There is certainly no place quite like Hollywood. The industry, which has given birth to some of the world’s most masterful pieces of art, has spent decades evolving into the very definition of glamour, influence, and even power.
As blinding as Hollywood may seem, it is not the glossy paradise we’ve all come to believe it is. Just like the real world, this industry operates under a brutal and frightening system, which many of us just don’t know about. What’s even more terrifying is that many of the atrocities that are happening in the world of Hollywood manage to slip into the cracks because no one is willing to change them. Mistreatment and moral failings, especially when huge investments are involved, are simply being tolerated by those within it.
Here some examples of the terrifying practices that go on behind the lenses.
GENDER AND RACE GAP
Gender and racial discrimination appear everywhere, and it is no different in “progressive” Hollywood. If you look at the statistics of prestigious award shows closely, you’ll notice that there is a huge gap between women to men wins and white to people of color (POC) wins.
The Academy Awards, for example, has only awarded one female with the Best Director distinction and given the Best Screenplay award to one person of color in its 91-year existence. Fortunately, however, this issue has been getting more and more attention in the past few years that it has begun to spark major reconsiderations on the part of award-giving bodies. Still, it has a long way to go. Altering a system that has been set for nearly a century will be an investment of time, patience, and perseverance, but what’s important is that it’s beginning to go in the right direction.
CRUELTY-FREE HOLLYWOOD IS A HOAX
This one is a little too hard to stomach, but Hollywood is certainly not 100% friendly to its animal talents.
According to several industry insiders, animals on set still suffer a certain degree of abuse and neglect while filming for a movie or series. Even big productions with big budgets could not afford to take care of animals involved in their projects. The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, for example, has been found guilty of damaging and harming several marine life during the course of their shoot. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, on the other hand, is responsible for the deaths of 27 horses. What’s worse is that everyone knows about it. The directors, the actors, and the executive producers are all well-aware of the abuse taking place within their sets. Even the American Humane Association, which was supposed to protect these poor animals from harm, is allegedly turning a blind eye to the matter.
AWARD SHOW CORRUPTION
Did you think that winning a significant award in Hollywood only took blood, sweat, tears, talent, and passion? Well, think again. As it turns out, getting your hands on one of the coveted trophies requires having the right network of who’s-who. Remember Pia Zadora? We don’t, either, but apparently she won the Best Newcomer award in the 1981 Golden Globe Awards, thanks to her husband, who paid off the award-giving body. Yikes!
Sad to say, but some of your favorite award winners made their way up the ladder not by breaking their backs to get into character or writing the most compelling stories or producing the most top-notch music, but by knowing the right decision-makers. Yeah, there is some degree of hard work there, but at the end of the day, making it in Hollywood still boils down to who you know.
There are clearly harsher practices in Hollywood, and many of them are too unimaginable that it’s hard to believe that some of our most adored names have been participating in the practice or tolerating it. The bottom line is, Hollywood isn’t an oasis of success, but a pool of unethical practices working together to create an illusion.
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