TotalFilm.com, an entertainment news site, is hosting it’s annual 2012 TotalFilm HotList Awards.   Readers are encouraged to vote for categories such as hottest actor, hottest newcomer, hottest director, hottest writer, hottest TV show, etc.

Conspicuously absent are any people of color, and categories like hottest director and writer are dominated by white men.  Nearly all of the films or shows star white men.  While the hottest film category includes the film The Raid, the caption for the film reads “Indonesian cinema just got very interesting.”  (Oh yeah?  Just got interesting to whom, exactly?)   None of the hottest actors or actresses are people of color. 

It’s pretty telling of what is considered “hot” in Hollywood in 2012.  As an institution, Hollywood is largely not supportive of actors of color in lead roles, but here is an example of how entertainment media can and does ignore the performers of color Hollywood supports—giving studios yet another excuse not to support performers of color.