Turn on prime time television, we might see Gotham, Two Broke Girls, Sons of Anarchy, Reign or Once Upon A Time. Flipping through a magazine, we might see Taylor Swift, Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence, Miley Cyrus and others. Although magazines and television programs both constitute American media, they have one other thing in common: They both focus on white celebrities. No matter how diverse and ever-changing American society seems, Hollywood remains stagnant. There is some movement toward greater 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 Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Most American television shows and movies have an all-white main cast. From Two and a Half Men to Girls to Seinfeld and more, American television has often whitewashed its cast. A UCLA study reported that, in the entertainment industry “minorities and women are represented at much lower rates than would be expected given their percentage of the general population.” More specifically, the report showed that “the percentage of minority and female actresses, writers, directors and producers in film and TV ranges from just one-twelfth to half the percentage of their actual population.” Even more interestingly, the study also found that shows or films with greater diversity tended to appeal to more people, thus attracting more viewers and ultimately resulting in increased revenue. When minorities are cast, they often fall into a stereotypical role. We see black men cast as thugs, Latino men cast as drug dealers, or Asian men cast as international drug leaders. Black and Latina women are cast as maids or nannies, while Asian women are cast as meek and shy characters. For example, Viola Davis, a Tony-winning and Oscar-nominated actress, felt she would never receive a role outside of the stereotypes she had been presented with. She is best known for her role in The Help playing a waitress. However, she was recently cast as Annalize Keating in How to Get Away With Murder. After receiving the role, Davis said, “There is no way in the history of film or TV that I have seen a character like this played by a black woman who looks like me. This is progressive. This is the first time. Davis described her new character as complex and multifaceted, whereas all of her previous roles were not. It should be noted 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-led study also focused on the 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 comedy and drama on cable TV, they were underrepresented by a ratio of five to one. This is an interesting statistic because most of the time we are not exposed to those who write and create what we consume, so how could it matter? Minority writers have a responsibility to share their story and write better about characters who are part of the minority group. When a white writer attempts to write a black or Latino character,.