The top-grossing films of 2021 saw a “slight rise” in BIPOC women representation. According to San Diego State University’s “It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World, Even in a Pandemic Year: Portrayals of Female Characters in the Top U.S. Films of 2021” study, representation of female protagonists and BIPOC women in 2021’s top-grossing films have “ticked up” slightly from the previous year. The annual study found that that Black females comprised 16.4% of all major female characters in 2021, which is up from 13.2% in 2020; the percentage of major Latina characters doubled, rising from 5.7% in 2020 to 12.8% in 2021; and the percentage of major Asian and Asian American females increased from 5.7% in 2020 to 10% in 2021. The report attributes the rise of on-screen representation of Latina and Asian and Asian American women to films like Encanto, In The Heights, West Side Story, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Minari, and Mortal Kombat. YPulse’s Representation in Action trend research found that the majority of BIPOC young consumers think more TV shows / movies should star non-White actor / actresses. (Deadline)
