Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

When the 2016 Oscar acting nominations all went to whites for the second consecutive year, #OscarsSoWhite became a trending topic. Yet these enduring racial biases afflict not only the Academy Awards, but also Hollywood as a whole. Why do actors of color, despite exhibiting talent and bankability, continue to lag behind white actors in presence and prominence? Reel Inequality examines the structural barriers minority actors face in Hollywood, while shedding light on how they survive in a racist industry. The book charts how white male gatekeepers dominate Hollywood, breeding a culture of ethnocentric storytelling and casting. Nancy Wang Yuen interviewed nearly a hundred working actors and drew on published interviews with celebrities, such as Viola Davis, Chris Rock, Gina Rodriguez, Oscar Isaac, Lucy Liu, and Ken Jeong, to explore how racial stereotypes categorize and constrain actors. Their stories reveal the day-to-day racism actors of color experience in talent agents' offices, at auditions, and on sets. Yuen also exposes sexist hiring and programming practices, highlighting the structural inequalities that actors of color, particularly women, continue to face in Hollywood.
This book not only conveys the harsh realities of racial inequality in Hollywood, but also provides vital insights from actors who have succeeded on their own terms, whether by sidestepping the system or subverting it from within. Considering how their struggles impact real-world attitudes about race and diversity, Reel Inequality follows actors of color as they suffer, strive, and thrive in Hollywood.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Booklist Review

Racial bias in the film industry is not only a trending topic but also a real and pervasive problem in the industry. A lack of diversity on either side of the camera results in films and television programs full of stereotypes and a dearth of opportunity for actors and other creative professionals of color. Yuen, an associate professor of sociology in California, investigates the culture of Hollywood, where those in charge are overwhelmingly white and male, and whose decisions and choices in casting, hiring, and programming reflect that fact. Her own interviews with nearly one hundred working actors and the published interviews she cites with such current celebrities as Viola Davis, Chris Rock, Gina Rodriguez, and Lucy Liu provide a personal look at what it is like to succeed in this environment. In addition to a persuasive narrative, there are suggestions for readers who wish to take action and a list of media advocacy organizations. Anyone interested in who is in the room where it happens and who is left out will applaud this thoughtful treatise.--Mulac, Carolyn Copyright 2016 Booklist