The Real Meaning of "DEI Hire"

This message is for all the people complaining about DEI. Here's what you're really trying to say:

"I'm sick of all these (insert racial slur). They're what's ruining America. They're taking what's mine."

You use coded words like "Woke" or "DEI". But don't you stick your chest out and tell us what you really mean?

For too long, we've allowed insults to be railed against us. In the form of softer language. This Double Speak enables social power to be taken away from people who've never had much of it. So let's not entertain the notion that DEI and Wokeness went "too far."

It's only been around for 5 years.

In that timeframe. Much of the DEI efforts were what I like to call "window dressing."

Brown faces in front of white initiatives.

Corporate DEI was run as a PR stunt and a money grab. One that was never meant to promote real opportunities and equity. A salve on a wound that requires deep surgery.

This week, I will detail what this means for us, the entertainment industry and the creatives who work in it.

THE BEGINNING

"DEI Programs" have essentially been around since the Civil Rights Movement. Policies like Affirmative Action have been created to provide opportunities for people who have historically had few. Each policy has been fought against by saying they "go too far" or are "discriminatory". Sounds familiar?

Even though the main benefactors of them are white women. Which aligns with my theory that they will be the next wave of "diverse filmmakers" in Hollywood (and mostly rich ones).

The beginning of DEI as we know it today came after the murder of George Floyd. This traumatic event ushered in the beginning of what we foolishly believed would be a racial reckoning. Companies pledged to examine their policies and give support to the following:

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

We were hopeful that maybe things would be different this time. We were hopeful that doors would be opened. That for us in the entertainment industry. More of our stories would come to the forefront.

This would not be the case.

WINDOW DRESSING

I am going to approach this from the entertainment industry. Since that is my area of knowledge.

DEI was our trauma monetized, and then discarded.

For all of the platitudes and promises. People of color were never given a fair shake. A few outliers were given funding and access. But always less than their white counterparts. We were given extra crumbs and told to make a meal.

Something I witnessed firsthand when making Gabriela.

On top of this, our stories were often defined for us. Primarily in the form of depicting our traumas on screen. While this was necessary.

It doesn't encompass all of who we are.

Yes, the people who fall into the category of Other have been abused and traumatized by the white supremacy of this nation. That abuse needs to be exposed. But we also need our joy, love and dreams exposed to the world. But as the world was fighting the pandemic. Media became necessary to get through it.

And trauma is, by and large, what was purchased.

While the faces of the Other were allowed to be actors and directors. Our stories were mostly financed and controlled by white executives. Executives who thought the explosion of viewerships during the pandemic was the new normal. And they ran up their credit cards putting our faces in front of screens.

Which blew up in their faces.

A FALSE GOLD RUSH

In case any of you are confused. Here's what happened to Hollywood:

Executives thought because of the pandemic, everyone wanted to watch everything at home. Spurred by low interest rates, they took on debt to create lots of media to be shown at home. They ruined theatrical windows and went all in on creating their own streaming platforms. Platforms that had plenty of "diverse content" in order to capture audience. This was part of their "commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion."

Then, the pandemic was over and we all went outside again. Viewership on the platforms plummeted and the costs associated were too high to keep them running. So the solution was simple:

They began to blame DEI for ruining their business.

Think about this. We were asked to show our stories. Given mandates on what stories we could create. Then blamed for ruining the entire industry.

Because we provided what was asked for.

This reverberated across the entire country. It was started by the heads of large entertainment companies blaming DEI. Then, the right-wing picked it up on social channels and podcasts. The virus began spreading. Infecting a wide array of people who normally wouldn't pay attention to any of this. Leading to where we are now:

Blaming DEI for plane crashes and the price of eggs. And thinking trans people are coming for your children.

Which is really code for:

"We let too many of those ni**gers have a say. Time to put them back in their place. Because they might do to us, what we did to them."

WHEN HISTORY ECHOES

There is an old saying:

“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

We have been witnessing an era where weak men (because they are mostly men) are masquerading as strong men. But make no mistake:

They are weak and refuse to admit it.

They are thin-skinned, spiteful, and narcissistic. They will create hardship for all the rest of us, gaslight us to believe it's our fault, and then promise to fix it.

Where they will continue to break everything even more.

We are in for hard times - all of us. But we have been here before. Out of the ashes of this terror will emerge strong people. Who will not work to rebuild what was torn down.

But will build something even better.

For myself as a filmmaker. I see a hard but necessary road ahead. Filmmakers have been giving away our power in exchange for money and access. Our work costs money. So we do anything in order to get it. But now, that money is not there for us. The film industry is owned by tech companies. Those companies have all decided:

We want to make sure we're safe from the current administration. We're doing nothing that looks like DEI.

This means more Taylor Sheridan-style shows where Brown faces will be present to promote American propaganda. But nothing that looks "controversial." Which will further increase audience distaste and eat into their profits. This will blow up in their faces and they will start reversing their policies.

But this time. We should not take the bait.

How do we filmmakers, who begged for their blessing and attention, go forward? We realize that they need us more than we need them. We create our own agency by staying completely independent in our work. We build our own networks and audience. Because here is the truth:

They are not buying our work anyway.

The industry machine is closing the door on us in favor of producing their own work. So let them have it. This means we examine the tools and resources at our disposal and go our own way. This might mean some of our ideas get put to the side or scaled down. This means connecting with our local communities and theaters. It means that we don't work to get as much money as we can.

We work to build agency, community and impact. Which is where real wealth lies.

We have power and agency. It's time to use it. It's time to get out of this pyramid scheme and build a sustainable environment.

And for those who are upset about all things DEI. Congratulations. You've won. You have conquered wokeness and received your reward of white supremacy. You can feel relieved that you now get to openly say all the ethnic slurs that you've been wrongfully denied for so long.

We hope you enjoy it. Because we enjoy seeing who you really are. And we know this great victory won't solve the hollowness of your existence.