#OscarsSoWhite Could be So Over

In 2015, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscars) was blanketed by the hashtag #OscarSoWhite, and since then, it has been a target for the lack of diversity amongst not only their members, but also nominees. In an effort to quell criticism, The Academy recently unveiled its member invites who have been the most diverse group of actors and executives yet.

By 2016, the Academy set specific inclusion goals as part of its A2020 initiative to double the number of women and underrepresented ethnic/racial communities by 2020. According to the New York Times, female members have doubled, and the number of members from underrepresented ethnic and racial communities has tripled since last year.

Oscars luncheon

“We take great pride in the strides we have made in exceeding our initial inclusion goals set back in 2016, but acknowledge the road ahead is a long one. We are committed to staying the course,” said aid Academy CEO Dawn Hudson.

Awkwafina

Some famous faces invited to join the Academy this year include actresses Zendaya from “The Greatest Showman,” Awkwafina from “The Farewell,” Cynthia Erivo from “Harriet,” and “The Farewell” director Lulu Wang.

Given the increased minority inclusion in the Academy, this could lead to more women being nominated in male-dominated categories and more diversity amongst the acting category nominees. To date, Halle Berry is the only women of color to have taken home the Academy Award for Best Actress.  Only a handful of women of color have taken home best-supporting actress (Hattie McDaniel, 1940; Irene Cara, 1983; Whoopi Goldberg, 1991; Jennifer Hudson, 2006; Mo’Nique, 2009; Octavia Spencer, 2012; Lupita Nyong, 2013; Viola Davis, 2017; Regina King, 2018), and only one woman (Kathryn Bigelow, 2010) to have won best director in all 90 years of the Oscars.

(Top: Halle Berry, Best Actress Winner; Kathryn Bigelow, Best Director winner; Bottom: Hattie Mcdaniel, First Person of color to win an Oscar; Regina King, Best Supporting Actress winner)

Viola Davis, a multi-nominated Academy Award winner, was recently brought up on Twitter after an interview resurfaced of her speaking on her career. In February 2018,  veteran journalist Tina Brown interviewed Davis at a Los Angeles event hosted by Women in the World.

Davis said, “I have a career comparable to Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Sigourney Weaver. They all came out of Yale. They came out of Julliard. They came out of NYU. They had the same path as me, and yet I am nowhere near them, not as far as money, not as far as job opportunities. Nowhere close to it.  But I have to get on that phone and people say ‘ You’re a black Meryl Streep. There is no one like you.’ Okay well, if there is no one like me, then pay me what I’m worth”

Hollywood and the Academy still have a journey towards having more diversity, but equal pay for women of color is also an issue in the film industry that is emerging. As Davis noted, “I have to hustle for my worth.”