Hollywood shifts away from progressive programming and DEI practices

Hollywood’s “progressive snowflake era” is over, with studios turning away from DEI and socially conscious programming, a New York Times column argued on Saturday. 

“Hollywood is rapidly shifting away from the socially conscious framework that for more than a decade has driven its narratives, casting and green lights,” editor-in-chief for The Wrap, Sharon Waxman, wrote in a guest essay for The New York Times.

Waxman pointed to the recent sale of an “anti-woke” reboot of the 1992 Paul Veerhoven film “Basic Instinct” as an example of how Hollywood is pivoting away not just from diversity, equality and inclusion in its business practices, but from a social justice-oriented outlook at the box office as well. 

She cited the Netflix show “The Hunting Wives” as evidence that Hollywood is no longer woke — proclaiming that everyone on the series is “hot, horny and white.”

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Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad is further evidence of Hollywood’s anti-woke shift, Waxman claimed. Upon the launch of the advertisement, both Sweeney and American Eagle received backlash, with critics claiming the ad was hinting at eugenics. 

However, according to Waxman, it failed to penetrate the Hollywood power centers in Burbank or Beverly Hills, and Sweeney was left unscathed from the controversy.

“It’s had no echo in Burbank or Beverly Hills, where not so long ago, Ms. Sweeney might have had to apologize for her insensitivity and make a donation to the A.C.L.U,” she wrote.

Waxman claimed that after a string of controversies that beset Hollywood — including the #OscarsSoWhite campaign and criticism of a lack of diversity among creators — the industry set out to course-correct by emphasizing diversity in its hiring practices and storytelling. Yet, the efforts to hire additional non-White directors, screenwriters and showrunners left many creatives in Hollywood feeling like they’d been pushed aside.

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“The new rules resulted in a strict if unspoken set of boundaries that tacitly put certain topics and categories outside the accepted circles of casting and green lights. It isn’t only that conservative groups gripe that “their” stories… don’t get produced,” Waxman said. “But I also can’t count the number of times I’ve heard quiet frustration from a reasonably accomplished white male screenwriter who felt cast out by the top talent agencies. In the process of “recentering” Hollywood, some people suddenly felt shunted to the side.”

Waxman said Hollywood’s shift had been a long time coming, predating President Donald Trump’s return to office. However, with the president’s return to the White House, the trend has accelerated. His administration’s fight against DEI has contributed to Hollywood studios abandoning the controversial policies. 

“At the talent agencies where Hollywood’s hustlers are out selling scripts and projects, no longer are queer writers of color, for example, so much in demand. No longer are preferred pronouns expected on your email signature,” Waxman said.