Global Samosa: P&G's 'Widen the screen' to confront stereotypes against black people

The film has been released to announce the launch of a P&G initiative to increase and widen the inclusion of black people across all aspects of the media industry.

The representation of black people in the media is an ongoing racism problem that gives birth to damaging racial stereotypes. To call out such prejudice, P&G debuted a new film named ‘Widen the Screen” with a call to action to present a more joyful side of the black life beyond common stereotypes. The film has been released to announce the launch of a P&G "Widen the Screen" initiative to increase and widen the inclusion of black people across all aspects of the media industry.

As part of the initiative, P&G is teaming up with LeBron James’ production company, the Tribeca Film Festival, to make scripted stories that tell tales of racial stereotypes, Queen Latifas’s production company to create a series of four new films with four new directors and Spring Hill Entertainment which is a Black-owned film production studio to tell stories of black boys and what they can achieve beyond sports. The film ‘Widen the Screen” intends to showcase the reality of a black life rising above the racial stereotypes. “Black stories are often portrayed as either struggle or triumph”, P&G said in a statement.

In the film, Mahershala Ali narrates three stories; one is about a black man in a car, another showing a group of three black teenagers in a store, and the last being of a black woman with her kids. As the narrative proceeds, the viewer can see the black man in the car is on his way to a little girl’s birthday party, the teenage boys at the store waiting for their friend to get out of the bathroom, and the black woman with her kids waiting for her husband to pick them up. With the narrative, P&G reveals the honest lifestyle of a black person, undoubtedly similar to any other human being.

Beyond these films, P&G is also working towards diversifying its media supply chain by increasing its investment in Black-owned media companies and collaborating with programs like the One Club for Creativity’s one School Initiative, aiming to help foster black talent in the field of advertising.