Megan Hickey discusses the lack of diversity in this year’s Oscar nominations and the reasons behind it.
When the recent Academy Award nominations were announced, the hashtag #oscarssowhite began trending on Twitter – and this was not the first time it has done so.
Last year, the Oscars came under fire for the lack of diversity in the main actor and actress’ categories. Once again, in spite of the criticism of the year before, all 20 nominees for acting categories are white. The Academy Award voters are overwhelmingly white, with a composition made up of 94% white, 76% male and an average age of 63. With such little diversity in the Academy’s members, it’s unsurprising that people of colour were overlooked in the acting categories.
Since then, many prominent names in the film industry have spoken out about the lack of diversity in the Oscars. Previous Best Supporting Actress winner Lupita Nyong’o stated that she was “disappointed by the lack of inclusion” of people of colour in the Oscars. Jada Pinkett Smith denounced the Oscars for not nominating people of colour for the second year in a row, with herself and her husband both boycotting the Oscars.
Many other actors have criticised not just the Oscars, but the film industry as a whole. Previous Best Supporting Actress nominee Viola Davis called out both the Oscars and the film industry for their lack of diverse roles for people of colour, describing the Oscars as “a symptom of a much greater disease”. Steve McQueen, the Oscar winning director of 12 Years a Slave also acknowledged that this problem lies within the film studios, as they decide what films are made and who stars in them.
Another Academy Award winning director, Spike Lee, also said the root of racism in Hollywood is not with the Oscars but with film studios. “We may win an Oscar now and then, but an Oscar is not going to fundamentally change how Hollywood does business. I’m not talking about Hollywood stars. I’m talking about executives. We’re not in the room.”
The Oscar nominations are a representation of a racist film industry which lacks in its diversity of roles for people of colour.
White actors are also voicing their opinions on the issue, such as John Krasinski and George Clooney. Clooney questioned why there were so few roles in quality films for people of colour, while Krasinski stated the need for the film industry to take a look at “what movies we’re making, who we’re allowing to direct that, who we’re allowing to be in the stories we’re trying to tell”. Matt Damon also commented on how this problem is larger than the Oscars and that racism and sexism are “massive issues in our industry and in our country”. Danny De Vito also waged in on the Oscars’ race war, calling America “a country that discriminates and has certain racist tendencies”. The Oscar nominations are a representation of a racist film industry which lacks in its diversity of roles for people of colour.
Questions have arisen over whether or not there were Oscar worthy performances by people of colour in 2015. Straight Outta Compton, directed by F. Gary Gray, was a commercial and critical success yet there was no nomination for the cast or director. One of its stars, Jason Mitchell’s performance, was seen as Oscar worthy, yet the only Academy nod this film received was for Best Original Screenplay, which was written by two white writers.
Netflix branched out with its original film Beasts of No Nation starring Idris Elba. The film was received positively by critics, with Idris Elba’s performance creating an Oscar buzz. Both Michael B Jordan and Tessa Thompson from the Rocky sequel Creed were both snubbed for their performances, yet their fellow actor Sylvester Stallone received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Benecio del Toro for Sicario and Oscar Isaac for Ex Machina were seen as two of the Academy’s biggest snubs.
Hollywood rarely writes great films for people of colour or gives people of colour a chance to tell their stories. In a recent Hollywood Reporter article, Marc Bernardin criticises the difference between white Oscar nominated films and films based around people of colour. Bernardin states there is no one making “black Oscar bait” films. He also writes, “if you’re an African-American, you literally have to change the world before there’s ever going to be a film based on your life. And if you’re a filmmaker trying to push a film that’s about a fictional African-American who just has a story to tell, forget it.”
“If you’re an African-American, you literally have to change the world before there’s ever going to be a film based on your life.”
Films with black protagonists such as 12 Years a Slave and Selma have been historical films of African-Americans literally changing the society they lived in. In the same category of these films we have seen Whiplash, Boyhood, American Hustle and Her. Bernardin doesn’t believe these films to not be Oscar worthy. Instead he is questioning why Oscar nominated films based on people of colour’s lives are so different to films based on white lives.
The racism shown through Academy Award nominations is a reflection of the film industry and our society. For more people of colour to be nominated, the Oscars needs to diversify its voting system. Hollywood has to give better quality roles to people of colour and give them the platform to write and direct their own stories.
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