Because entertainment is highly subjective,
this implicit bias training is very important because if Caucasian executives are possibly biased
against people of color, they risk not hiring them and as a result losing the often exponential
revenues people of color usually add to the organization’s bottom line
(Hunt, 2016).

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Create Predictive Analytics Diversity Database to Increase Workforce Diversity

Interview findings showed that identifying and recruiting talented and
qualified people of color was important in reaching Phantom Production’s
performance goal. Participants indicated interest in finding working strategies
and programs to aid in this process. Over 80% of participants did not feel
current systems for recruiting, hiring, and retaining diverse talent were
adequate. The knowledge, motivation and organization interview findings are
summarized in Table 7 below.

Table 4

Create Predictive Analytics Diversity Database to Increase Workforce Diversity

Create Predictive Analytics Diversity Database to Increase Workforce Diversity

Estimated Timeframe for Implementation: Fall 2019

Gap Analysis Category: Interview Finding

Knowledge Participants feel executives do not know where to find
qualified and talented people of color to hire.

Motivation There was greater interest in how the organization is perceived to be
solving the problem than actually solving it

Organization Diversity initiatives and organizational recruitment
systems are not adequately designed to recruit diverse
candidates.

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While this study did not specifically measure the effectiveness of Phantom Productions
workforce databases, it did nevertheless look at their collective human resources processes and
systems. These processes and systems demonstrated that significant reforms are needed for the
organization to achieve its performance goal. One reform – implemented in a diversity of
organizations and industries – is a predictive analytics database and is discussed below.
A database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically from a
computer system. In recent years, databases have become more sophisticated and been used to
cut workplace bias and discrimination through what is known as predictive analytics (Loehr,
2015). Predictive analytics, talent analytics, workforce analytics, HR analytics, and human
capital analytics all work together by using quantitative and qualitative data to bring predictive
insight into organizational decision making (Loehr, 2015). These big data analytics can be used
to answer relevant organizational questions and not simply make judgments about the past, but
rather to help improve decisions for the future. For example, predictive analytics can be used to
accurately measure the value of investments or organizational initiatives (Loehr, 2015). For
Phantom Productions, it can help to understand the performance and effectiveness of current
diversity programs (such as recruiting and apprenticeship programs) as well as other factors like
potential unfair compensation structures, high turnover rates, behavioral traits and interpersonal
compatibility, and other important trends for people of color who are applying to or who
currently work at the organization. This data can be analyzed and used in the following ways.

First, predictive analytics can take this raw data and present it in a graphical or statistical
format that shows decision makers were their gaps are with respect to people of color. For
example, this data might show that although people of color may be hired as writers that they are
not being promoted as quickly as Caucasian counterparts, are voluntarily leaving writers rooms
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or the organization earlier, or are experiencing more negative interpersonal interactions with
their colleagues. This information can be presented in an easy-to-understand graphic and then be
used by decision makers to understand how to better structure their writers’ rooms to be more
inclusive of writers of color. Similarly, this data can be analyzed in a multidimensional way to
understand how these variables might influence or impact each other. For example, the data can
be used to ascertain if a show’s revenues increase, decrease, or stay the same every time a writer
of color voluntary leaves or quits a writers room. Because people of color have been shown to
positively increase a show’s bottom line, this information could be very valuable data to
understand (Hunt, 2016).
For people of color who are applying to Phantom Productions, predictive analytics can
also help decision makers by moving beyond demographics and getting into psychographics
like personalities, interests, work styles, and the like (Loehr, 2015). For example, psychographics
can identify which applicants (and the teams they are placed on) will have the greatest odds of
success. This information removes the constraining bias and subjective traits that resumes often
conceal. It can also help showcase the values of applicants, behavioral compatibility, and the
potential strength of the interpersonal relationship between the applicant and Phantom
Productions. In other words, predictive analytics can move past the skills and credentials of the
applicant and be used as a way to eliminate or reduce initial bias in the hiring process.
That said, there is currently no comprehensive predictive analytics database at Phantom
Productions for applicants or employees of color. The database that exists for writers of color in
Hollywood (Amplify, launched by the Creative Artists Agency) is the only one and is
fundamentally an online spreadsheet with no predictive analytic system or engine (Ramos,
2017). To counter this, Phantom Productions should immediately launch a robust diversity
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database powered by a predictive analytics system for writers, producers, showrunners, and other
employees and applicants of color. In addition, this database should also include all scripts,
shows, and feature films created by people of color. Predictive analytics allows for a pre-
screening and pre-certification of people of color in a way that Phantom Productions has never
seen before.

Establish streamlined mentorship/apprenticeship program in partnership with major
Hollywood organizations

Interview results showed that participants did not believe current diversity programs were
properly designed or yielding positive results. They felt that these programs need to be revamped
so that Phantom Productions can more effectively tackle the problem. The finding from the
motivation survey results is summarized in Table 8.
Table 5

Establish Streamlined Mentorship/Apprenticeship Training Program

Establish Streamlined Mentorship/Apprenticeship Training Program

Estimated Timeframe for Implementation: Fall 2019 to Summer 2020

Gap Analysis Category: Interview Finding
Knowledge Participants were aware that current diversity programs
are not working.
Motivation Participants did not believe organization cared to redesign programs.

Organization No unique program solutions have been presented by
organization.

In addition to implicit bias training, Phantom Productions should launch a new

mentorship program. Mentorship exists for the explicit purpose of a mentor (or wise person)
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guiding a mentee (or protege or student) in the traditions, practices, and frameworks of an

organization (Brown, Davis, & McClendon, 2010). Mentors sometimes exist in formal

mentorship programs, but often exist informally through family and friends; colleagues; and

therapists. Mentors, who typically provide one-on-one support, have been shown to have

significant impacts on mentees, with mentorship being responsible for improved behavior,

attitudes, health, motivation, and career outcomes (Eby et al, 2009). For example, a meta-study

indicated that having a workplace mentor can improve performance and interpersonal workplace

outcomes; reduce psychological stress and strain; and increase professional confidence (Eby et

al, 2009). Mentorship can also enable professional competence to be gained; crucial career

advice to be dispensed; increase odds of being hired in future roles; and protect mentees from

unfair criticism. That said, there is unequal access to mentors for people of color compared to

Caucasians (Putnam, 2013). A University of Pennsylvania study showed that, in college,

professors are 25% less likely to mentor a person of color than a Caucasian, for example

(Milkman, 2012). Similar studies by McKinsey also demonstrate that people of color do not have

access to the type of mentorship or support at work that Caucasians do (McKinsey, 2018.)

In Hollywood, a number of mentorship programs geared toward people of color have

commenced over the years (Variety, 2003). However, they would be better described as

apprenticeship programs - job readiness programs - and their results are best described as

failures (Smith, 2015). For example, the HBO Writers Program, Warner Bros Writers Program,

and Universal Writers Program seek to increase the number of writers of color in shows and

films, but since their inception the number of writers of color has actually decreased (Smith et al,

2014). The same is true for director and producer apprenticeship programs geared toward

people of color in Hollywood; their numbers have not improved (Smith et al, 2014). Although no
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study has been conducted to analyze the root causes of this negative trend, but common reasons

for these types of program failures have been because they are inadequately designed; they have

the wrong personnel or mentors running them; that there is not proper motivation or incentives

within Hollywood to see them work; or any number or combination of other causes.

That said, there are successful examples of diversity initiatives in other industries that have

worked that Hollywood can borrow (Wentling, 2007). These programs, when implemented

properly, have been shown to have dramatic increases in representation. For example, college

recruitment targeting people of color has increased representation by as much as 18% over 5

years; properly designed workplace mentorship programs have increased representation by as

much as 24% over 5 years; and diversity task forces have increased representation by as much as

30% over 5 years (Dobbin and Kaley, 2016). These programs provide a path forward for

Hollywood.

To meet their performance goal, Phantom Productions should focus on the following
apprenticeship/mentorship strategy. First, every diversity-related mentorship and apprenticeship
program needs to conduct a needs-analysis to identify sources of past failure so as not to repeat
these failures in their new programs. Second, these new diversity programs need to be made in
the image of successful diversity programs outside of Hollywood in general and Phantom
Productions in particular. Third, these new mentorship programs need to be dramatically
expanded to target more than a dozen promising people of color annually. Instead, they should
target several hundred promising people of color initially and expand once they identify factors
that facilitate success.
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Implement Voluntary Cap and Trade Diversity Program

Interview results showed that participants thought Phantom Productions should think
outside of the box to solve diversity performance problem. They felt that programs should be
voluntary but at the same time put pressure on the organization to perform in actions and not just
words. The finding from the motivation survey results is summarized in Table 9.
Table 6

Implement Voluntary Cap and Trade Diversity Program

Implement Voluntary Cap and Trade Diversity Program

Estimated Timeframe for Implementation: Summer 2020 to Spring 2021

Gap Analysis Category: Interview Finding

Knowledge Participants were aware that new approaches should be
tried Participants indicated that white males are perceived
as more talented and qualified than people of color

Motivation Participants were motivated by uniqueness of idea

Organization Participants were unsure if Phantom Productions would
implement such a bold plan

Although this study did not examine the possible effects of a cap and trade diversity

program, it nevertheless received feedback from three participants who indicated that Phantom

Productions should implement innovative measures to solve its performance problems. One such

measure – a cap and trade diversity program – is discussed below as it has been used as a

regulatory, accountability, and incentives-based tool to reach performance goals in industries like
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oil and gas.

Cap and trade is most associated with environmental emissions and regulations. It is based

on the notion that organizations can put caps (or limits) on a specific communal (and

organizational) problem and if they exceed their caps, they can trade (or buy) permits from other

organizations that did not. The idea is that some organizations will be able to reach their goals in

some years while others are not, but the main idea is that collectively all organizations are

working toward the same goal of reducing and eliminating their communal (and organizational)

problem (which they helped start or currently contribute to). In California, for example, a

cap and trade environmental program was launched in 2013 with the goal of reducing emissions

by 40% within a decade and a half. Results show thus far it has reduced emissions by 16%

within only a few years - a hugely significant figure in the world’s eighth largest economy

(Hiltzik, 2018).

For Hollywood, it should implement a similar voluntary cap and trade program for

diversity and have specific, aggressive, measurable, and time-bound goals to hold itself to. For

example, it should, like the state of California, adopt a goal of increasing the number of people of

color to 40% within a decade and a half, with specific annual milestones to reach. (This 40%

includes creative talent of color, crew members, office workers, suppliers, and other stakeholders

of color relevant within Hollywood.) Each studio, network, talent agency, and production

company should voluntarily agree to this. If an organization reaches their annual goal(s), they

will help increase the number of people of color at their organization and within the industry as
well as improve their bottom line. If they do not, they can buy a permit from another Hollywood
organization that has reached their annual goal(s). The organization selling the permit can then
use the revenues from their sales to apply to internal workforce diversity initiatives or donate
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

99

their proceeds to the industry-wide diversity apprenticeship/mentoring program (mentioned
earlier in the paper).
The idea is to get Phantom Productions and other relevant players to commit to specific,

written goals that they have yet to do with respect to increase the number of people of color at

their organization. Once they commit to it, the industry as a whole can voluntarily work in

concert toward improving diversity while also recognizing that, during some years, goals may

not be reachable. But this cap and trade program has a successful template to follow and can be

the type of system Hollywood needs to hold itself accountable.

Problems with Assumptions

Despite the potential benefits Phantom Productions could experience, benefits are

are not guaranteed. In fact, there may be several problems embedded within the assumptions

behind these solutions that could impact organizational, financial, and social outcomes. One

problem could be that implicit bias training may not work. Studies have shown that mandatory

implicit bias training has not had the type of organizational effects intended, for example.

Employees - especially Caucuasian men - may feel forced to attend the trainings and end up

resentful for having to be trained and could therefore resist or rebel. Likewise, even if the

implicit bias training is positively received employees may forget about it (which studies indicate

they do after a day or two). This could cause the wrong strategies and methods to be

implemented in the long-term.

Another problem embedded within the assumptions is that launching databases powered
by predictive analytics could cause decision-makers using the database to draw the wrong
interpretations or conclusions about the data with respect to people of color. This could further
complicate and possibly worsen prospects for people of color at Phantom Productions.
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

100

A third problem within the assumptions is related to apprenticeship and mentorship
programs. Revamped programs, for example, may also be poorly designed and yield poor results
like current diversity initiatives. Likewise, a poorly placed mentor with a mentee could make
things worse for the mentees professionally, emotionally, and socially.

A fourth problem with the assumptions is that Phantom Productions could be loathe to
consider holding itself to any specific, measurable, time-bound goals around numeric inclusion
standards. Joining a cap and trade program, then, would be very difficult because it would not
only publicly commit to its goals but it would also compete against other Hollywood studios
which could cause it to look bad even if they are making internal improvements (compared to
other Hollywood studios that might be making better improvements).
Taken together, these assumptions may not produce the kinds of film or television

revenues Phantom Productions is looking for. Stereotype threats may not be reduced, and social

problems in the real world may be so entrenched that they may not be impacted by watching

more people of color on screen. That said, if Phantom Productions attempts to solve its problems

with these solutions it could nevertheless succeed. Below is an implementation plan for it to try.

Implementation Plan

The solutions mentioned above link across the knowledge and skills, motivation, and
organizational aspects of Phantom Productions. The proposed implementation plan would work
across multiple stakeholders, and would engage them in various ways. For knowledge and skills,
to provide specific information related to the financial benefits of hiring more people of color,
program design would require the implementation of a strategic communication plan
emphasizing what and how people of color improve the bottom line. For motivation, increasing
interest in achieving Phantom Production’s performance goal should result in laying out specific
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

101

social and financial incentives and rewards to individuals and teams most effective at reaching
results. For the organization, the lack of communication would be addressed in the
communication plan, but further action to achieve parity would be needed by eliminating,
revamping, or establishing new organizational initiatives. These three implementation strategies
are anchored in research and would address the various solutions generated to increase diversity
at Phantom Productions. A summary of the solutions and their implementation is shown in
Tables 7-10.

Table 7
Summary of Solutions and Implementation: Voluntary Implicit Bias Training

Knowledge & Skills Motivation Organization

Findings -Participants indicated that white
males are perceived as more
talented and qualified than
people of color.
-Diversity is perceived as
charity, not business
-White production
employees are implicitly
encouraged to hire
people they have
previously worked with,
who usually are also
white
Solutions -Present information about
financial benefits of employing
people of color Launch voluntary
implicit bias training for all
Phantom Production employees.
- Building financial and
social incentives into
employing more qualified
people of color Present
information about
financial benefits of
employing people of
color.
-Launch voluntary
implicit bias training
program for all
Phanthom Productions
employees
Implementation -Develop and launch
communication plan emphasizing
research about the financial
benefits to television and film
divisions of hiring more people
of color with a multi-stakeholder
focus
- Develop new incentive
structure providing
bonuses and rewards to
shows and movies that
employ more people of
color, including
recognition, financial
payments, gift cards, trips,
and the like
- Hire implicit bias
training experts to
convene and train
executives in joint in-
person and online
programs, monitoring
bias, behavior, and
decisions about hiring
over time

Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

102

Table 8

Summary of Solutions and Implementation: Predictive Analytics Diversity Database

Knowledge & Skills Motivation Organization

Findings
- Participants feel
executives do not know
how to identify and hire
talented people of color

Solutions -Raise awareness about
Executives’ limited
Outreach to identify
- There was greater
concern in how the
organization was
perceived to be solving
the problem
than actually solving it

- Model executives
who are achieving
positive diversity.

-Diversity initiatives and
organizational recruitment
systems are not adequately
designed to recruit diverse
candidates

- Create predictive analytics
diversity database using
current data of employees
to analyze demographic
and psychographic data.

Implementation
- Incorporate
communications tools
to monitor awareness
and engagement of
stakeholders’
procedural knowledge
of their diversity efforts
Timeline Fall 2019

- Create
“Employee/Team of
the Month” for
employees who
statistically best
improve diversity

Fall 2019
- Outsource establishing
predictive analytics diversity
database to third party firm
specializing in designing and
tracking demographic and
psychographic data and
delivering regular reports

Fall 2019

Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

103

Table 9

Summary of Solutions and Implementation: Streamlined Mentorship/Apprenticeship Programs

Knowledge & Skills Motivation Organization

Findings -Participants were aware
that current diversity
programs are not
working

Solutions -Showcase that current
diversity programs are
poorly designed to yield
positive results

Implementation -Send out blast e-mails
and conduct 3 meetings
showing the
ineffectiveness of
current mentorship
programs

Timeline Fall 2019

- Participants did not
believe organization
cared to redesign
programs Build
financial and social
incentives into
employing more
qualified people of
color.
- Highlight successful
executives who are
achieving diversity
results

-Send out bimonthly
newsletter
highlighting
executives who are
reaching
performance goals

Fall 2019
- No unique program solutions
have been presented by
organization Launch
voluntary implicit bias
training program for all
Phantom Production
employees.

- Replicate already
successful
mentorship/apprenticeship
programs in other
industries

-Launch
mentorship/apprenticeship
programs by replicating
already successful ones in
other industries

Summer 2020

Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

104

Table 10

Summary of Solutions and Implementation: Cap and Trade Diversity Program

Knowledge & Skills Motivation Organization

Findings
- Participants were
aware that new
approaches should be
tried

Solutions
- Raise awareness about
alternative diversity
programs solutions,
including cap and trade

Implementation -Conduct 3 trainings to
Educate on cap and trade

Timeframe Summer 2020

- Participants were
motivated by
uniqueness of idea

- Executives will now
have specific and
measurable goals
and accountability
systems they can
work toward.

-Highlight through
newsletters how cap
and trade may be
increasing diversity
on current shows and
movies week to week

Summer 2020

-Participants were unsure if
Phantom Productions would
implement bold new
approaches

- Participate in new
Diversity Cap and Trade
Program to reach 40%
diversity within decade and
a half.

-Launch new cap and trade program
With all 6 major studios participating

Spring 2020

Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

105

Limitations
This study focused on Creative Development Executives currently or previously employed
by Phantom Productions. Data collection for interviews was from a small participation group; a
total of 36 people were queried and 12 people agreed to be interviewed from the sample
population. In addition to the low participation rate, participants may have self-selected to
participate resulting in potential selection bias. This study would have benefitted from more time
to collect data to increase participation rates.
The instrumentation and interview protocols were of my own design, as I found no prior
validated instruments for this study. The limited time for data collection and interpretation did
not allow for pilot testing of the instrument. Several iterations of the interview protocols were
generated, but additional review and testing could have strengthened the design and further
reduced bias and unclear language.
Selection of Phantom Productions was largely due to my convenience and access to the

sample population. My bias as a person of color could have influenced the interpretation of

results and interview findings. Nevertheless, the GAP analysis framework and this study’s

guiding questions may assist in framing future problems for other entertainment industry

companies with similar performance problems.

Suggestions for Future Research

While this study does much to add to the literature on diversity within the entertainment
industry, there are a number of areas for future research. Additional research should address the
impact of Creative Development Executives of color on the identification, hiring, and retention
Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity

106

on people of color. Research should also focus on the professional development of people of
color within entertainment who have had mentors and sponsors. Research should examine the
differences in the experiences and compensation for men of color and women of color within the
entertainment industry. And finally, research should replicate my study on a wider range within
the entertainment industry.
Conclusion

Pressure to be more inclusive of people of color within Hollywood is increasing. Research,
activism, and mainstream news outlets are shining a light on the demographic disparities
presently existing within Hollywood and organizations are attempting to diversify as quickly as
possible. However, many of them have implemented solutions that heretofore have not been
effective in yielding the type of results or progress for which they hoped. Part of the reason for
this is because there have been very few – if any – solutions implemented that have been
research-based and tested with proven empirical results. This study hopes to address that by
providing Creative Development Executives with the tools they need to move their organizations
forward and reach their performance goal.

107

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APPENDIX A

INTERVIEW PROTOCOL – PHANTOM PRODUCTIONS CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT
EXECUTIVES

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Introduction
Thanks so much for speaking with me. I am conducting a study about the lack of people of color
in Hollywood as part of my dissertation research with my doctoral program at USC. I anticipate
taking no more than 30 minutes of your time, and I have twelve questions for your consideration.

Your participation is completely voluntary. We can skip any question you want at any time, and
you may stop the interview at any time. Any identifiable information obtained in connection with
this study will remain confidential. Please let me know if you have any questions. Ready to start?

Please state your name and where you're from.

What drew you to becoming a creative development executive?

How would you describe the ethnic backgrounds of the majority of the Creative Development
Executives at your organization?

What does the word ‘diversity’ mean to you?

From your experience, can you describe how you feel minority populations have been depicted
historically in Hollywood?

From your experience, can you describe the opportunities, if any, you feel diverse populations
have had in Hollywood?

Can you think of any examples of diversity initiatives at your organization and their results?

Why do you feel the results turned out as they did?

What does a successful diversity initiative look like?

What specific roles, if any, does diversity play in the projects you decide to make?

What obstacles, if any, stand in the way of making projects with diverse casts and crews?

Can you describe your personal experience related to diversity recruitment or initiatives at your
organization?

Is there anything else you would like to add that you have not shared today?

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Asset Metadata

Creator Carpenter, Robert Mark (author)

Core Title Hollywood's lack of diversity in key creative positions: an evaluation study of phantom productions

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Publication Date 07/30/2019

Defense Date 02/26/2019

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Actors,consumer discrimination,directors,diversity,entertainment industry,feature films,Hollywood,implicit bias,media,oai:digitallibrary.usc.edu:usctheses,OAI-PMH Harvest,on-screen portrayals,people of color,producers,ratings,revenues,television,Writers

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Advisor Freking, Frederick (committee chair), Robles, Darline (committee member), Taylor, Michael (committee member)

Creator Email carp177@usc.edu,changeagent1985@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-200189

Unique identifier UC11662771

Identifier etd-CarpenterR-7684.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-200189 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-CarpenterR-7684.pdf

Dmrecord 200189

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Carpenter, Robert Mark

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Phantom Productions has suffered from a lack of diversity with respect to people of color since 1935. However, since 2007 an increase in research, media, and activism around diversity in Hollywood in general and Phantom Productions in particular have put a spotlight on the organization to reform or face serious legal, financial, and reputational consequences. The gap analysis framework was used to analyze the knowledge and skills, motivation, and organizational causes preventing Phantom Productions from becoming more diverse. Twelve interviews were conducted with insiders at Phantom Productions, and a qualitative analysis revealed 21 findings leading to four recommended solutions. To increase diversity, it is recommended that Phantom Productions launch voluntary implicit bias training, create a predictive analytics diversity database, establish a streamlined mentorship and apprenticeship program, and implement a voluntary cap and trade diversity program. Together with an implementation and evaluation plan, this study demonstrates how Phantom Productions and other Hollywood studios can evaluate and address their lack of diversity.