essay

• In 2019, only 5 of Billboard’s top 100 DJs were Women
• Women make up less than 3% of the technical and production roles in the music industry
• In the World’s top 150 clubs, the annual percentage of Female DJs is 6%

Underplayed explores how gender disparity and lack of diversity in electronic music happens, through the lens of the Female pioneers, next-generation artists, and industry leaders who are overlooked and/or tokenized instead of nurtured. It highlights a problem that is not only implicitly enforced in electronic music, but across all creative industries, especially the film industry.

Lack of Diversity in the Film Industry

Almost every year the Academy Awards faces scrutiny for its lack of diversity. The #OscarsSoWhite hashtag from 2015 prompted the Academy to diversify its voting body. The 2021 ceremony showed some promise with 9/20 actors going to People of Color and (an improved) two Women taking the 5 slots for Best Director with Chloe Zhao ultimately winning. However, based on the predictions for 2022, it looks like 2021 was an abnormality, rather than a sign that the Academy Awards are moving in the right direction. Just 4 out of the 30 contenders Variety have predicted for Best Picture are directed by Women (all of them are white) and just a handful are films directed by People of Color. Even the critics’ best of the year lists are all skewed towards white men, with 9/30 of Metacritic’s top films of the year directed by Women and 6/30 by People of Color. Instead, this year’s predictions are a list of familiar names: Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Paul Thomas Anderson, Aaron Sorkin, Adam McKay. They’re all easier to recognize because they’re who the film industry have celebrated and facilitated. Nominating their films are a less risky choice than nominating a brilliant debut film by a Woman and/or Person of Color that is often less supported by studios, cinemas, and audiences. These big names are also being floated this year, because they had the luxury to delay their releases to a year in which cinemas were open (and not closed because of the pandemic) – which could mean that the diversity at the 2021 awards was just an anomaly.

Just as it’s easy for electronic music festivals to keep slotting in the same famous male DJs into their lineups, it’s easy for critics and film Awards voters to pick the same familiar names – which are mostly white men. This is not because white men are the only people making films – they’re not – as per the Hollywood Diversity Report pictured below, 25% of the top 185 performing films of 2020 were directed by People of Color and 20% by Women. These figures are by no means where they should be, the film production industry should obviously put more Women and People of Color in all positions until they’re proportionally represented, but it gives us, the audience a chance to help.

The Importance of Diversifying Your Media Consumption

We have to acknowledge that we are also part of the problem. If we care about fixing it, we need to diversify our media consumption by matching our consumption with the population ratios we live in. This means choosing to watch one film directed by a Woman for every film we watch directed by a man and four films directed by People of Color for every ten films we watch.

Outside of U.S. films, it also means we should watch more international films, after all the U.S. makes up under 5% of the world’s population. Watch more films from Africa and the ‘Global South‘ (not my favorite term but one that gives an idea of which countries are underprivileged socioeconomically). The ‘Global South’ makes up roughly 75% of the world’s population but rarely make critics best of the year lists or receive awards nominations.

The hope is, that in diversifying our media consumption, we’ll change our favorite films. Watching more films from Women and People of Color gives them a chance to feature in our best of lists. It also alters the diversity of the films we talk about, and puts us in a position to critique any lackluster attempts of Award Ceremonies, Film Festivals, and Movie Theaters to represent the country and world we live in. We can put pressure on them to change, and level the playing field for all and open the door to everyone now and in the future.

So next time you’re browsing the streaming platforms, or trying to find a film to watch at the cinema, pick a film that isn’t directed by the white male director you’re already familiar with. Diversify your viewing habits. And if you think you’re already doing a good job, check the films you’ve watched in the past month or year – it doesn’t hurt to take a look. I for one, was way off track, which I’ve finally adjusted this year. Not only does it feel good supporting a wider range of filmmakers, but as an added bonus, a more diverse slate of films boosts your own film credentials by exposing you to a wider range of perspectives and film styles.

Diversifying your viewing habits supports diversity in the industry and makes you a better film watcher.