Friday, February 24, 2017
Oscars still lagging in female and minority representation
New Pittsburgh Courier: LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 2017 Oscar nominations were a banner year for Black nominees both in front of and behind the camera, but other nonwhite groups and women were largely left out of the running. As #OscarsSoWhite creator April Reign said, her hashtag was never about just Black actors, but all communities marginalized in Hollywood including Asians, Latinos, and women.
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The fact that there has only been one Asian woman nominated for best actress (and that it happened in 1935) is just sad. 1935 wasn’t exactly the golden era of racial equality, and more and more I’m wondering to what degree we’ve progressed and to what degree we are lying to ourselves to make ourselves feel better. I’m hoping that the growing attention around the issue of lack of diversity in Hollywood will lead to more opportunities for women and people of color in the film industry, and in turn a more empathetic and understanding culture as a whole. I think right now we are stuck in a cycle where filmmakers feel like telling stories about white men is the safest way to ensure success at the box office because that is what most movies have been, but most movies have only been that because people keep defaulting to what has been done before. The sooner we break that cycle, the better.
The one line that really struck me in this article was said by Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal. He said "It’s something that is not in our hands. We need to just make good films." I don't know if I really agree. I want to agree; I want to believe that these awards are truly about art and excellence in creation and execution of said art form, but I do not. It is true that for films coming from other countries, they do have to be extraordinarily good to make it past the Hollywood movies that dominate not only American theaters but theaters around the world, but foreign films shouldn't be the only way diversity is brought to light. It is unrepresentative of our world, of our country, to not tell the stories of different cultures, of different people, and recognize the greatness that exists. Things are getting better, there is more representation of women (marginally) and a greater spread of African Americans in movies. However, having one minority group, one of the largest minority groups, represented does not equal diversity. I agree when Bernal says it's out of his hands, I do not when he says he just has to make good films. good films exist and still don't get the recognition they deserve.
I am in agreement with Simone. It is funny how “diversity” (or what is considered as a step towards diverse recognition), is slapping in some black folks, and saying “Ta-Da, Look at our diversity!”. As a mix-bred myself (mix-blood, person of mixed races, whatever) (Black, Mexican, and whatever else contributed to my existence today), I can definitely see the efforts being made for change. And efforts are good, rather have that than nothing, but currently, there isn’t much result for it. And I don’t think it is because a lack of trying, but rather a historical public mindset that makes us subconsciously think of main characters (and designers, directors, actors, etc.), the characters that impacts the most, are indeed white and (for the most part) male. I keep referencing to fiction more than anything, because when was the last time you say a person of an ethnicity or culture being the main character of a fantasy/fiction movie? I can’t, and I said this in another comment a week ago, but that is because we are used to see white (mostly male) characters being the bad badass protagonist. So yeah, having a few black people slapped in for some recognition is progress, but it is best to not leave them to be, (as in the words of Malcolm Gladwell…or at least I think it was him), tokens: People who of diverse backgrounds gaining popularity, but amounting to nothing in terms of others recognizing the achievements/skill of other people of diverse backgrounds. In order to do that, you need to change the mind of the public, by persistence complaining and persistence of quality in (American) films made by people of diverse background. I don’t really think we will get there anytime soon, but constant appropriate nagging just might do the trick.
I don't know if this is something surprising anymore, as cynical as it is to say. The Oscars (and many awards alike) year after year are reported for not featuring or nominating actors/directors/artists of minority. This needs to end. It almost, in my opinion, belittles the whole meaning of these award ceremonies. If they nominating committee is not representing the best work of the film/television season because of race, then we as artists need to boycott this award show and make some noise. Together we move mountains... I truly believe that. We cannot allow our brothers and sisters to be pressed because of their race, orientation, gender, creed, etc. The arts is supposed to be the safest place to express yourself and it ironically is contributing to this idea of systemic racism. UNACCEPTABLE. To know that I'm in an industry that is still battling with representation of all artists is honestly extremely disheartening because I expect more from us. We should expect and DEMAND more.
I was talking to a friend of mine this week about how I couldn't wait to write my comment this week on the lack of female nominees at the oscars. I hadn't even looked at the page yet, I hadn't read any statistics on the female minority, I just knew that there was going to be one, because there is always one. I know that I comment on these every week, and that it might seem like overkill and everyone is thinking to themselves 'we get it she's a feminist the world isn't fair blah blah blah" and I understand why some might think that, except for that I don't. Because at this point in history if you aren't help under represented people become a more important part of the place where they live than you are actively working against it. That is a big claim and I understand that there are lots of people in the world who would argue that, but it's what I believe and it what we should all believe. Everyone should be well represented and it is a shame that the oscars and large producing companies are setting the example that this country so desperately needs.
As excited as I am that this year films such as Hidden Figures, Moonlight, Fences, and Lion have made had people excited to go to their theaters to be invested in the lives of diverse and interesting people, it’s definitely true that we are still very much lacking in terms of racial and gender diversity, especially within other ethnic identities such as asian, hispanic and middle- eastern. I think it’s cool that the article talked about behind-the-scenes categories such as sound editing and cinematography in addition to those categories which are in the public eye such as best actor/ actress. I agree with the writer that the performer categories stand in a more crucial place in Hollywood because they represent not only the brand of story being told, but are also much more likely to influence the everyday citizen in terms of what their worldview is. Of course I think it’s just as important to have diversity behind the scenes, but the fact that it is inherently less out-in-the-open than the performance categories means that it isn’t as representative of the media people are consuming. I agree with Bernal in that probably the most powerful thing that people of color can do at a time like this is to create compelling stories, as much more difficult as it is in this political climate.
Lack of representation continues to be a huge issue in almost every aspect of life. It’s constantly brought up as a problem that needs to be solved, and as a school that has potential to change that is it our responsibility to get involved? I’m not talking about casting directors who want a more diverse cast but our admission process itself. I look around myself and the class of 2020 and I can’t help but see that the class is predominately white. Being white myself I have no experience to share but still, when the combination of our senior and junior class isn't enough to play a racial group and we pull from underclassmen to fulfill minority roles isn't it obvious that we are part of the problem. Maybe it’s just the overall high school theatre population is white and our accepted students reflect that, but if the computer science department was able to get an almost 50/50 gender ratio doesn't it seem weird that we can’t achieve a more diverse class?
Article Rating:
9/10
Notes:
“It’s not strange to mistake change for progress” -Millard Fillmore
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