Fran Drescher: Studios drawing out strike hurts LGBTQ+ representation
GLAAD released its annual Studio Responsibility Index and determined that the progress made is in jeopardy due to the strikes
Aux News Fran Drescher
GLAAD released its annual Studio Responsibility Index, the organization’s assessment of representation in film, and we have good news and bad news. First, the good: Representation of LGBTQIA+ people is at an all-time high, with more LGBTQIA+ characters than ever before. However, and here’s where the bad comes in, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher says that the AMPTP drawing out the strike threatens to undo that progress. In a statement, Drescher argued that the studios are keeping Hollywood shut down at a terrible time for the LGBTQ+ community when violent threats and bigoted legislation are on the rise.
“Right now, there’s a very tiny but loud segment of our population that’s hard at work spreading hate and fear while attempting to squash all storytelling that showcases the full, beautiful reality of the human experience,“ Drescher said. “Seeing diverse representation on screen is vital for empowering everyone to embrace their authentic selves.”
GLAAD’s results show that progress is being made. 100 (28.5%) of the 350 films released in 2022 by 10 distributors (A24, Amazon, Apple, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Disney, and Warner Bros.) contained an LGBTQIA+ character. That’s a high for GLAAD since it began conducting the study 11 years ago. There were still some less-than-stellar results, though. For example, over half of those characters clocked in fewer than five minutes of screen time.
However, the studios’ refusal to end the strikes threatens to undo the gains. “Sadly, the longer the AMPTP companies keep the entertainment industry shut down by refusing to come back to the bargaining table, the more risk there is for disrupting the progress that’s been made in terms of inclusive representation,” Drescher said.
GLAAD is in lock-step with Drescher, stating that by drawing out the strike and delaying production on, well, everything, those strides will slow. This means there won’t be stories reflecting our actual society in the pipeline until the AMPTP returns to the negotiating table and agrees to a fair deal.
“At a time when the LGBTQ community is under unprecedented cultural and political attacks, it is more important than ever to hold film studios accountable for how our community is represented on screen,” said GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “It is crucial that the AMPTP reach a fair deal with striking writers and performers — that these talented creatives can return to work as soon as possible so that the progress made in LGBTQ representation remains on track.”
The study included a number of fascinating findings, including that comedy is the genre with the most LGBTQIA+ representation and action, sci-fi, and fantasy (regarded as one in the study) being the least inclusive. GLAAD also rated A24, NBCUniversal, and Disney as having “good” inclusivity while Apple had “poor” and Lionsgate “failing.” But since even fewer movies will be produced now, we can probably expect those scores to drop as well.
16 Comments
Sure, Fran. It’s the STUDIOS drawing out the strike.
Uhh, yeah it is.
You either haven’t read the meager proposals the AMPTP have been making or you need to be diagnosed.
So it’s the union who keeps rejecting offers? Sure sounds like they’re the ones drawing out the strike.
You do realize that if it’s a shitty offer… they won’t accept it, right? The point of the strike isn’t to get an offer, it’s to get an offer that actually gives the writers a living wage, dumbass.
Because this person apparently believes that “Mods” have any say or sway – or exist – within the Kinja hellscape, “need to be diagnosed” is the safe bet.
Yes. That’s what happens when one side refuses to come back to the table and continue negotiating- the dispute draws out. Do keep up, you thundering moron.
Also, go see Bottoms. It’s a very fun movie.
“At a time when the LGBTQ community is under unprecedented cultural and political attacks”This is a time when the LGTBQ community has never been more accepted, free, represented. This is the best time ever in the history of mankind for them in the USA. I remember very well what the situation was 20 years go and beyond.
Your use of “them” here says a lot, but I also encourage you to read some more about the local political and social landscape regarding the treatment and legislating of queer people currently occurring in America.
The best time in the US was before that country’s Supreme Court finished getting the conservative makeover Republicans spent decades working on. Once Roe was overturned, the floodgates opened on right wing legislatures crafting anti-abortion laws so extreme that some citizens’ very right to travel within the country’s borders is under attack, and hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ have been proposed and/or passed to the point that travel advisories have been issued for LGBTQ+ people considering visiting certain states.“This is the best time ever in the history of mankind for them in the USA. I remember very well what the situation was 20 years go [sic] and beyond.”The people who said that Roe was settled law during their confirmation hearings proved that they were lying. What’s happening in those Republican states is largely a test to see what else they can get overturned. To say that this is the “best time ever in the history of mankind” for LGBTQ+ people is some serious head in the sand thinking.
Disagree. Ending Roe was a great thing. It’s taking time and will continue to do so, but Repubs are getting their asses handed to them running on a pro life ticket. Single handily the worst thing repubs could have done. You gotta think long term on this.
I’m not going to reply to the grey who responded to me saying ending Roe was great because it’s hurting the Republicans. Sure, *checks name* Paul, who isn’t going to be directly affected by the ruling and isn’t going to undergo a criminal investigation for miscarriage or forced to give birth to a stillborn where the organs grew outside the body.https://jezebel.com/woman-in-tennessee-was-denied-abortion-despite-fetus-gr-1850830477And there are others. Tell them what they’re going through is worth it because it’s hurting Republicans electorally, sir.https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/louisiana-woman-carrying-fetus-skull-seek-abortion-another-state-rcna45005https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/02/health/florida-abortion-term-pregnancy/index.htmlhttps://people.com/health/arizona-mom-forced-to-carry-non-viable-baby-to-term/
bizarre take, I’m in Canada and the things my Queer friends are experiencing in the states sound disgusting.
GLAAD’s results show that progress is being made. 100 (28.5%) of the 350
films released in 2022 by 10 distributors (A24, Amazon, Apple,
Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Disney, and Warner
Bros.) contained an LGBTQIA+ character. That’s a high for GLAAD since it began conducting
the study 11 years ago. There were still some less-than-stellar
results, though. For example, over half of those characters clocked in
fewer than five minutes of screen time.
A stat like this means nothing in a vacuum. I’d like to see a comparison of the percentage of straight characters that get less than 5 minutes of screen time before I read anything from that stat.
“GLAAD’s results show that progress is being made. 100 (28.5%) of the 350 films released in 2022 by 10 distributors (A24, Amazon, Apple, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Disney, and Warner Bros.) contained an LGBTQIA+ character. That’s a high for GLAAD since it began conducting the study 11 years ago. There were still some less-than-stellar results, though. For example, over half of those characters clocked in fewer than five minutes of screen time.”So 14.25% of films featured LGBT characters with more than five minutes of screen time.A) This is an overrepresentation of LGBT people, double the amount of LGBT people in America. Hardly bad news.B) Art should not be governed and judged by quotas. It is anti-art. It is illiberal. The Academy recently decided that you can skip the quotas if you simply don’t put your picture up for awards. Again: anti-art and totally illiberal. The very idea of deconstructing art along identity categories and adding up this or that identity’s percentage screen time to see if they qualify for awards/praise…is wrong. Artistically and morally.Ah, progress!