Diversity Sells: Summer Blockbusters Full of Diversity
posted by Kinaya Gibson | September 11, 2023 | In Arts and Culture, NewsSummer 2023 was a major money-maker for the film industry. Several blockbuster movies premiered ranging from Spider-Man: Into to the Spider-Verse to Barbie. However, there is a common thread between some of these hit movies, and it definitely has something to do with consistent diversity representation. Several movies this summer showcased characters of different races, genders, sexual orientations, and body types.
The Little Mermaid, Into the Spider-Verse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT): Mutant Mayhem, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts are a part of huge movie franchises that premiered this summer, and they all collectively had Black and Latinx leads and supporting cast amongst other various races and ethnicities.
Not only did they showcase a diverse cast, they let parts of these cultures influence their plots and settings. For example, hip-hop culture was very prevalent in Transformers and TMNT. Into to the Spider-Verse and Transformers also highlighted Latinx culture in their films. Into the Spider-Verse also gives viewers a chance to look into the experience of those who are in the Afro-Latino community. The Little Mermaid had one of the most diverse cast and characters. The seven daughters of King Triton represent the seven seas of the world. They represent a different culture from each of the seas. Even TMNT took things a step forward by turning their female-lead April into a Black plus-sized teenager. All of these movies have at least made over 400 million dollars world-wide, except for TMNT, which was recently released on August 2, but has made over 100 million dollars and counting.
The diverse summer blockbusters also busted a huge myth that movies by, starring, and aimed at women are not appealing. Barbie is not only the highest grossing film of 2023 with over a billion dollars made world-wide, but it is now the highest grossing Warner Bros. film history knocking down Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow Part 2.
The question now lies in if Hollywood will notice this trend and continue to reflect a diverse society?
Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures
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