Things We Saw Today: According to this GLAAD Report, 2017 Was Not Exactly “Cinematically Woke”

GLAAD has released its annual Studio Responsibility Index, which tracks the “quantity, quality, and diversity” of LGBTQIA representation in film. It turns out, there was a significant decrease in representation between 2016 and 2017. Last year, only 14 films put out by major studios (12.8% of the total films) included LGBTQ characters, down from 18.4% the year before. And in regard to the T in LGBTQ, it gets even worse. In 2017, there were exactly zero trans characters in any major studio film. (A Fantastic Woman is an Oscar-winning film, but it’s an indie project, not from a major studio.)

Overall, 2017 showed the lowest representation since tracking began in 2012. GLAAD encourages studios to include LGBTQ characters, and not just “as subtext but as fully shown instead of being left up to interpretation.” You hear that, Marvel and Disney, with your bisexual Valkyries and your pansexual Landos? PUT IT ON THE SCREEN. (via The Muse)

• Noted anime fan Michael B. Jordan will be starring in an anime (inspired) show. (via i09)
• Have you watched Ali Wong’s Netflix comedy special yet? Her depiction of motherhood is both hilarious and ultra-realistic. (via Bitch)
• This is really cool: Sephora is launching free in-store beauty classes for trans people. It’s part of their Classes for Confidence program, which has previously provided resources for those re-entering the workforce or self-confidence through beauty in the face of cancer. (via them)
• The only reality shows I watch are British baking ones where no one yells or fights, but I love this article explaining the writer’s love of the ultra-toxic Bridezillas. (via Buzzfeed)
• Issa Rae recreated a bunch of 90s sitcom faves for GQ and it’s perfection.

• The Supreme Court just struck a major blow to workers’ rights, making it harder to sue your employer. (via PBS)
• Here’s some throwback inspiration from Michelle Obama:

What did you all see out there today, Mary Suevians?

(image: Sony Pictures)

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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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