Turning on prime time television, we can see Gotham, Two Broke Girls, Sons of Anarchy, Reign or Once Upon A Time. While flipping through a magazine, we can see Taylor Swift, Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence, Miley Cyrus and many more. Although magazines and television shows both make up American media, they have another thing in common: both focus on white celebrities. Even though American society seems diverse and ever-changing, Hollywood remains stagnant. We're seeing some movement toward more diversity, but overall, most of what Americans see is white. American media lacks minority representation and cultural diversity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Most American television shows and films have an all-white main cast. From Two and A Half Men to Girls to Seinfeld and more, American television has often whitewashed its casting. A UCLA study found that, in the entertainment industry, "minorities and women are represented at rates far lower than would be expected given their percentage of the general population." Specifically, the report shows that "the proportion of minority actresses, writers, directors, and producers in film and television ranges from only one-twelfth to one-half of their actual population percentage." More interestingly, the study also found that shows or movies with greater diversity tended to attract more people, thereby attracting more viewers and ultimately leading to higher revenues. When minorities are selected, they often fall into a stereotypical role. We see black men playing thugs, Latino men playing drug dealers, or Asian men playing international drug kingpins. Black and Latina women are presented as servants or nannies, while Asian women are presented as meek and shy characters. For example, Viola Davis, a Tony Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated actress, felt that she would never receive a role outside of the stereotypes presented to her. She is best known for her role in The Help as a maid. However, recently she was cast as Annalize Keating in How to Get Away with Murder. After receiving the role, Davis said, "There's no way in the history of film or television that you've seen a character like this played by a black woman who looks like me." It's progressive. This is a first. Davis described his new character as complex and multifaceted, whereas all of his previous roles were not. It's worth noting that How to Get Away With Murder is co-produced by Shonda Rhimes, who "is arguably the most successful black television producer/creator/writer in history" (Deggans). Not only are minorities underrepresented on screen, but behind the screen as well. The UCLA study also focused on behind-the-scenes representation of minority groups. The study found that “as directors, they were underrepresented by a ratio of three to one. As film writers and creators of comedies and dramas on cable television, they were underrepresented by a ratio of five to one. This is an interesting statistic because most of the time we don't know who is writing.