Diversity in Hollywood is quite common yet very controversial. In a 2023 UCLA report, women have only directed 15% of theatrical films and 25% of streaming series, and South Asians were minimally represented in top films.
And that’s where we get to A24. Founded back in 2012 in New York, NY, A24 is an indie movie studio focusing mostly on unique storytelling and strong visual aesthetics. Recently, they’ve made a name for themselves in the movie industry, creating hits and even Oscar-worthy films like 2022’s Everything Everywhere All at Once, 2024’s Civil War, 2019’s Uncut Gems, and 2018’s Hereditary. Their films are, most of the time, amazing features, and that’s mostly because of the diversity in the film and the production behind them.
One of the examples of this is 2024’s I Saw the TV Glow. The film follows Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine), two teenagers who bond over a creepy, supernatural show called The Pink Opaque. When the show is canceled and Maddy vanishes, Owen’s reality fractures, blending his mundane suburban life with the show’s dark, surreal world, exploring themes of identity, repressed dysphoria, and the danger of living in the past. This movie is being used for its themes of Queer/Transgender identity and dysphoria. This film acts like a deep and personal allegory for the young trans experience, and the pain and repression of pre-transition life. The film is highly respected by critics, arthouse audiences, and especially the LGBTQ+ community because of its deep exploration of the trans experience. It might be because the director, Jane Schoenbrun, is transfeminine and nonbinary themselves. They created the film since it’s a deeply personal, allegorical exploration of their own transgender experience, according to A24’s official article.
Another example of diversity in A24 is their use of Black and Asian representation. The films being 2016’s Moonlight and 2022’s Everything Everywhere All at Once. Moonlight is a look at three defining chapters in the life of Chiron, a young black man growing up in Miami. His epic journey to manhood is guided by the kindness, support, and love of the community that helps raise him. The movie serves as a portrait of Black queer masculinity. whyy.org describes the film as more than an LGBT story, they say… “It subtly redefines who and what the black community is. Yes, there is violence, drugs, and poverty there. However, by focusing on the ordinary lives within a black neighborhood, we see fuller representations of black life.”
Everything Everywhere All at Once follows Evelyn Wang, a stressed, middle-aged laundromat owner facing an IRS audit, a failing marriage, and a strained relationship with her daughter, Joy. While navigating these, she discovers she must connect with alternate universe versions of herself to stop a nihilistic entity (Jobu Tupaki) from destroying the multiverse. Despite its insane plot, this Oscar-winning film is, what some call, a watershed moment for Asian representation. Consisting mostly of an Asian cast and revolves around a Chinese-American immigrant experience, intergenerational trauma, and family dynamics. As The Talon says… “The film masterfully melds modern-day Asian-American culture and traditional Chinese values, delivering a genuine and vulnerable statement that proves Asian stories and voices have a permanent place in mainstream Hollywood.”
Unlike a lot in Hollywood, where they are hesitant to take risks with diversity, A24 takes lots of risks with diversity in their films, whether that be race, sexuality, or disabilities. They are not afraid to put those differences on the big screen, and a lot of the time, they succeed. A24 proves that a compelling storyline is a main priority, regardless of its demographics or diversity.
