Having just finished 3%, a Netflix show consisting of four seasons, the latest being released in August of 2020, I have to applaud it not only for its captivating dystopian plotline and developed characters but its beautiful diversity. Although it is saddening that seeing media with a diverse cast is surprising, I am glad that it is starting to emerge.
This Brazilian thriller/drama created by Pedro Aguilera takes place in a world separated between the ‘Inland’ and ‘Offshore’. While everyone lives in the ‘Inland’ impoverished, starving and struggling, every year every 20 year old has the opportunity to take part in the ‘Process’, a series of tests where the top 3% of people will succeed to go live in the ‘Offshore’: a man-made paradise. Initially, I thought to myself, a diverse cast makes sense; it’s set in the future, when the world today is already campaigning for most POC represented in the media, and in Brazil, a country where over 50% of the population considers themselves Black or mixed race. Right?
3% actually exceeds the current level of POC being represented in Brazil TV and Film. Istoe, a popular weekly magazine based in Sao Paulo in 2017 featured a ‘Brazilians of the year’ cover, or should I say ‘white Brazilians of the year’. People were angry that all 10 people, in a very multi-racial country, were white. It caused conversation about the lack of respect or appreciation for POC in the media, especially Black representation. For example, the 2018 Brazilians soap opera Segundo Sol (Secund sun) features a more than 80% white cast while being set in Bahia. Bahia has an 80% Black or mixed race population, making it the most Black state of Brazil.
The lack of Black representation in Brazilian TV is not new. The 1969-70 soap opera A Cabana do Pai Tomas is about the slaves and landowners in the USA South during the civil war, so should expect Black actors if Black slaves are written into the script. Although it did feature Ruth De Souza, the first Black woman ever to play a prominent role in Brazilians TV, her co-star Sergio Cardoso, the protagonist, was a white actors acting in blackface.
A theme starting to emerge here, prominently in TV shows such as soap operas. Deus Salve o Rei (2018) features only one Black actor and As Aventuras de Poliana (2018-) had the largest Black representation of its production centre has ever seen, which is only a 14.5% minority of Black actors. As Brazil has the largest Black diaspora population, this is not only shocking but disappointing. Ever since the abolition of slavery in 1888 (making it the last country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery), there has been no public policy put in place to integrate Black people into society. Black people in Brazil have continued to face police violence and make up 64% of the unemployed. The Black Brazilian community face injustices in a lot of aspects of their life, not only when it comes to turning on the TV at the end of a long day. This is what makes 3% special. Its diverse cast means watchers can see characters from their own country that they feel accurately represents themselves and their country’s population.
3%’s success brings in the question of diversity specifically within Netflix. Over recent months and years, Netflix has been under criticism for cancelling much loved ‘progressive shows’ like One day at a time or The Society. Kristen Marston, culture and entertainment advocacy director at Colour of Change, says that Netflix still has a lot more to due to follow ‘through their commitments to diversity and inclusion’. However, people such as Dr. Darnell Hunt, co-author of UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report, says that actually ‘compared to other digital platforms and networks, Netflix is ahead of the game’. Netflix’s 2021 Inclusion Report supports this. It talks about its partnerships with organizations with Techqueria, /dev/color and more that act to empower POC within the industry. Their 15 Employee Resource Groups and their Inclusion Strategy Team work to build towards greater diversity and equality within Netflix both on and behind the screen. They also acknowledge the work they have to do, such as giving more leadership positions to POC, since October 2020 data shows that 58% of US leadership within Netflix positions are held by white people.
I want to take this as a sign of hope. Yes, Netflix and TV, not only in Brazil but worldwide, has a long way to go in terms of inclusivity, but I want to take 3% as an example that things are moving in the right direction.
