Just the other day I was scrolling through my YouTube homepage when one video, called "This 1800s Love Story Is Full Of Your Favorite Actors," caught my eye. It was uploaded by Refinery29, which calls itself a 'female-focused lifestyle destination.'
I clicked the video and played it. The cinematography was beautiful and reminded me of Pride & Prejudice. A female voice begins talking and the camera pans to two men; one of them is black, the other is white. One of them is also Mr. Malcolm, the main character. The two men are strolling peacefully in a garden as the female voice goes on and on about Mr. Malcolm. Then there is a shock because Mr. Malcolm is not who you thought he was!
As the short movie rolls along the cast are revealed to be even more diverse. There's not only black men and women, but Asians, Latinx, Indians, and more POC occupy major roles. I was so starstruck by this that I had a difficult time paying attention to the storyline and had to rewatch it.
This 1800s Love Story Is Full Of Your Favorite Actors | Mr. Malcolm's List | Refinery29www.youtube.com
The 2019 Oscar nominations had a record-breaking amount of movies featuring POC such as Black Panther, Roma, and BlacKkKlansmen, If Beale Street Could Talk, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Bao, and more. But many feel this was overshadowed when the "Green Book" won Best Picture, an award that many believe was not deserving. People on Twitter were also quick to point out how the majority of the people behind the movie were white male producers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZC140dC8P
Although the problem of the lack of diversity in Hollywood is improving, that doesn't mean it's gone away. There are still many more strides to make, more glass ceilings to break, and stereotypes to be broken. Until the majority of movies that premiered in movie theaters have a cast just as diverse as the Refinery29 'Malcolm's List' movie, then Hollywood has not done enough.