A report on Hollywood films released
Monday found only eight major studio films last year included LGBT
characters essential to the film's plot.
GLAAD's Studio
Responsibility Index (SRI) “maps the quantity, quality and
diversity of images of LGBT people in films released by the seven
largest motion picture studios during the 2015 calendar year.”
Fourteen of Hollywood's 126 releases
included minor characters identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or
transgender, the group found in its fourth annual survey.
“Hollywood's films lag far behind any
other form of media when it comes to portrayals of LGBT characters,”
said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “Too often, the
few LGBT characters that make it to the big screen are the target of
a punchline or token characters. The film industry must embrace new
and inclusive stories if it wants to remain competitive and
relevant.”
Four studios, 20th Century
Fox, Lionsgate Entertainment, Sony Columbia Pictures, and Universal
Pictures, received “adequate” grades, while Paramount Pictures,
Walt Disney Studios and Warner Brothers received “failing”
grades.
The report found only 8 films pass the
group's “Vito Russo Test” named after one of its co-founders.
To pass the test, characters cannot be
solely or predominantly defined by their sexual orientation or gender
identity and must be “tied into the plot in such a way that their
removal would have a significant effect.”
Smaller affiliated studios fared better
overall, with 22 percent of films from studios such as Focus Features
and Fox Searchlight deemed LGBT inclusive.