As we experience life, we discover issues and question why they exist. Why is something non-beneficial to the masses standing the test of time? What is the reason? How could so many people who discovered this issue look the other way? If they didn’t ignore it, how could so many people fail at eradicating a problem that will benefit the majority? These questions are excellent to ask. The bad part is becoming one of the people on the other side of the question. We become another of the many people on the other side that failed to solve the problem. We’ll be yet another person who perpetuates an issue, instead of fixing it. There are many examples of this, but in this blog, we’ll discuss perpetuating problems in entertainment, the corporate world, and our families.
The entertainment industry is full of issues that have existed as long as the industry has existed. In acting, there is the issue of gatekeeping. Gatekeeping is the activity of controlling, and usually limiting access to something. Gatekeeping in acting involves picking and choosing who will get an opportunity to do what they love. We are talking about skilled individuals. We are not talking about the unskilled who have not prepared themselves for the chance. The people who get on the other side of the gate possess the power to change the barrier to entry.
The problem? They don’t. They don’t because they paid the old cost, and the people who come after them should pay the same or more. It sucks because this is the attitude of most of the people who get past the door. In music, there are seemingly endless stories of the artist entering terrible contracts and making little to no money from their art. How can this continue to occur? Artist A enters the industry and signs with a record label. Artist A signs a terrible contract but has a successful debut release. Artist A makes no money but gains contacts in the industry and then starts a record label. Artist A then signs Artists B, C, and D to contracts worse than theirs. This scenario is how it happens. Artist A accepted their bad contract as “the way” the business operates and decided to subject their artist to the same.
The corporate sector is still a good ole boys club. “Good ole boys” means dominated by old white men. There are talented people of all sexes and skin colors, but the road is much different for them. It is a constant uphill battle. They need to be twice as good, work twice as hard, and be overqualified to qualify for the jobs they seek. They must swallow being overlooked for promotions and deal with salary boosts that don’t quite match their white male counterparts. How can this change? A white male deciding their company’s upper management will resemble the current look of America as a start. A non-white male who made it to executive-level management will need to become an advocate for diversity in the workplace. What actually happens? The white male hires and places more white males in positions of power because they identify more with people who look like them. This statement is the case with everyone, but when only one type of person is hiring and promoting, the look of the workforce can lose variety quickly. The non-white person who makes it to the top or as close as could, should rock the boat and attempt to invoke change but succumb to the notion that one non-white is better than zero.
Lastly, and maybe most important, the family curses and issues we allow to persist through generations. Alcoholism, gambling, abuse, inability to express love, habits of letting negativity stick around, living in the past, and competing with each other instead of building together are just some of the issues we perpetuate. When we are part of or start a family of our own, we have the power to be the change agents that can remove negative traits from our family trees. One generation can wipe out five generations of pain, misguided lifestyles, and mishandled funds. It can also be another generation of negativity that spawns doom over the lives of the coming five generations. It is absolutely our choice.
In closing, the only way change for the better can occur is for us to make a change for the better. The easy road is only given to whoever is willing to pay the price that the person offering the opportunity has paid, looks like the person with the opportunity, or a person lucky enough to be born into a family that can supply an easier road. The good thing about this issue is that we don’t need everyone to be the change. We only need a couple of people to dare to stop perpetuating a problem that is more than fixable. The problem have overstayed their welcome. You can be the change in the entertainment industry. You can be the reason for one of the most diverse work forces in your industry. You can be the reason your family rids itself of generational curses and provide an easier road for the generation to come. Are you one of those people?
Food for thought. You do the dishes!
