MIA Magazine 2018 American Black Film Festival | Page 14
14BB
AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT BY MIA MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS GROUP
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018
MPAA’s John Gibson Aims to Expand Opportunities for Minority Storytellers
By Zach Rinkins
MPAA's John Gibson poses with Black
Panther film director Ryan Coogler.
As an ambassador for diverse content
creators, John Gibson travels the globe
touting the universal appeal and
profitability of multicultural stories.
Despite what appears to be a glamorous
gig, Gibson’s job as the Motion Picture
Association of America’s deputy
chief of staff and senior director of
Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives is very
serious work.
“I am somebody who is fighting on
behalf of creators of color, women, and
those in the LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay,
Bi-Sexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex,
and Asexual) space,” Gibson said.
“I am a firm believer that we really need
to get everyone’s story out there.”
MPAA is the film and television
industry’s trade association and advocacy
group. Its members are Walt Disney
Studios Motion Pictures, Paramount
Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures
Entertainment Inc., Twentieth Century
Fox Film Corporation, Universal City
Studios LLC, and Warner Bros.
Entertainment Inc. The association also
provides audience ratings for films.
Gibson originally started as a special
projects administrator with MPAA. While
diversity and inclusion continue to have
different meaning for different people,
Gibson's definition offers clarity.
“We believe in diversity, inclusion,
and belonging,” Gibson affirmed.
“Diversity is having someone that looks
like you in the room. Inclusion is having
them participate in the activity or
discussion, but we take it a step further
with belonging meaning we allow you to
come as your authentic, perfectly gifted
self and participate. This is the core of
what MPAA does.”
Before joining MPAA, the
University of Maryland graduate worked
on diversity issues and marketing at
Holland & Knight, LLP, and Akin
Gump, LLP. In 2012, the association
tasked the Washington, D.C. native with
establishing its diversity and inclusion
program.
“Part of this role allows me to
interface with a lot of film festivals, which
Diversity is having
someone that looks
like you in the room.
Inclusion is having them
participate in the activity
or discussion, but we
take it a step further
with belonging, meaning
we allow you to come
as your authentic
perfectly gifted self
and participate.
are the breeding grounds of creators of
color and women,” Gibson said. “Having
the MPAA, which is the face of the
industry, on the ground at these film
festivals is helpful in assisting them with
identifying the next generation of great
talent. It is critical.”
While all association members have
diversity and inclusion programs, Gibson
strives to promote and make the public
aware of these resources and
opportunities. He helps organize and
MPAA's John Gibson addresses a gathering at a past ABFF.
supports festivals, panels, and discussions
that target minority and LGBTQIA
creatives.
“Hidden Figures, Avengers: Infinity
War, Black Panther, and Fate of the
Furious were blockbusters because they
had good stories and multicultural casts,”
offered Gibson, a member of the ABFF
Board of Advisors. “People like looking at
characters they can relate to.
He also facilitated a strategic
partnership with the American Black Film
Festival.
“As a society, we benefit when we
learn from each other,” he explained. “In
this current environment that the country
is under, stories representing all of us
really need to be told. We are at a
crossroads right now. The more we
understand each other, the more we can
relate to and support each other.”
For more information about MPAA
resources for diverse storytellers, log on to
www.mpaa.org/what-we-do/
supporting-storytellers/.