Seeing Ourselves: Reflections on Diversity in Australian TV Drama, Screen Australia, 2.2 Disability Status 15 2016
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Seeing ourselves Reflections on diversity in Australian TV drama Contents © Screen Australia 2016 ISBN: 978-1-920998-32-5 Introduction 1 Executive summary 2 The text in this report is released subject to PART 1. Setting the scene 6 a Creative Commons BY licence (Licence). 1.1 About this report 6 This means, in summary, that you may reproduce, transmit and distribute the 1.2 The Australian population 7 text, provided that you do not do so for commercial purposes, and provided that PART 2. Benchmarking diversity 8 you attribute the text as extracted from 2.1 Cultural background 10 Seeing Ourselves: Reflections on diversity in Australian TV drama, Screen Australia, 2.2 Disability status 15 2016. You must not alter, transform or build 2.3 Sexual orientation and gender identity 17 upon the text in this publication. Your rights under the Licence are in addition to any fair 2.4 Diversity behind the scenes 19 dealing rights which you have under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth). PART 3. Challenges and opportunities 20 For further terms of the Licence, please 3.1 Commissioning and production 21 see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Risky business 21 by-nc-nd/3.0/. You are not licensed to distribute any still photographs or videos Channelling the audience 22 contained in this document without the Who’s pitching diversity? 24 prior permission of Screen Australia. Expanding opportunities online 24 Metropolitan TV ratings data is copyright 3.2 Writing for diversity 25 to OzTAM and Regional TV ratings data is copyright to RegionalTAM. Data may not be Towards authenticity 25 reproduced, published or communicated in Getting diversity into the script 26 whole or part without the prior consent of OzTAM or RegionalTAM. The importance of research and consultation 27 3.3 Casting and performance 28 Cover image: Love Child Barriers to diverse casting 28 The talent pool 29 Who plays what? 30 Researching roles 33 PART 4. International comparisons 34 4.1 Overseas experiences 34 4.2 International benchmarking 37 Appendices 38 Introduction Underbelly: Infiltration WHOSE STORIES ARE OUR criticising the glacial pace of change in the diverse) Australians because there were TV sector. so few ‘avatars’ for them on television. He TV dramas exploring? What declared: “if tonight means anything it's Australia has one of the most culturally that as far as the Australian public, our experiences are their creators diverse populations in the world, with at audience, is concerned, there's absolutely drawing from? What kinds of least 32 per cent from non-Anglo-Celtic no reason why that couldn't change.” characters are we asked to backgrounds. Further, more than one in 10 Australians now identify with diverse TV drama, of course, is not ‘real life’. It identify with? Who is being cast sexual orientation or gender identity; and is developed, commissioned, financed, in roles that seek to capture our just under one in five people report having scripted, cast, directed, edited, imaginations? a disability. programmed and marketed as a carefully constructed product. Any number of The image of Australia that is reflected Commentators are questioning why our decisions along this pathway shape the to us on television has been the subject of TV dramas are not reflecting the diversity final content that reaches our screens. much recent debate, headlined by some that is now such a ubiquitous feature of What is influencing these decisions around impassioned speeches at the television our workplaces, schools, commutes and which stories matter, what audiences industry awards night, the Logies. neighbourhoods, and, for many of us, our want and, indeed, what characters our own family backgrounds. In her 2015 Logies acceptance speech audiences will and can identify with? Aboriginal actor Miranda Tapsell called Is the TV production industry merely This report aims to provide useful for Australia’s screen industry to “put responding to consumer demand and benchmarks for the industry on questions more beautiful people of colour on TV audience expectations? Screen Australia’s of diversity. It also explores some of and connect viewers in ways which 2013 Hearts & Minds study revealed the potential barriers that have limited transcend race and unite us”. The 2016 a perception amongst audiences that change. We know this is an issue that will Logies saw further voices added to mainstream Australian content failed to require an industry-wide approach. The this, including Waleed Aly’s powerful reflect the multicultural reality of urban support for this study across the industry acceptance of his Gold Logie award on life. At the Logies, after winning the has suggested a great willingness to behalf of all the people in the industry popular award, Aly said he felt that his engage with the issues – we seek to carry with “unpronounceable names” and Hall nomination carried the expectations of this enthusiasm and momentum forward. of Fame new entrant Noni Hazelhurst many CALD (culturally and linguistically 1 Executive summary TELEVISION MATTERS Little Lunch because it is so much a part of contemporary daily life, and television drama matters in particular because of its capacity to create emotional connections, insight and identity. It reflects our sense of who we are as a society, and who we might be. Screen Australia is seeking to establish benchmarks for current levels of diversity in Australian TV drama through analysis of the main characters in five years’ worth of programs. The study also draws on a series of surveys and face-to-face consultations were on screen for a significant proportion set out in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, to explore the challenges and opportunities of the running time. The average number which was revised to incorporate sexual involved in making TV drama more broadly of characters analysed was eight, orientation, gender identity and intersex representative of Australian society. excluding the serials Home and Away status in 2013. Diversity, by definition, is about (Seven) and Neighbours (Ten) where the HOW DID WE DO it? multiplicity and means different things average was 36, due to their long-running in different contexts and to different nature (around 117 hours of each screened Each character’s cultural background people. The ultimate aim is that all of the per year) and large ensemble casts. was established using a set of indicators – many and varied voices in the Australian the character’s name, family background, Screen Australia identified the main community have the opportunity to be story elements, language spoken, accent characters using program websites and represented though screen content, and visible attributes. Disability, sexual other publicity materials, and verified regardless of things such as gender, age orientation and gender identity were each list of main cast with the relevant group or where they live. established primarily through story broadcaster. See appendix 3 for a full list elements, as well as visual cues where The research focuses on three aspects of programs analysed. relevant. All character analysis was of diversity: cultural background, Each character was examined to identify verified by the relevant broadcasters. disability status and sexual orientation/ cultural background, disability status and gender identity. See ‘Scope’, page 6, for The cultural backgrounds of the 988 sexual orientation or gender identity. further discussion. actors who played the 1,961 main Four broad classifications were used to roles were also analysed. Each actor’s define cultural background: Australian own country of birth and that of their Benchmarking Indigenous, Anglo-Celtic, European and parents were identified, initially through on-screen diversity non-European. These categories follow direct surveying of the actors, through those established by the Australian Human their agents and through the Media The benchmarking in this study is based Rights Commission1 as appropriate in light Entertainment and Arts Alliance. Where on analysis of 1,961 ‘main’ characters of Australia’s demographic history, and direct responses were not available, from 199 Australian TV dramas broadcast reflecting the main waves of immigration public sources were used including official on public, commercial free-to-air and that have primarily shaped the composition biographies and media quotes. subscription television between 2011 and of Australian society today. 2015. Children’s dramas and comedies Following the lead of the Australian were included, but animations were Identification of disability followed the Human Rights Commission, we have excluded due to the number of non-human definition set out under the Disability erred on the side of counting more characters. Discrimination Act 1992, incorporating cultural diversity than less. Where physical, psychological, intellectual and someone has mixed heritage we have ‘Main’ characters were defined as those sensory limitations, restrictions and favoured counting them as European who appeared in each episode, give or impairments, whether temporary or rather than Anglo-Celtic, or as non- take a small margin. For telemovies and permanent. European rather than European. Again, ensemble shows such as It's a Date they the cultural backgrounds of actors were were the characters with a significant Identification of sexual orientation and checked and verified by the relevant number of speaking lines and/or those who gender identity followed the definitions broadcasters. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY For more information about THE NUMBErs • Characters