The relationship between casting and race has been insufficiently examined in both popular and academic writings on Hollywood.
Title
Working Hard in Hollywood: How Hollywood Casting Directors' Performances of Gatekeeping Invest in Whiteness
Type of Resource
text
Genre
research paper
creator
Matzas, Tiffany.
advisor
Erickson, Karla A., 1973-
supporting host
Grinnell College. Sociology Department.
supporting host
Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows.
supporting host
Grinnell Student Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity Symposium, 2019
note
Aside from the occasional controversy, the relationship between casting and race has been insufficiently examined in both popular and academic writings on Hollywood. In this paper, I examine the narratives and discourse of Hollywood casting directors in interviews and popular media as an important missing piece from the larger discussion on race in Hollywood. In doing so, I argue that casting directors' performances as expert gatekeepers work to justify the exclusion of people of color through narratives of hard work and creativity which, following George Lipsitz, legitimize and invest in whiteness. This expert investment in whiteness, in turn, serves to reporduce the conditions necessary to justify a white-dominated film and television industry and uphold dominant ideologies of whiteness.
Language
English
Index Date
2019
Date Issued
2019-05-15
Publisher
Grinnell College
Physical Extent
29 pages
Digital Extent
29 pages
Digital Origin
reformated digital
Media Type
application/pdf
Classification
PN1995.9.C34
Topic
Whites - Race identity
Topic
Casting (Performing arts)
Topic
Motion picture industry.
Topic
Casting directors.
Topic
Television programs-Casting
Geographic
Hollywood (California)
Keyword
whitness
Keyword
Hollywood.
Keyword
media and race
Related Item
Digital Grinnell
Related Item
Student Scholarship
Related Item
Undergraduate Student Symposium
Access Condition
Copyright to this work is held by the author(s), in accordance with United States copyright law (USC 17). Readers of this work have certain rights as defined by the law, including but not limited to fair use (17 USC 107 et seq.).
