Diversity, inclusion, and sexism continue to feature prominently in conversations, scholarship, and headlines about Hollywood, but here we are with the news that a white man will direct a live-action “Mulan.” Alex Graves will helm Sony Pictures’ upcoming take on the legendary Chinese female warrior, Deadline reports. Graves’ credits include “Game of Thrones,” “Homeland,” and “The West Wing.” He clearly has experience telling action-packed stories with a political angle. Still, didn’t Sony pause to consider that a white man might not be the most suitable candidate for this particular job?
Research from USC Annenberg’s Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative shows that “at least half or more (52 percent) of all cinematic, television, or streaming stories fail to portray one speaking or named Asian or Asian American on screen.” Never mind featuring an Asian protagonist, most American media do not include Asian characters period.
According to a study from Dr. Martha Lauzen that analyzed the top 100 highest-grossing domestic films of 2015, females comprised just 22 percent of protagonists, and 33 percent of all speaking characters. Women are underrepresented onscreen, but especially women who aren’t white. That same study from Dr. Lauzen found that 76 percent of all female characters were white women — only three percent were Asian.
While there are many, many women directors, a disproportionately low number of them are hired for big-budget, high-profile films. Women accounted for only nine percent of the directors of the top 250 grossing films in the U.S. last year.
With the rise of movements like #OscarsSoWhite and the EEOC’s investigation into discrimination against women directors, Hollywood’s racism and sexism is being noticed — and criticized — now more than ever.
“Mulan” tells the story of Hua Mulan, a heroic Asian woman who excels at martial arts and disguises herself as a man to take her aging father’s place in the army. So Sony decides to hire a white man to helm this story? Oh, and they also hired a white man to pen the screenplay — Jason Keller (“Mirror Mirror”).
Disney is also working on a live-action “Mulan,” and while a director for that project hasn’t been announced, the gig was supposedly offered to a man: Oscar-winning Taiwanese director Ang Lee (“The Life of Pi,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”). Lee passed, so we’re hopeful that Disney will reevaluate their strategy and look to potential women directors, ideally Asian ones.
Collider writes that “Disney’s version is said to be a mixture of the animated film and the literary ballad, [whereas] Sony’s ‘Mulan’ is being targeted more towards an international audience.” (Sony is reportedly planning for the feature to be an international/Chinese co-production.)
People are watching and noticing Hollywood’s bias towards white male directors. The selection pool needs to be expanded. There are women directors who want these jobs, and they need to be added to the lists.
We urge Disney to consider the following names:
- Jennifer Phang (“Advantageous”)
- Jennifer Yuh Nelson (“Kung Fu Panda 2” and “3,” “Darkest Minds”)
- Brenda Chapman (“Brave”)
- Karyn Kusama (“Girlfight,” “The Invitation”)
- Mira Nair (“Queen of Katwe”)
- Lexi Alexander (“Supergirl,” “Punisher: War Zone”)
Who do you think should take the reins of Disney’s live-action “Mulan”? Be sure check out our feature from earlier this year about why Disney’s animated “Mulan” still matters.
