SATISFACTION WITH SCREEN MEDIA CONTENT IN CANADA

In terms of general satisfaction with the entertainment content currently available, 38%-51% of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour participants reported feeling ‘somewhat satisfied’, while only 20% or less in each group said they were ‘very satisfied’. Indigenous audience participants reported the most dissatisfaction with current entertainment content, with 14% of respondents indicating they are somewhat unsatisfied and 7% reporting feeling very unsatisfied.

DIVERSITY ONSCREEN

This study further explored satisfaction with entertainment content through the lenses of diversity and representation. By examining Black, Indigenous and People of Colour audiences’ perceptions and expectations of diversity and representation in entertainment content, this study contributes to a growing body of research that brings urgent attention to the insufficient and problematic address of equity, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of Canada’s Screen Media sector1.

I admire the thought and consideration of inclusion and diversity in media. I think it is important to create that normalcy for youth and society about the diverse culture we live in. More so in today’s time where there is a lot happening around us. I enjoy watching Indigenous shows, however they are not on the same quality level as most, are B-rated mostly. However, it has some interesting stuff regardless of quality. (Woman, 45-54, Indigenous)
A lot of things have changed. It’s good for my daughter to see herself in a positive light depicted on TV. Even if it’s not another child or young girl – another Person of Colour of any age, gender, station in life. These are always positive things and I’m happy to see that. (Woman, 35-44, Indigenous)

The underrepresentation of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour producers, creators and other stakeholders in decision-making roles in Canada’s Screen Media sector2 is of particular relevance to this study, as the perspectives occupying these roles shape the narrative landscape of the sector. Canada’s Screen Media sector remains dominated by straight, white, cis men, the harms of which continue to be critically highlighted by organizations like the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO)3 and the Racial Equity Media Collective (REMC)4.

Old ways of thinking, talking and doing. Generations of individuals have been taught that you can’t respect what is different. You can mock it, hate it, ignore it or in many cases, get rid of it. I can only hope that with time, how we think of ourselves, and others will finally reflect what is really good about our species. Fingers crossed. (EyeJournal participant, Man, 25-34, Black)

 
1    For example: Coles, A., & Verhoeven, D. (2021). Deciding on Diversity: COVID-19, risk and intersectional inequality in the Canadian Film and Television Industry. Women in Film and Television Canada Coalition (WIFT).
 
2    For example: Women in View. (2021, June). Women in View: On Screen Report ; Writers Guild of Canada. (2021). Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Report. WGC.
 
3    The Indigenous Screen Office. (2019). A Review of the Canada Media Fund’s Aboriginal Program: Key Trends, Stakeholder Perspectives and Future Directions. Communications MDR.
 
4    REMC & Inspirit Foundation. (2021, November 25). Racialized funding data in the Canadian film and television industry. Nordicity.
 

PERCEPTIONS OF DIVERSITY AND REPRESENTATION IN ENTERTAINMENT CONTENT

A majority of participants, in both the quantitative survey and the EyeJournal, strongly agreed that having entertainment content that represents one’s racial and cultural background is important. Most participants reported wanting to see broader, authentic representation of different racial and cultural backgrounds in entertainment content (71% strongly or somewhat agree) and that how one’s racial and cultural backgrounds are represented is a critical consideration.

This importance was stressed, in particular, for children’s content among both quantitative survey and EyeJournal participants. Most participants confirmed that children benefit from role models onscreen that reflect their racial and culturral backgrounds (36% strongly agree and another 36% somewhat agree), and that diversity and representation matter even more when watching content with or choosing content for children (29% strongly agree and another 39% somewhat agree).

My older son never felt confident about himself, his skin colour, but my younger son feels no different than his white friend. This is because I have made a conscious choice getting him to see content that is reflective of who he is and how it is normal to not look like most of his classmates in school. (Woman, 45-54, Indigenous).

The significance of having diverse and representative content available, especially for children, was particularly critical among Black audience participants. The importance of diverse and authentically representative content cited by Black participants signals an urgency, and the potential to strongly influence future behaviours. Indeed, while all participants agreed they would watch more content with broader representation and more content in which they could ‘see themselves’ more frequently, Black participants showed the strongest agreement across both options.

As for kids, there could be more strides made in representation in kids shows. Disney is one such example which is huge with kids. There are lots of kids’ shows that my daughter and other kids watch. While some of the shows have people of colour in them, they are often the ‘best friend, the neighbour, the sidekick, part of the ensemble cast’, but many a time and most of the time, they are not the main character of the show. The show is not named after them nor are they the lead. The only show that comes to mind right away where a Person of Colour was the face and name of the show was ‘That’s so Raven’ with Raven Symone but that was many, many years ago. (Woman, 45-54, Black)

When it comes to seeing oneself on screen, Black participants strongly agreed that they would watch more entertainment content if they saw themselves represented more frequently, at close to twice the rate of Indigenous and People of Colour audiences.

I worry that if my children don’t grow kind and accepting of people who are not like them, in the future there might be no place for them. All these kids today are learning it so early in life, that the lack of such traits in their personality may even mean that they’ll not be successful. (Man, 35-44, Black)

While EyeJournal participants, overall, expressed concern about the negative portrayals of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour characters, Black EyeJournal participants more frequently described current content that centres harmful stereotypes and negative portrayals of Black characters. Black participants detailed how these observations reinforce the importance of children having access to strong, authentic role models: it is not only the absence of seeing oneself on screen that is harmful, but the misrepresentation of one’s likeness through the repeated presentation of false, negative, and often violent narratives that give children a contracted view of who they are and can be. Moreover, EyeJournal participants frequently referred to the way media portrayals teach audiences about each other, which means that negative portrayals and the reinforcement of stereotypes are doubly threatening to Black, Indigenous and People of Colour audiences as they contribute to a society that may accept these presentations as fact.

I find that too often ethnic characters are used for rather negative stories like gangs, violence, abuse, etc. Too often they are chosen to represent stereotypes. We don’t see enough movies or series where the main character is ethnic and experiences a more positive life. Being a Black woman, I know we have more to offer than just our pain and our trauma. (Woman, 25-34, Black)

HOW IS CANADA DOING? DIVERSITY IN CONTENT AND CONTENT CREATION

All Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour audiences reported lower levels of satisfaction when it came to diversity in entertainment content.

Dissatisfaction with diversity in entertainment content is even lower for Canadian content, particularly among Black and Indigenous audience participants.

To better understand participants’ (dis)satisfaction, survey participants were asked to rate the importance of various aspects of entertainment content in which diversity plays a role.
For Black audience participants, it was most important that diversity be present in the principal/main actor (69%), the characters portrayed (67%) and overall cast/ensemble (64%), and the storylines (63%).

Similar priorities were reported by People of Colour audience participants, for whom characters (55%) were the most important, followed by storylines (53%) and the principal/main actor (51%) and overall cast (50%). Indigenous participants placed the most emphasis on screenwriters (42%), followed closely by storylines, principal/main actors and the overall cast (all 40%).

Jesse Wente, Executive Director of the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO), highlights narrative sovereignty as the key to bridging the gap of understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians, emphasizing that Indigenous people should control their own stories and the tools used to tell those stories1.

He explains, “Canada invests in its own narrative sovereignty in continuous and continual ways. This most often results in the erasure of Indigenous expression in all forms of art”2.

Indeed, the power of storytelling and concerns about the messages conveyed through irresponsible storytelling emerged throughout the EyeJournal entries from Black, Indigenous and People of Colour audience participants. Combined with results from the survey, particularly among Indigenous participants, it is clear that audiences recognize and prioritize the relationship between the quality and authenticity of onscreen representation, and who is telling those stories.

I feel that although we have made advancements over time with diversity, inclusion and representation issues, we still have a long way to go despite the major reckoning which took place last year [2020]. I feel that there still isn’t nearly enough representation across the board, but small strides are being made along the way. With respect to the media, there is still a lot of bias in the way People of Colour are depicted versus their Caucasian counterparts in similar scenarios. (Woman, 45-54, Black)

  
1    Bower, D. (2021). Writing his own chapter. Winnipeg Free Press; Wente. (2021). Unreconciled : family, truth, and Indigenous resistance. Allen Lane Canada.
 
2    Sinclair, N. (2021, September 22). Indigenous voices are changing the film industry. ‘Canada needs to sit, listen and watch’. MACLEAN’S.
 

With these priorities established, participants were further invited to report their levels of satisfaction with the way diversity is represented in those priority areas overall, and more specifically, according to their own racial and cultural backgrounds.

Participants expressed limited levels of satisfaction with diversity across the target areas of content creation. Significantly, for Black and Indigenous people, less than half reported feeling satisfied with diversity in the areas related to content creation (i.e., Principal/Main actors, Directors, Screenwriters) that they prioritized most. In other words, Black and Indigenous participants are not satisfied in the areas that mattered to them.

Media starring BIPOC casts with BIPOC creators that depict stories that are not trauma or race-based. Most BIPOC media/characters have their storyline reduced to their race and ethnicity, so to see more shows with BIPOC simply existing like in shows with white characters. (Woman, 18-24, Black-African)

A different pattern emerged among People of Colour audiences, who tended to express higher levels of satisfaction overall in each area related to content development, especially in those areas that Participants of Colour indicated to be more important.

Considering participants’ viewing platform preferences and their reported satisfaction with the diverse representation in the content offered by those platforms provides some insight into these differences.

As with diversity overall, participants expressed mediocre levels of satisfaction with diversity in entertainment content delivered across all platforms. Among those platforms, streaming services received the highest ratings of satisfaction with diversity, while specialty channels were rated significantly lower than all others.

When considering the differences in levels of satisfaction among participants according to representation of their specific racial and cultural background, the majority of People of Colour audiences—who consistently reported higher levels of diversity satisfaction across all areas of content creation—use streaming platforms for their content. These participants were more likely to report watching content in languages other than English or French, and choosing content from their or their parents’ country of origin. These viewing preferences are matched by the increased availability, variety, and local specificity typical of streamed content.

It is possible, therefore, that People of Colour audiences curate a viewing experience that better aligns with their expectations about diversity and representation.

In contrast, Indigenous participants expressed the most concern not only about who is on screen but what is onscreen and who is creating that content. Indigenous stories comprise significantly fewer of the mainstream media offerings3, and when those stories are presented, content development has not consistently been led by Indigenous creators (directors, screenwriters, showrunners). Although Indigenous participants reported similar overall patterns of platform use, they also reported a greater spread in the kinds of platforms used, which included consuming more content from offline sources, where programming innovation is slower to appear.


  
3  The Indigenous Screen Office. (2019). A Review of the Canada Media Fund’s Aboriginal Program: Key Trends, Stakeholder Perspectives and Future Directions. Communications MDR ; see also Sinclair, N. (2021, September 22). Indigenous voices are changing the film industry. ‘Canada needs to sit, listen and watch’. MACLEAN’S.