Muy Blanco
As another year passes, another Oscar Ceremony shall too. In past years, criticism of racial inclusiveness and better diversity throughout the awards has always been a hot debate. This year, the 2020 Oscars, is of no exception. The inspiration behind this specific blog post topic started with my seeing of the nominees for Best Supporting Actress. As a media production and popular cultural studies major, I try to understand how issues of representation unfold and what that means to our society. Immediately, I saw not one person of color amongst the nominees… This is troubling knowing that the films released and qualified for the award ceremony, had some amazing representation of intersectionality within them (films like Parasite, Harriet, Dolemite is My Name, The Farewell, etc.) however, this aspect did not equate to the many nominations across all categories this year. Especially for Best Actor in a leading role / Best Supporting Actor and Best Actress / Supporting Actress, the diversity is almost nonexistent. The sole person of color nominated out of these four categories is Cynthia Erivo for her role as Harriet Tubman in the 2019 release, Harriet. And it's not just a racial issue (although it is still very much one). A lot of female representation for Best Director is also lacking. The absence of inclusiveness is blatant this year, sparking some much deserved criticism. Cynthia Erivo spoke out, saying it has been "bittersweet" to catch this nomination as the only person of color up there. Erivo also made the powerful statement that she wanted to "serve as an example of how we need to judge these films".
The Oscar Committee itself has made statements in the past that they were taking measurements to be more inclusive, conveying more diverse representation amongst nominations and categories. However, they seem to have missed the follow through on those assertions… once again. Sentiments of inequality runs high fresh after the BAFTA (British Academy Film and Television Arts) Awards, where Joaquin Phoenix made some criticism about systemic and institutional racism throughout the industry, in his acceptance speech. He not only called for everyone in the room to do better, but making a point to say he is of no exception either. Erivo expressed concern on how this lack of diversity and intersectionality even happens within the industry.
To me, the answer is as simple as it starts in the writing room. From pre-production and casting, to even technical production, sets become extremely exclusive. Not only are most producers, writers, and grips / camera operators are men, they also tend to be white as well. This dynamic seeps into content and form, which only contributes to the ideology of "white and male" as the accepted norm, emanating through media, defining our societal expectations and cultural trends. The origins of this issue starts with the conception of a production and pervades all throughout until the very release of the film or work. From the hiring of departments to the cast and editing suite, sets need to be more inclusive and have stronger representation throughout the entirety of the process. The way to possibly amend this issue, is ensuring that the sets and teams industry professional operate within has this aspect of diversity within them. Individuals themselves must advocate and argue for equal representation within their departments, setting these ethical standards to help alleviate this pressing problem in the film industry. Until active acknowledgement and execution of this concept is practiced in full, the Oscars and film industry in general, will remain as devoid of varying representation as it does now.
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