Diversity Programs for Writers: Are they effective?
January 14th, 2009 | Published in General
by Samantha, Racebending.com staff
In November 2009, Jim Martin, NBC’s Heroes writer and assistant to show creator Tim Kring, replied to upset fans, “Look up the diversity programs for writers in TV. Ask anyone in the TV world. There is a distinct disadvantage to be a white male when trying to be a staff writer.”[i] The posts recording these conversations have since been deleted.
But the support of Foz McDermott, a coordinating producer and another writer of the show, remains online and continues to be circulated. In response to a comment on Jim Martin’s controversial post that read, “The idea that white privilege isn’t a problem in Hollywood at this point is an idea coming from a privileged standpoint,” McDermott unprofessionally writes on his blog:
Holy crap lady… if you are indeed a lady… that is hilarious. In a business that is scared of and run by pussy organizations that are so scared of being sued about everything, being OVERLY PC is the actual problem. Being a white male in the business of Hollywood is NOT easy. There are programs and incentives to help everyone except white males.[ii]
While McDermott does state that he has no problem “with helping anyone,” he does believe it [diversity programs] “has gone too far.” For example, he writes, “…When you have to fill a position and you have 3 candidates and the best person is the best for the job, and the one that is not the best fit is forced upon you because of diversity quotes and not their skill. That actually makes me sick.”
Perhaps Foz McDermott is right. Perhaps, diversity programs for writers of color have gone too far:
The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) website lists over 20 resources in the diversity section of their writer’s resources page. Disney|ABC Television has a Writing Fellowship, and CBS Network holds a six month Writers Mentoring Program. Both FOX and NBC have similar projects called “Initiatives.”
Even WGAW launched the pilot program Writers Access Project to “address the issue of underrepresentation of diverse writers on television writing staffs.”
Jim Martin and Foz McDermott do make a point; there are a lot opportunities out there for people of color, for women, for everyone but the “white male.”
So why, according to the 2009 Hollywood Writers Report, did the television employment of minority writers decline to 9 percent? Why is it that their film employment has been frozen at 6 percent since 1999?
What is the point of those opportunities if they cannot be effectively taken advantage of?
The United States of America is rich and diverse; that can be seen in many parts of the country—from the Big Apple to small towns like Waxhaw, North Carolina. It grew and was nurtured by the hands of those who crossed the Bering Strait, of Native Americans, of Spaniards, Frenchmen, and the British and immigrants and aliens alike.
At one point, our ancestors and our fathers and our little sisters have known what it’s like to be that “other” person.
Writers of color can help capture that experience. They can help produce a rich, enjoyable film or television show that reflects our diverse country.
Kourtney Kang and Brenda Hsueh, writers of CBS’s How I Met Your Mother, knows just how much of an asset ethnicity is: “…it gives them the advantage as the ‘other’ in American society…because…each unique perspective is valued in order to capture a wide segment of society.”[iii]
But writers of color cannot add anything of value if they are not being included in the process. If a minority member of the WGA is excluded during a picketing, like one anonymous screenwriter said in Fade In magazine, then how can he or she hope to receive fair opportunities? If another producer, like the anonymous one in Fade In, throws out his or her ideas, and is ignored for the famous director who says those same suggestions, then how can he or she receive recognition?[iv]
If all a writer of color becomes is a token minority, then what is the point of the diversity programs?
Opportunities exist, and minorities have taken the initiative to enter the entertainment industry.
There is no arguing that.
So, Jim Martin, Foz Dermott, and anyone reading this—the argument is not over who, or what group, has the most opportunities. It’s “Whose are the most effective?”
[i] Alicia , “Breaking News: White Men are Being Oppressed in Hollywood,” Blog Community, UnfunnyBusiness, http://www.journalfen.net/community/unfunnybusiness/189474.html.
[ii] Foz McDermott, “Someone Named “Jess” on someone else’s blog just made a comment:,” Blog, Full Frontal Nerdity, http://themightyfoz.tumblr.com/post/242092393/someone-named-jess-on-someone-elses-blog-just-made-a.
[iii] Larry Kao, “How I Met the Writers of How I Met Your Mother,” Asia Pacific Arts, October 10, 2006, http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=54892.\
[iv] “Fade In Online,” http://fadeinonline.com/articles/minority-report/.
