In a recent London Times interview James Patterson said that older white male writers aren’t getting work. No more familiar with subtlety in conversation than he is in print, the 75-year-old centimillionaire attributes the decreasing number of older white male writers on movies, TV shows, and bookshelves to racism. There’s simply no other answer…in Patterson’s world.
Never mind that old white men continue to dominate writing rooms for just about every television show on air. Older white men also write almost every production on
Broadway. So, yeah, old white dudes are kinda big in show-biz.
Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Leslie Jones and old white men
Richard Pryor was an irreverent pioneer who dealt with racism and social injustice through cutting humor. But his biggest grossing film, The Toy, was written by Francis Veber (old, white, and French). Almost all of Prior’s movies were written by white men. Eddie Murphy (purportedly) wrote Harlem Nights and Norbit. Meanwhile, Beverly Hills Cop was written by Daniel Petrie (not old at the time but quite white). Coming to America? Art Buchwald wrote that one. I’m 100-percent positive that Buchwald was born old and white. Leslie Jones’ biggest film to date is 2016’s Ghostbusterswritten by Paul Feig. It also begs noting that Hotel Rwanda was written by two white dudes.
If it works, what the problem?
On television, 95% of what you see is written by white men, no matter the subject matter or cast. CBS/Paramount TV’s All Rise, staring Simone Missick, (a woman of color) was created by an old white dude who also created such a hostile environment in which all the writers of color quit. Of course CBS took a measured, considerate approach. Just kidding. Network execs considered canceling the modest hit rather than FIRE THE WHITE DUDE CAUSING THE PROBLEMS.
Meanwhile stars Simu Lie and Jean Yoon have both expressed their exasperation and embarrassment for some of the things written for Kim’s Convenience. A show about a Korean Canadian family business, Kim's Convenience was based on a play by Ins Choi but his involvement was diminished with each season and white dudes did the majority of the writing. The proposed spinoff from Kim’s Convenience will focus on Shannon...the white girlfriend.
That's why I like comic books, they're so inclusive and innovative
I read a comic book written in the 90's (contrary to popular theory, NOT ancient history) Power Girl minimizes sexual exploitation in her impractically-revealing costume. She further infers that those with problems with her costume are insecure (women) or closet-perverts (dudes). Another story depicts fanboy-favorite Starfire glossing-over sexual assault—with a "hakuna matata" attitude. Of course both bits of drek were written by white dudes.
But, but, but, gay characters...
Just like in other media, LGBTQ depictions in comic books are flamboyant-finger-snapping-fabulous sidekicks. The characterizations are interchangeable with people of color who have a cutting wit or speak only in slang. Otherwise, the characters, (hardly actualized people) curiously cite distinctly white-cis-male views, often quite contrary to their self-interests.
Funny how he missed that
Patterson's most famous character is Alex Cross, psychologist and former FBI Agent. But Cross is African American so his achievements must be born of adversity. Not any adversity, mind you, it must be trope-specific. Cross' mother was a junkie and his father, her dealer. Cross pulled stickups as a juvenile. Inspite of it all, he bootstrapped to college and grad school and then onto the FBI. A bureau that is only 11% black with only 4% black agents and notoriously rigorous screening processes. Sure. Don’t even get me started on Cross trading racist sobriquets with bestie John Sampson.
Morons, morons as far as the eye can see
Movies, books, television—children’s stories, women’s stories, black/latinx/Asian stories, even LGBTQ—stories are all largely penned by old white dudes. Maybe Patterson has seen the fringe breakouts like Atlanta (written by Donald Glover) and Insecure (created/penned by Issa Rae) or maybe saw (of?) Ryan Coogler’s success with Black Panther and Creed and decided that “they” are taking over. He states this in complete oblivion to current events.
But the book is better (at bias) than the movie
I have written about the challenges I face based on shifting readership/taste. Caveat: I’m an old white dude. But that’s not why I remain unpublished. It’s a question of tastes and readership and interest.
Women make up the overwhelming majority of readers. Estimates vary between 60% and 75% of all fiction readers. Still, that’s just quibbling over where the ball landed in a blowout game.
The breakdown reflects popularity. Mysteries/thrillers remain hot, (55-60% female readership). Romance always sells, (85-95% female). Fantasy (45-50% female) and science fiction (22% female, seems really low) are specialty niches. But crime, hardboiled, gritty-street-level crime is a tough sell. Heist novels? Forget about it. Guess which genre I write.
The old writer-axiom is you go where the money is you’re loved. Donald Westlake wrote romance novels, erotica, and even suspense/thriller. But he was loved for his crime books so that’s what makes up the majority of his published work.
Elmore Leonard sold WAY more crime books than westerns. But he never lost his love for cowboy stories. He followed both his love and his fortune.
I could be published by the end of the year if I wrote a cozy or a conventional thriller or even a horror novel. Arogance? Sure. Truth, too I can turn a phrase and tell a story.
But that's not what I want. I already have a job for pay. I want to write what I want to read.
So why isn’t the money following the trend?
A 2021 Guardian article reports that 75% of new fiction is written by women. Again, this makes sense considering the steady decline in male readership. However men still dominate the “best seller” lists (70% of new fiction best sellers are written by men). Trust me when I tell you that the majority of those men are white and over 50.
Dangerously Stupid
Pose, Persepolis, Get Out—people of color, women, and LGBTQ folks are finally getting the chance to tell their stories across all media in popular culture. People writing stories about people—not characters—where the people don’t have to be “snappy”or “fabulous” or accessories. The idea that this represents a threat to white male writers is not only absurd, in the age of "white-replacement theory," it’s deadly.
What has changed
We all want to see ourselves in our entertainment. We want Grey’s Anatomy written by people who “get” us because they are us, not “a very special episode of Punky Brewster” written by Bill Smith. The success of Hamilton reflects audience desire to see ourselves on stage just as did School Daze and Do the Right Thing reflected our desire to see ourselves on screen.
Always a job for men with skills
Bosch, The Sopranos, The Old Man—I can go on—all reflect “dad” shows written about men of a certain age, by men of a certain age, for men of a certain age. Twelve Angry Men was revived on Broadway. Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, and Tom Cruise continue to crank out dad movies. Much of all of what I cite is based on dad books.
So, no neither racism nor ageism represent an impediment to old white men in the writing game. Writing white-male stories for non-white-non-male audiences, as clearly demonstrated, is NOT an impediment to old white men in the writing game. Patterson is voicing fear of sharks from his mansion on the mountain. The rest of us are building a bigger table with more to offer everyone.
The photo at the top, Alex Cross movie poster, is the property of Summit Entertainment/Lionsgate. It is used here for educational/instructional purposes as covered by the Fair Use Doctrine.
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