Aaron Sorkin is only just now finding out Hollywood has a diversity problem
The West Wing writer is a golden case of, 'talk about late to the party'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Nobody wants to be the last person in the room to get the joke, and neither should you want to be the last person in the room to realise that Hollywood isn't some magical gender- and race-blind meritocracy.
Despite having worked in the industry for over 20 years, Aaron Sorkin has only just now realised that people who aren't white dudes may have something of a harder time in the filmmaking business.
It's apparently an issue he barely knew anything about until he attended the Writers Guild Festival over the weekend; when he asked the painfully obvious question (via Variety), "Are you saying that women and minorities have a more difficult time getting their stuff read than white men and you’re also saying that [white men] get to make mediocre movies and can continue on?"
In a discussion panel hosted by radio host and film critic Elvis Mitchell, Sorkin was apparently in total disbelief that the situation could be anything other than, as he asserted, a complete meritocracy. Mitchell teased, "You may be confusing meritocracy with meretricious, happens all the time."
The panel then tried to move discussion on to another topic, but Sorkin was still fixated; later asking, "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?"
The story, at least, has something of a happy ending, as Sorkin's great revelation was swiftly followed by an offer of assistance. "What can I do [to help]?" Sorkin said. "I do want to understand what someone like me can do … but my thing has always been: 'If you write it, they will come.'"
An infuriating moment for any non-white male member of the panel's audience, surely, but if these kinds of cringe-inducing moments of education are what it takes to get Hollywood to wake up a little - well, we can just all do our best to suppress the sighs and eye-rolling.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments