At SXSW 2018 April Reign, creator of the Hashtag #Oscarssowhite, sat down with Matthew Cherry, an independent filmmaker, and Robin Thede, a comedian and writer with Black Entertainment Television (BET).
They began the talk discussing Black Panther, the blockbuster movie that recently broke the $1 billion global box office revenue. Black Panther “shatters the notion that black films can’t travel,” says Cherry, going on to say that Black Panther not only had black representation in front of the screen, but behind as well.
Minority youth seeing the movie Black Panther may think “Yeah of course black people can be in movies, this is normal”, but Reign asks, “Is this a pendulum?”
Will this movement in representation be a moment like Blaxploitation, a subgenre of films done in the 1970s that starred African-Americans, or will it be long lasting? Perhaps breaking the $1 billion barrier that Black Panther did, means this time the change will be more lasting.
If this is to be different, Minorities need to be represented on a variety of film/TV show genres, Thede said. Mainstream media needs to represent all sorts of perspectives of what it means to be a minority.
For young minority youth considering going into the field of media, the consensus with all three speakers is that they need to “find your tribe”. Find the people that are at your same level of field knowledge, and work together to pull yourselves up.
Panelists also encouraged everyone to continue to use hashtags. Regardless of your age, they said, utilizing social media to get your voice heard can make a difference.
Reign shared a humbling moment for her when she introduced herself to Barry Jenkins, an Academy Award winning filmmaker. He stopped her mid-sentence and said, “I know exactly who you are. You [Your hashtag] changed the trajectory of my life.”
Valarie Gold is an Austinite filmmaker, editor, and media instructor currently working as a Program Leader with Latinitas. Follow her on Instagram @valariesnoise
