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Monday, March 05, 2018
Diversity at the Oscars: The good and the bad
Salon.com: With the spotlight on Hollywood at the Academy Awards on Sunday night, the annual awards show that has historically had problems with diversity took a step forward.
The Oscars this year were certainly groundbreaking, in the wake of everything that is going on in Hollywood and out. Jimmy Kimmel opened the stage by talking about the issues at hand and calling them out. He acknowledged for Hollywood, and the rest of the world, that women are constantly put down and don’t often find respect in the workplace, which, as Kimmel states, is an issue. This article addressed all of the first-time events that took place, including Jordan Peele who was the first black American to win the best original screenplay award. There were categories that were still dominated by men, including directing, and for cinematography, there was the first female nominee. So, Hollywood broke into the surface of the iceberg, but still, there isn’t enough representation in Hollywood for people of color, and for women (and female people of color has even less representation). Hollywood cannot stop here. Simply wearing a pin that says you support the Time’s Up movement, doesn’t make you an activist. If you’re in a position of power, use it to create good.
The Oscars have not gotten rid of their problem with Diversity. I watched the Oscars yesterday and the proportion of white men on that stage was not much different than it has been in years past. However, I think there is a heightened hyper awareness around diversity and the #MeToo movement currently. So while I do think this year displays progress, I do not believe that the Oscars diversity problem has now disappeared. Tiffany Haddish made a good joke that I think needs to be remembered, “too black now,” she said. The Oscars will never be too black. This year was one small step in the right direction, however it was still a very small step. I do believe that the success of Black Panther and Wonder woman is proving to the industry that the normal formula for a successful movie is changing and I hope to see more diversity in years to come.
2 comments:
The Oscars this year were certainly groundbreaking, in the wake of everything that is going on in Hollywood and out. Jimmy Kimmel opened the stage by talking about the issues at hand and calling them out. He acknowledged for Hollywood, and the rest of the world, that women are constantly put down and don’t often find respect in the workplace, which, as Kimmel states, is an issue. This article addressed all of the first-time events that took place, including Jordan Peele who was the first black American to win the best original screenplay award. There were categories that were still dominated by men, including directing, and for cinematography, there was the first female nominee. So, Hollywood broke into the surface of the iceberg, but still, there isn’t enough representation in Hollywood for people of color, and for women (and female people of color has even less representation). Hollywood cannot stop here. Simply wearing a pin that says you support the Time’s Up movement, doesn’t make you an activist. If you’re in a position of power, use it to create good.
The Oscars have not gotten rid of their problem with Diversity. I watched the Oscars yesterday and the proportion of white men on that stage was not much different than it has been in years past. However, I think there is a heightened hyper awareness around diversity and the #MeToo movement currently. So while I do think this year displays progress, I do not believe that the Oscars diversity problem has now disappeared. Tiffany Haddish made a good joke that I think needs to be remembered, “too black now,” she said. The Oscars will never be too black. This year was one small step in the right direction, however it was still a very small step. I do believe that the success of Black Panther and Wonder woman is proving to the industry that the normal formula for a successful movie is changing and I hope to see more diversity in years to come.
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