Viola Davis slamming the pay gap for women of color is fitting really, but it’s also another factor that continues to add to the mounting frustration that some people can’t or refuse to see. There’s no denying the fact that she has earned her place in the spotlight and is at this point a very influential figure in films. But the pay gap seems to be very real, and it seems that it is excluding some people from making the millions that are seemingly reserved for Caucasian actors. There’s a definite pay gap between them, though in some cases it amounts more to experience and star power than anything else. If an actor can’t act as well another person then they’re paycheck is going to be noticeably smaller. You wouldn’t pay an engineer that screws up a job the same as one that is consistently good at what they do would you?
Plus pay scale can always be affected by the budget of a movie as well. If the budget isn’t great enough then everyone could possibly suffer. But then again, the top talent would still take more of a portion than those that still sit beneath them in terms of pay. One thing I firmly believe in that kind of puts it all into perspective, at least in my mind, is that they all get paid way too much as it is. I won’t deny that actors and movie crews make magic happen when it comes to creating movies that people enjoy, but being paid $10 million or more, or however much people make per film, to play a part is simply too much. Viola Davis makes a very good argument about the pay gap, but beneath all of that is the fact that the top-billed actors still make more for one film than some people will see in their entire lives.
Is there a disparity between the pay that actors receive? Yes, yes there is. It’s something that needs to be addressed quickly and without hesitation. But in doing so let’s also review just why any one person needs to make millions of dollars for a role in a movie. They’re up at all hours shooting and working their tails off to produce a good movie, right? Still not a good enough reason as some would say since a vast number of people work around the clock to insure that they can feed their family and keep a roof over their head while making perhaps a fraction of what an actor could make in a day. There’s a problem with pay not being equal between different genders and races, right? That’s correct, there is a big problem with that since the pay should be fairly equal and based more on experience and mastery of their craft than anything else. But no matter how good they become, no matter how much they master the art of acting, they tend to complain about their money in a manner that makes those of us that are miles below their pay grade look at them with little more than confusion.
There’s a disparity in pay without a doubt. But really, do you feel sorry for actors that make millions of dollars a year?
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