The study examines the gender and race/ethnicity of directors across 1,500 popular films from 2007 to 2022, revealing an increase in the number and percentage of women and underrepresented directors hired to helm top-performing movies. The report also looks specifically at women of color working as directors.
The report investigated the prevalence and portrayals of Muslim characters across 200 top-grossing films released between 2017 and 2019 and 200 top international series from 2018-19. The research showed that Muslim characters were erased in popular movies, that portrayals lack intersectional inclusion, and that Muslims still face stereotyping on screen.
The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative examined the gender, race/ethnicity and age of characters in popular movies from 2007 to 2022. The results demonstrate where there has been change and where progress is still needed.
The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative's annual report examines the gender and race/ethnicity of artists, songwriters, and producers across the year's top songs, according to the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End Charts. The study also looks at Grammy nominations in key categories. The latest report covers 2012 to 2022
The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative conducted this study in partnership with the Media Neuroscience Lab (MNL), University of California, Santa Barbara, and the study was sponsored by Snap. The analysis is a multi-year, first-of-its-kind representation audit of English-language partnered content on Snapchat (content from traditional and digital native media partners). The team used a combination of computational methods and human assessors to understand how well gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+, and disability were represented in Snapchat content.
The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative partnered with Netflix to evaluate film and series content on screen and behind the scenes from 2018 to 2021. The study examines gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+ and characters with disabilities in Netflix content.
The Death Race series is a car combat franchise encompassing a series of films and other media centered on a reality show set in a prison, where inmates race against each other in order to win their freedom.
Death Race 2000 is a 1975 cult action film. In the near future, the ultimate sporting event is the Death Race. Contestants score points for running people down as they speed across the country. The sport has crazed fans who sacrifice themselves to the drivers. A covert group is trying to bring an end to the immoral Death Race and has infiltrated one of their followers into the race as a navigator of the top driver. In the end, the lives of the competitors, the President and the Death Race itself are in peril.
Death Race is a 2008 remake (although director Paul W. S. Anderson stated in the DVD commentary that he thought of the film as a prequel) of Death Race 2000.In the year 2012, the economy of the US collapses, causing unemployment and crime rates to skyrocket, and a sharp increase of convicted criminals, which leads to privatized prisons for profit. In 2020, Claire Hennessey (Joan Allen), the warden of Terminal Island Penitentiary, earns profits from the pay-per-view broadcast of a modern gladiator game called the "Death Race", with the prisoners as the players. The racers, along with their navigators, drive a three-part race over three days on a closed track at Terminal Island, with various pressure plates: swords activate the racers' offensive weapons, shields activate defensive weapons such as oil, smoke, and napalm, and skulls ("Death Heads") activate deadly metal traps which rise up from the track. The reward for the drivers is that if one racer wins five races, they will be granted their freedom by Warden Hennessey.[2]
Death Race owner R. H. Weyland (Ving Rhames) has been forced to sell the rights to Niles York (Dougray Scott), a British billionaire who acquired the rights by hostile takeover. York reveals that he intends to relocate the Death Race to the deserts of Africa. Before leaving, Weyland arranges Lucas to have surgery to heal the infected and deadly scars on his face sustained from the previous film Death Race 2. With Carl Lucas, a.k.a. Frankenstein (Luke Goss), one win away from gaining his freedom, York coaches Lucas to lose his race and threatens his life if he fails to comply.
I teach students in my race, sports and culture class that the most significant campaigns for racial equality in sports consistently have reflected the overall quest for civil rights in the United States.
One of the most highly touted documentaries follows the story of two Black high school students in Chicago and their dream of making it to the NBA. The film takes its time in poignantly telling a story that still too often pervades America. Yes, we often hear about the make-it-to-the-top legends of high school basketball, but here we have the other side: what happens when race, class and education result in heartbreak.
An African American coach takes the helm of a high school football team during its first season as a racially integrated unit in Alexandria, Va., in the 1970s. Denzel Washington, at the height of his acting stature, masterfully portrays Coach Boone in a rare Disney movie involving race. The film offers a defining example of how sports can help overcome prejudice, transform a community and inspire a nation.
Based on the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup, in which new president Nelson Mandela seeks to unite a country divided by race. The film offers us lessons in the power of forgiveness and transformative leadership. More than that, though, actor Morgan Freeman is amazing in how he portrays the international icon.
Amid 1970s government-mandated desegregation, gifted athlete Tony Nathan joins fellow Black students at a new high school in Birmingham, Ala. As violence erupts in the city, the football coach lets an outsider offer his players a message of hope and love. Definitely a compelling story about when race, sports and religion collide.
Considering Blomkamp used the gritty 1971 racing drama Le Mans to inspire Gran Turismo, it only makes sense to list it here. Starring Steve McQueen, the pic follows race car driver Michael Delaney during his exploits at the titular Le Mans, during which a fellow driver (and rival) was killed.
Jeff lives and breathes all things sports and entertainment! As a die-hard Seahawks fan and devoted Utah Jazz supporter, you'll often find him cheering his heart out for his favorite teams. Jeff's passion for movies is unrivaled, and he has channeled that enthusiasm into a successful stint at ComingSoon.net. When he's not immersed in the world of media, Jeff loves spending quality time swearing at his favorite sports teams with his family. He also loves hats.
The Fast & Furious franchise had, unsurprisingly, quite a few street races. While the bombastic series now includes space travel and parachuting supercars, it began with relatively humble roots. The original The Fast and the Furious centered on illegal street racing in Los Angeles. Despite the franchise expanding into a globetrotting action extravaganza filled with spies and government conspiracy, each film usually takes a moment to return to what it does best: street racing.
Arguably the most iconic and memorable street race in the entire franchise. In The Fast and the Furious, audiences are introduced to undercover cop Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) as he tries to infiltrate the street racing gangs of LA. His first race and the first race put to film is a drag race in central LA, where O'Connor tries to assume the identity of a street racer earning his stripes. The four-car race also involves infamous street racer and crew leader Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel). While O'Connor tries his best, his nerves and impatience see him using NOS too early and too often, blowing up his engine. Dom wins the race, but O'Connor wins Dom's respect and a way into his crew.
On the run after letting Dom escape, O'Connor kicks off 2 Fast 2 Furious, still competing in illegal street racing. The drag race introduces several main characters in 2 Fast 2 Furious, including Tej Parker (Ludacris), who becomes a franchise staple. O'Connor pits his Nissan Skyline against three other competitors, including Suki (Devon Aoki), who runs an all-female racing crew and becomes a good friend of O'Connor's. The route includes a massive bridge jump which only O'Connor and Suki manage to cross successfully. O'Connor wins, cementing him as a skilled street racer.
High school student, Sean Boswell (Lucas Black), leads the third film in the franchise: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. A film that would've been entirely different with Dom Toretto instead. The young driver gets sent to Japan after trashing his and a fellow student's two cars in an illegal street race. After butting heads over a girl in the school car park, Boswell and Clay settle their differences through a street race, with Clay's girlfriend putting herself up as the 'prize.' While initially belittling Boswell's 1971 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Clay has to eat his words after his Dodge Viper proves no match for Boswell's skill behind the wheel. Boswell technically wins, but both cars are written off in the process.
Not one to be beaten, Boswell continues to practice drifting under the tutelage of Han Lue. The crew he joins in Tokyo could even return after hints in F9. Boswell continues to practice in another Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution while working for Lue to pay off his debt for wrecking his loaned car. Eventually, Boswell gets his chance to prove himself again, pitting the Evo against Morimoto's (Leonardo Nam) Nissan Turbo. Morimoto is Takashi's right-hand man, and his loss to Boswell only deepens the rivalry between Lue, Boswell, and Takashi. Boswell easily outmaneuvers Moriomoto and wins the race hands down, leading to a rather embarrassing tantrum by Morimoto.
After a twisty narrative that follows Boswell's relationship with Lue and his rivalry with Takashi's Yakuza family, Boswell ends up racing Takashi again. This time the loser has to leave Tokyo for good. Takashi, still the Drift King of Tokyo, chooses to host the race on a winding mountain road that only Takashi has ever managed to get down in one piece. Takashi takes the lead initially but utilizing everything he has learned, Boswell manages to keep pace and take the lead eventually. Frustrated, Takashi starts to ram Boswell. The ensuing back and forth sees Takashi ultimately drive himself out of the franchise and off the mountain, leaving Boswell free to win the race and retain his place in Tokyo.
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