The Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS), based in the Psychology Department at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) sought to examine the needs and opinions of disabled individuals in terms of media representation.

In a constantly shifting U.S. immigration landscape, ‘Telling Authentic Immigrant Stories: A Reference Guide for The Entertainment Industry’ is the latest edition of our comprehensive resource tool for writers, filmmakers, creators and entertainment professionals who want to tell stories that are both accurate and humanizing about immigrants. It includes best practices, detailed descriptions, multimedia examples, definitions, historical timelines, data and resources about specific underrepresented communities, as well as insight into evolving topics such as DACA and climate displacement.

The report, titled “Invisible in Visual Effects,” is the second in a partnership between Dr. Stacy L. Smith, the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and Women in Animation to explore women’s participation across industries. The quantitative study examined women working in visual effects across 400 top-grossing films from 2016 to 2019, focusing on overall prevalence and leadership credits. The study further explored women working in the executive ranks across 60 VFX companies.

In a world of information overload, stories have the power to grab our attention. They evoke emotions, relate to our experiences, transport us and make meaning by connecting seemingly random dots. Our minds aggregate those stories—from entertainment, art, traditions, our surroundings, policies and other experiences

In 2018, Define American began a research partnership with the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center’s Media Impact Project (MIP) that sought to identify and contextualize all immigrant characters on TV. As described in the report Immigration Nation: Exploring Immigrant Portrayals on Television, the study found that one-third of immigrant characters on TV were associated with crime in some way, and 11% were associated with incarceration.

Wealth inequality in the U.S. has increased tremendously over the past fifty years (Piketty & Saez, 2013), but the proportion of Americans who self-identify as lower- or working-class has remained relatively unchanged over the same time period (GSS, 2021).

When I first read Boyz N the Hood, I immediately connected to the material because I went to school in Inglewood and I knew these kids. The representation was authentic and true to the Black experience, both for the protagonists and for the antagonists, and I knew that with John Singleton at the helm of his own story, it would resonate in a big way. What I didn’t know is that authentic representation is so powerful, it changed the culture: Drive-by shootings plunged after kids were able to see themselves on screen.

The Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS), based in the Psychology Department at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), was commissioned to evaluate how STARZ, a global streaming media company, compares to the rest of the television industry in terms of diverse representation of gender, race, and their intersection on- screen, behind the camera, and among Senior Leadership. CSS’ findings indicate that STARZ’s diversity data for the reported categories is above the industry average in nearly all instances and in particular when comparing their diversity data for people of color (POC).

Race affects the everyday lives of all students in this country; it is at the heart of human identity, human conflict, and human healing. As educators, we can facilitate safe, open conversations, and move young people toward a better future. Through multiple sources, varying perspectives, and the analysis of facts, we must provide opportunities for students to learn, address our own implicit biases, and allow for deeper thought and cross-cultural understanding to emerge.