by Alyssa Di Rienzo

Heightism is defined as any prejudice or discrimination based on height.  Sociologists and psychologists have studied heightism in America, and have noted that there seems to be a cultural and social bias against the short.  It is quite obvious that heightism also plays a significant role in the media.  It is almost impossible to name more than a few short celebrities.  Hollywood places heavy emphasis on height.  Famous actors are often tall, dark and handsome.  Female celebrities would not walk the red carpet without their 5-inch Jimmy Choo heels to create the illusion of height. Hollywood glorifies tallness, while condemning the short.

Daniel Craig

In the media, there is an overwhelming negative portrayal of short men.   Many actors have claimed that they have been denied leading roles because of their height.   In 2005, when Daniel Craig was cast as James Bond, the production company received heavy criticism, with critics complaining that the actor was too short to play the role.  Daniel Craig, at 5ft 10in, stands one inch taller than the average American male. Similarly, in 2012 when actor Henry Cavill was cast as Superman for the upcoming 2013 film Man of Steel, many complained that he was too short for the role, despite being 6ft 1in.   While Hollywood does not put as much pressure on women in this area, they often still subjugated to height discrimination.

Lord Farquaad (Shrek)

The media often pokes fun at short people, further emphasizing a cultural bias against short people.   There are countless examples in film and television today to support this contention. Short characters are often victimized for comedic value.  Lord Farquaad, the primary antagonist in the animated Shrek films, is constantly ridiculed for his height.   Comparatively, Plankton, the evil opponent in the SpongeBob series is also degraded for his small stature, and constantly stepped on.  (Also, note how the short characters are also almost always are the bad guys.)  This phenomenon does not only happen with animated features.  In the popular HBO show, Entourage, one of the 4 main characters, Eric Murphy is endlessly tormented by his 3 friends for being short.

Plankton (Spongebob Squarepants)

• Elf – In this film the little person is ridiculed by Buddy the Elf.  He is called the “angry elf” and is asked if he is from the “south pole”
• Project X – In this movie, a group of teenagers place the little person in an oven.

I think we all need to be reminded diversity issues concern more than just skin color or ethnicity.   We have to remember that while people may look differently, we must all be treated the same.

#embracediversity

by Candice Frank

What makes an environment diverse? A fulfilled quota? The“token [insert race here]” guy or girl? In my opinion, a place may be statistically diverse; but if the different types of people in that place never integrate, communicate, or work together – what good is diversity?

Despite the fact that there is a decent amount of minorities at Syracuse University, the campus is very segregated. Syracuse is known as one the most segregated schools in the country. College Prowler states:

“Although Syracuse may not be the most diverse campus around, there are a significant number of minority students here. That said, pure numbers and statistics do not determine the true diversity level on a college campus; intermingling between cultures is what’s important. However, Syracuse, like many other “diverse” universities, shows a distinct lack of social interaction between people of different backgrounds.”

Sadly, Newhouse is also very segregated. In my Newhouse classes, I work on projects and discuss class-related topics with my white peers, but once outside the classroom, everyone goes their separate ways and there is little to no communication across racial lines. I believe that diversity is not only about having the numbers to show that different types of people coexist in an environment, but it is also about how much integration takes place. Of course you can’t force people to get to know each other or hang out just as you cannot make kids play with one another on a playground. It’s human nature not to be able to connect with everyone. However, a place will prosper greater when two forces work together towards the success of one thing instead of two forces working on opposite ends of the same goal. This is the benefit of integration.

“Do you want a collection of brilliant minds or a brilliant collection of minds?” –R. Meredith Belbin

Furthermore, diversity extends beyond race. Newhouse is 60% female and 40% male. Gender imbalance can have similar negative effects as racial imbalance. Gender and race are just two of the many factors that make an environment diverse. Diversity does not exist simply because a certain amount of minorities or a certain amount of females coexist in one place. That place can still be heavily segregated. They must actively promote progress in that environment by working together. In a sense, diversity is not only about quantity, but it is about quality as well.  

If there is segregation, then diversity is useless. Diversity fosters progress while segregation hinders it.  I love my school, but Syracuse has not quite grasped this ‘integration’ aspect of diversity. A diversity initiative in each department of study would be a great start.

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” – Henry Ford

by Melanie Copeland

The Bechdel Test measures women’s relevance to a plot and determines female presence in Hollywood. In order for a movie to pass the Bechdel test it only needs to meet three simple requirements:

1. The movie needs to have at least two or more women in it
2. They must have names
3. They have to talk to each other about something other than a man

Simple right? What is funny about this test is that most of the award-winning movies fail the Bechdel test. Many of the movies are very good movies that I have watched and enjoyed, but like the speaker says in the video, “The test is best when used as a tool to evaluate Hollywood as an institution.” The test is used to reveal a problem in Hollywood.

I never once questioned the lack of woman relevancy in movie plots as a frequent movie goer. I think that I always accepted things as they were. It makes me think about how much of a patriarchal world we live in. I hope one day that this problem changes in Hollywood but it won’t until the leaders of the dominant companies become more diverse.

Another thing interesting about the test is that it can be adapted to show the lack of relevance of other oppressed groups like African Americans. Just change the requirements to this:

1. The Movie needs to have at least two or more African Americans in it
2. They must have names
3. They must talk to each other about something other than a white person

Let’s see how many movies fail this test.

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world” –Mahatma Ghandi

#embracediversity

by Kelvin Sherman

Recently, N.A.H.J., La Voz, and La L.U.C.H.A hosted journalist Sandra Guzman. Guzman is an Emmy Award-winning journalist with more than 10 years experience in broadcast, newspaper, and magazine journalism. She is the former editor-in-chief of Latina magazine, author of The New Latina’s Bible, and controversial former editor of the New York Post. Sandra is currently the editor-in-chief of her magazine, Heart and Soul; a magazine that talks about wellness for colored woman. She is also currently working on the HBO series: The Latino List.

     The lecture was amazing! Sandra talked about how she got her start in the world of journalism and how it takes persistence and going the extra mile to be successful in this competitive field. She also talked about the struggle of being a Latina in America and called for diversity in newsrooms across America. “ Minorities make up about 12% in news room . Not enough of us making decisions, so its up to us to get the story out there.” She applauded journalists who are getting out there in the news, whether they are Black, White, Latino, and .etc.

     At the conclusion of her lecture she answered several questions from the audience and one really stuck out to me. Someone asked what was her opinion about Geraldo Rivera’s comments on the Trayvon Martin case. “Geraldo Rivera’s comments shows how out of touch he is with today’s youth.” She alluded to afros in the 70’s and how they were stereotyped to be the look of rebellious Black people. She also called for justice in the case and for Trayvon Martin’s family. I had a question of my own and attempted to weasel out details of her pending lawsuit against News Corporations the “New York Post” and the paper’s editor-in-chief Col Allan for harassment as well as “unlawful employment practices and retaliation.”  She declined to give any details about it because its still ongoing, but instead she said the lesson is speak out against racism and agreed to come back to talk to me about it once it was over. I will definitely hold her to that!

by Candice Frank

I often hear my peers say: “It’s 2012, race doesn’t matter to people anymore.” Controversy about the recently released movie The Hunger Games says otherwise.

     The excitement for the release of The Hunger Games swept the nation in the past few weeks. The Hunger Games, a New York Times Best Seller by Suzanne Collins, was finally going to reach the big screen on March 23rd. I myself went with my friends to see the midnight premiere and loved it. I did not read the books, so I was interested in hearing the reviews of those who had done so. I was thoroughly disappointed to see some of the reviews of the fans.

      The Huffington Post reported: “Though the characters of Rue and Thresh were described in Suzanne Collins’ book as having “dark brown skin,” some viewers objected to the film casting black actors and tweeted complaints such as: “Awkward moment when Rue is some black girl and not the innocent blonde girl you picture,” and “Kk call me racist but when i found out rue was black her death wasn’t as sad #ihatemyself.” Other tweets stated that they would not support the movie once they found out that two of the characters were black.

  • • • 

     Actress Amandla Stenberg, 13 (black and Danish heritage), plays the character ‘Rue’, and actor Dayo Okeniyi, 24 (Nigerian), plays the role of  ‘Thresh’. I follow Stenberg  on twitter and once I heard about the racist fans, I tweeted words of encouragement for her. I told her to ignore the negativity and complimented her on her performance in The Hunger Games and her phenomenal acting in Colombiana. I may never know if she read these, but I know I expressed myself in a positive way.

     Nothing in the negative tweets criticized the quality of the black actors’ performances or tried to justify how the color of their skin would hinder the performance. Are their performances automatically deemed inadequate because of the color of their skin? I am appalled at the audacity of these tweeters, but glad that it is another eye-opening situation for Americans to realize that race still and will always matter.

The fact that racism is not as blatant anymore has many people in denial.

     However, I and other minority students are forced to think about race everyday. Our abilities are overlooked and, like actors Stenberg and Okeniyi, we are constantly judged by our skin color.

     So yes: in 2012 people are still unwilling to look past race and look at the bigger picture. Therefore, it is important that institutions like Newhouse have committees like the Diversity Committee that push to educate people about diversity and have an appreciation for it instead of unnecessary neglect.

#embracediversity

by Alyssa Di Rienzo

     Ever wonder if discrimination happens behind the cameras of major productions? The American film industry severely discriminates against women, specifically behind the scenes. An egregious gender gap plagues the industry and diminishes the value of the work produced in Hollywood.  The film industry has and continues to be thoroughly male dominated.  The statistics are troubling:

• Last year, a mere 5% of films were directed by women.
• Only 7% of the top 250 grossing films of 2011 employed more than 6 women behind the scenes 
• Just one woman, in the history of the American film industry, has won an Oscar for Best Director
• No woman has ever been nominated for best cinematographyin the history of the Oscars.
  

  Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman to ever receive the Oscar for Best Director

     As a TRF major, I am pleased to report that I have not noticed any gender disparities here at Newhouse.  The Television, Radio & Film major is full of talented individuals, both male and female.  The female students in my classes have achieved incredible accomplishments during their time here.

     I hope that one day the film industry will look more like Newhouse, with equal gender representation.  My peers at Newhouse have proven to me that females are extremely apt to be successful in the film industry.  In no way are women less qualified or capable of achievement in this industry.  I hope the female Newhouse graduates will be able to ignite change in the industry and to correct the unfair gender gap behind the scenes in Hollywood.

Here is a great video from 2010 that describes the situation, slightly dated with statistics and facts that are quite interesting: Celluloid Ceiling: Women Directors