Heroism, Race, and Minority Lead Roles in Global Cinema Blockbusters
Citation
Hart, Kayla. 2020. Heroism, Race, and Minority Lead Roles in Global Cinema Blockbusters. Master's thesis, Harvard University Division of Continuing Education.Abstract
The purpose of my research is to determine whether race primarily affects theoverall success of a movie across genres if the lead role or hero of the movie is of racial
minority status. Factors such as racial stereotypes and colorism are discussed as well as
the influence of Hollywood on global movie markets.
Based on the worldwide success of the 2018 blockbuster Black Panther with an
all-black cast, I aim to discern and sort through its factors of success to determine if those
same factors were present in other minority lead roles in top-selling movies across
different genres spread over an eight-year timeline. Total movie sales, marketing and
promotion initiatives, and published movie reviews are used to conclude if race really is a
determining factor as are other factors. These other factors include overall popularity of a
particular genre with a particular audience of movie market, or overall branding of the
movie when connected to a big franchise or major studio name in comparison to the
status of an independent film. Research was also conducted on why certain top-selling
domestic movies are not popular or marketed at all overseas.
My opinion is that race is indeed a primary factor as to why certain movies are
both domestically and globally well-received and others are not. The trends reveal that
while the race of the lead role or hero in the movie is indeed a factor, it is most often
times not the primary or even secondary reason behind a movie’s failure or general
unpopularity.
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