New Documentaries Reveal Media’s Phony Commitment to Diversity
https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/media-diversity-namrata-singh-eli-steele/Hollywood and the press are working hand in hand to bring greater diversity to filmmaking.
To a point, that is.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences tweaked the iconic Oscar rules to ensure films offer richer representation than ever before. Actors are trying to do their part, which sometimes means quitting well-paying gigs to make way for people of color.
Streaming platforms turned major chunks of their real estate over to “black voices” following the death of George Floyd in May. Visit Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime and you’ll find special sections featuring black performers, directors and themes.
It is all lip service.
Enter Namrata Singh Gujral and Eli Steele and the accompanying record scratch sound.
She’s the director of “America’s Forgotten,” a harrowing new documentary exploring the untold stories behind illegal immigration.
Steele, who previously gave us “How Jack Became Black,” directs a powerful documentary about race, power and victimization in modern America, called “What Killed Michael Brown?”
The movie stars Shelby Steele, the director’s father and one of the most celebrated voices in conservative America. Together, they question the narratives surrounding police violence, and more, in America.
It is not about diversity, it is about suppressing political ideology.
Gujral is a woman of color who makes deeply personal films. She’s also a blood and breast cancer survivor. From a journalist’s point of view, all of the above make her very newsworthy, particularly at a time when the culture is promoting artists of color.
Yet the usual news outlets are looking the other way.
The same is true for Eli Steele’s film. Sure, a smattering of right-leaning news sources explored the documentary. Where are Variety, TheWrap.com, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.com?
Entertainment Weekly? USA Today’s Entertainment section? Rolling Stone?
How about TheRoot? The Mary Sue? Refinery 29? These sites routinely report on artists of color. Did they miss these documentaries?
Or is something else in play?
Gujral is a Democrat, but she’s critical of her party’s leftward lurch. Her film puts former Vice President Joe Biden in an unflattering light, along with the rest of his party. Steele’s film contradicts the media narratives surrounding the deaths of both Michael Brown and George Floyd. Neither film embraces a progressive point of view, in short.
Non-Whites must tow the leftist party line. Diversity is not just ethnicity. Diversity includes ideology.
