US audiences demand content that reflects world’s diversity, and actors from minorities are benefiting – think Marvel’s Shang-Chi and Eternals and Netflix’s Squid Game
- From Crazy Rich Asians to Oscar best picture winner Parasite to Netflix chart-topper Hellbound, Asian actors have had more US exposure, and audiences like it
- ‘Audiences are craving things they’ve never seen, never heard of,’ says one insider. That includes Marvel’s first on-screen gay kiss and first deaf superhero
More members of minorities are showing up in mainstream US entertainment, from films and TV to music, as audiences demand stories that reflect the world’s diversity – showing that inclusion is good business – industry executives say.
“Our industry has caught up with reality. The majority of the world is actually Asian,” says Bing Chen, president of Gold House, a non-profit collective that promotes Asian Pacific Islander voices.
“Audiences are craving things they’ve never seen, never heard of.”
The proliferation of audience data debunks much of Hollywood’s conventional wisdom that had devalued women and other minorities, says Liz Jenkins, chief operating officer of Hello Sunshine, the women-led media company co-founded by actor Reese Witherspoon.
