Think/Point/Shoot

Chapter 5Identities

Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class Privilege

Yoruba Richen

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to investigate how race, gender, and class privilege shape and complicate media-making practice. Topics covered include industry diversity, the politics of representation, and insider/outsider voices. The chapter presents effective strategies filmmakers use to showcase authentic voices and to tell stories by and about communities that have been marginalized and traditionally underrepresented in the media.

There has been a growing chorus of voices calling out the film industry for its continued lack of diversity in front of and behind the camera. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently launched an investigation into ...