Diversity and representation in media are subjects worthy of much discussion. Films already have the Bechdel Test, which explores and rates the way women are portrayed on camera, and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) offers similar studies with its Studio Responsibility Index. Today (April 15), they released the third annual edition of their report.
As Deadline reports, the film industry slightly improved its portrayal of LGBT characters over last year, but they've still got a ways to go.
"As television and streaming services continue to produce a remarkable breadth of diverse LGBT representations, we still struggle to find depictions anywhere near as authentic or meaningful in mainstream Hollywood film," GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said. "The industry continues to look increasingly out of touch by comparison and still doesn't represent the full diversity of the American cultural fabric."
In fact, both Sony Pictures and Walt Disney Studios received a "failing" grade from the organization. Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate Entertainment, Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox were all designated as "adequate."
Warner Bros. did slightly better, earning a "good" designation despite the release of the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart movie Get Hard, which they described as a "gay-panic exploring comedy" and deemed "one of the most problematic films we have seen in some time."
To conduct the study, GLAAD looked at the 114 major films released in 2014. They found that there 20 films that included gay, lesbian or bisexual characters, adding that "there were zero depictions of transgender people in 2014, despite a historic year for transgender representation on television."
They also reported "fewer overtly defamatory depictions in mainstream film," though added that there were still "offensive representations" of LGBT characters films like Horrible Bosses 2 and Exodus: Gods and Kings.
To read the full report, go here.
As Deadline reports, the film industry slightly improved its portrayal of LGBT characters over last year, but they've still got a ways to go.
"As television and streaming services continue to produce a remarkable breadth of diverse LGBT representations, we still struggle to find depictions anywhere near as authentic or meaningful in mainstream Hollywood film," GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said. "The industry continues to look increasingly out of touch by comparison and still doesn't represent the full diversity of the American cultural fabric."
In fact, both Sony Pictures and Walt Disney Studios received a "failing" grade from the organization. Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate Entertainment, Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox were all designated as "adequate."
Warner Bros. did slightly better, earning a "good" designation despite the release of the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart movie Get Hard, which they described as a "gay-panic exploring comedy" and deemed "one of the most problematic films we have seen in some time."
To conduct the study, GLAAD looked at the 114 major films released in 2014. They found that there 20 films that included gay, lesbian or bisexual characters, adding that "there were zero depictions of transgender people in 2014, despite a historic year for transgender representation on television."
They also reported "fewer overtly defamatory depictions in mainstream film," though added that there were still "offensive representations" of LGBT characters films like Horrible Bosses 2 and Exodus: Gods and Kings.
To read the full report, go here.
