Race and Racism in the Cultural and Creative Industries

This book uses rigorous case studies with definitive conclusions and develops a critical Cultural Studies perspective on both the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) and diversity politics.

Through examining sophisticated processes through which race is negotiated and produced across film, television, public relations and advertising, this book reveals how these industries simultaneously understand race uniformly while operating through heterogeneous structures that both address and enact racism. This analysis exposes the contradictory nature of creative industries that publicly champion inclusivity while perpetuating systemic inequalities through their operational structures. By examining specific sectors within the CCIs, the book illustrates how racial difference is managed, commodified and reproduced through seemingly progressive diversity initiatives. Nwonka and Keddo call for a radical reconceptualisation of how we understand the CCIs' production and management of racial difference, challenging readers to move beyond surface-level diversity metrics towards deeper structural analysis of how creative industries function as sites of racial negotiation.

Race and Racism in the Cultural and Creative Industries’ critical examination provides essential insights for scholars, practitioners and policymakers working within creative industries, offering frameworks for understanding the complex relationship between cultural production, racial identity and systemic inequality in contemporary Britain.