In Hollywood there is also a lack of representation among executives because most of the power resides with ethnically white people. Brent Lang and Dave McNary believe that black films are usually not picked up by studios because very few people in positions of power are black. Therefore, most movie studios do not understand what would appeal to black audiences. This causes analysts to underestimate the profit potential of black films, driving executives away from interest in pursuing black film projects. Examples of black film profits far exceeding forecasts are found in this quote from their article, How Tracking Fails Diverse Movies: “‘Straight Outta Compton’s $60.2 Million Debut Was About $20 Million dollars more than most industry publications predicted. “War Room,” a faith-based drama about the power of prayer, more than doubled forecasts with its $11.3 million launch. And last weekend's champion, Sony's "Perfect Guy," exceeded expectations by nearly $15 million when it opened with $29.4 million” (Lang and McNary). The history between whites and blacks in America comes into play with the existence of a phenomenon called the “Hollywood Plantation Agreement” which alludes to the relationship between black slaves and white slave owners before the Civil War. This idea describes how “the relationship between African Americans and white Americans is rooted in a tradition of ownership, leadership, and responsibility” that “directly influences African Americans' ability to access economic power and ownership, thereby limiting creative control and cultural protection (Ndoubou 7). The ruling class, which in Hollywood is white people, uses their power to maintain control by creating these images in the media that make black people seem inferior...... middle of paper...... more comfortable with the actors and the more likely they are to see their films in the future. Once again, if black actors are given more of these race-neutral roles, it will eliminate the excuse of not casting black actors due to international box office (3). This all ties back to the Academy Awards because black actors are put at a great disadvantage when it comes to dealing with distributors. Those who deny the existence of ingrained racism in modern Hollywood are far from reality. They might think that in the United States we are getting closer to equality when it comes to casting, but that's actually not the case. Although America is believed to have made progress when it comes to social issues, the percentage of roles filled by black actors in film and TV dropped from 15 to 13 percent from the early 2000s to 2011 (McClintock and Apello 2).