TV

Aaron Sorkin Is Getting Roasted For Just Learning Hollywood Has A Diversity Problem

"Are you saying that women and minorities have a more difficult time getting their stuff read than white men?"

by Meg Watson  27 March 2017

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In news that is somehow both extremely surprising and maybe not surprising at all: it looks like Aaron Sorkin has only just found out the film and TV industries have a bit of a problem with diversity and representation.

According to reports, the celebrated (and divisive) creator and screenwriter of The West Wing and The Newsroom spoke at the Writers Guild Festival this weekend and appeared completely taken aback at the suggestion some filmmakers had advantages over others.

“Are you saying that women and minorities have a more difficult time getting their stuff read than white men?” Sorkin said, in discussion with African American film critic Elvis Mitchell. “And you’re also saying that [white men] get to make mediocre movies and can continue on?”

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Though the quotes sound bizarre, perhaps even confrontational, Variety report that the screenwriter was “genuinely troubled by his lack of awareness”. Sorkin stated he had previously thought of Hollywood as a meritocracy, and listed a number of successful creators from diverse backgrounds as proof of a somewhat even playing field.

“You’re saying that if you are a woman or a person of colour, you have to hit it out of the park in order to get another chance?” Sorkin asked the audience. “What can I do [to help]? I do want to understand what someone like me can do … but my thing has always been: ‘If you write it, they will come.’”

Cool to know what the filmmaking process looks like for a well-off white dude!

Of course, there are countless studies and stats that show men — particularly white men — are extremely over-represented in the industry, particularly in its upper echelons. A 2016 study from the University of Southern California found that just 15.1 percent of directors in film and TV from the previous year were women, and male screenwriters outnumbered their female counterparts 2.5 to 1. That same study — which was released around the same time as the controversy of #OscarsSoWhite — revealed that just 12.7 percent of films in that sample were directed by people of colour and that there was huge correlation between this and adequately diverse representation on-screen.

“The film industry still functions as a straight, white, boys’ club,” the study stated. One of the authors, Stacy L. Smith, put it down to “who is greenlighting [film and TV] and who is giving the okay for certain stories to be told”. “When a very narrow slice of the population is in control of power and has the ability to greenlight a project, then we are going to see products and stories that reflect that narrow worldview.”

This isn’t really news to anyone else and Sorkin — well-meaning as he may be — is getting the appropriate serve for it on social media.

Many critics and fellow screenwriters are responding to the news with equal bemusement, with many pointing out that the seeming ignorance on the issue is in line with Sorkin’s prior comments and work.

The Newsroom came under particular scrutiny for its treatment of female characters and Sorkin (who wrote all the episodes) has previously spoken about his lack of concern about gender in texts. While there’s nothing necessarily all that wrong about penning scripts about Great White Men Being Great, it’s worrying that Sorkin hasn’t taken any time in his long career to look around at what other people are doing — or aren’t being able to do! — until now.