Broadcast networks in Australia and around the world that don’t embrace the diversity of their local cultures in their programming will lose audiences to other media outlets that address that need.
That’s one of the key messages that SAG-AFTRA official Adam Moore will deliver at an Actors Equity summit on creativity and diversity in Sydney later this month, marking Equity's 75th anniversary.
The US guild’s national director of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Diversity, Moore will deliver a keynote speech, Diversifying the Scene on Screen, at the Sydney Theatre Co on October 26.
“Global audiences are desperate for relatable and authentic content,” Moore told IF on the line from the US. “There is really no choice: the diversity among communities demands it.
“We work in the most visible workplace on the planet. If broadcasters don’t provide content that is an accurate reflection of who we are, audiences will find it somewhere else. There is more original content being produced by players such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.”
SAG-AFTRA represents more than 165,000 actors, announcers, broadcasters journalists, dancers, news writers, news editors, program hosts, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other media professionals.
In Moore’s view Australia is well placed to cash in on the global appetite for culturally diverse fare. “You can make your own work, whether it’s a web series, a short film or an indie film,” he said. “Just be truthful to your own experiences.”
He points to The Sapphires as a project that was perceived to be a risk for investors but paid off handsomely.
Moore reports considerable progress in the US in the representation of more black characters and black stories on screen.
He’s also pleased with the increasing depiction of multi-generational characters although he observes that trend is less evident with women aged 40-plus.
“We still have a long way to go in representing Native Americans, people with disabilities, people from Asia and South Asia and those from the Middle East are gross stereotypes for the most part, ” he said.
Next year the guild will resume publishing an annual survey of the employment of women and minorities. The report will include data from the past five years when SAG suspended publishing the survey after AFTRA discontinued measurng the employment of its performers. The SAG-AFTRA merger of 2012 have paved the way for the reinstatement of the reports.
Moore will find an attentive audience in Sydney, particularly among members of Equity’s diversity committee, which was formed last year to advocate the principles of diverse casting and to foster more opportunities for Equity members from diverse communities.
He is also moderating a panel at the summit, Casting away the Cliches, which will discuss steps to represent a proportion of the community that is still missing from Australian screens. Speaking are ABC TV director Richard Finlayson, casting director Anousha Zarkesh, film and TV director Peter Andrikidis, Free TV CEO Julie Flynn and performer Jay Laga'aia.