Dr. Stacy Smith (founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, (AII) at University of Southern California) stated Wednesday that election-cycle topics like gun violence, reproductive rights and gerrymandering all need to be addressed. “not part of typical storytelling” in movies in TV – “because women and people of color aren’t behind the camera.”
Smith was speaking with Editor-in-Chief and founder Sharon Waxman at the WrapPRO’s Grill event series about the role of Hollywood in the upcoming election year 2024. Waxman began the conversation by reminding Smith that midterms were three weeks away. Smith then moved on to discuss how her research shows the influence Hollywood can have.
AII analyses stories for inclusion or exclusion topics and themes, such as reproductive rights and interracial relationships, voting behaviour, gun violence, and interracial relations.
“When do we see gerrymandering discussed, right?”Smith. “When do we see things that are really important and the freedom that we should have? When are those actually part of the DNA of stories? And this is really thinking about entertainment as education, but with the best storytellers in the world. How can they tell those stories in really powerful ways?”
Smith discussed the obstacles faced by stories about reproductive rights. Waxman and Smith discussed the need to have more stories about abortion, including those that involve contraceptives, on screen.
“It’s not normalized,”Smith. “It’s not part of typical storytelling largely because women and people of color aren’t behind the camera. … If we had fixed this 20 years ago, we would be in a different situation today, because we would have more normal stories that people have experienced.”
Not that there haven’t been opportunities in movies and TV to talk about sex: “We’re looking at sexual scenarios on screen and talk about sex and all the places where reproductive justice could have been mentioned – where was it?”
Smith used then an episode of “Friends” – the one where Rachel tells Ross that she’s pregnant, including the statistic that condoms only work 97% of the time – as an example of great informational storytelling.
Gun violence is also a priority in AII’s research. Waxman questioned the need for storytelling – explicitly when the argument can be made that public opinion calls for some form of abortion rights and gun control laws.
“It’s imperative, and the reason why is what group doesn’t go to the polls? Young people,”Smith. “College students aren’t [voting] in the numbers that they need to right because they have completely different views on all of these topics than other generations. They’re far more progressive. Inclusion is just a way of life. … And one of the best ways to get them motivated and going is through storytelling. Data doesn’t do it by itself, but tell a compelling story about why they need to show up.”
The AII will award $100,000 in scholarships to filmmakers who want to tell stories about reproduction justice. Smith mentioned that media violence can lead to aggression and exposure to such content.
“We have a huge problem in entertainment we know, from 60 years of research, is not debatable,”She said. “You might think exposure to media violence contributes to aggression, fear and desensitization. Story closed.”
Smith concluded her presentation by calling for more people to be behind the camera in the future after further discussion on gun violence and including stories about LGBTQ+ and marriage equality.
“We’re also looking at interracial relationships, which you don’t see a lot of research on that either, and we’re seeing some progress, but I’m going to tell you right now, 2022 is bad for behind the camera, particularly for women and people of color,”She said. “They really are not good this year. Last year, they were fantastic. They held strong, but now we’re seeing a dipping down effect. And so for us, it’s bringing all this work intersectionally and why I wanted to talk about the study before it came out is we need your help. We want to work with content creators in the industry.”
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For over a decade, WrapPRO’s Grill event series has led the conversation on the convergence between entertainment, media and technology, bringing together newsmakers to debate the challenges and opportunities facing content in the digital age. This event is geared towards C-suite executives as well as forward-thinking participants. The event offers unique discussions, panel discussions and virtual networking activations to explore the changing media landscape. Visit TheGrill for more informationthegrill.thewrap.com.
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