www.forbes.com: A lack of diversity was once again the story when the 2020 Oscar nominations were announced. No female directors were nominated, and in fact many female directed films were left out of the awards altogether (The Farewell, Hustlers, Honey Boy, etc.), in addition to rather a lack of people of color. Knowing that, I settled in on Sunday for a long night of what I assumed would be the presentation of many awards to a long line of white men.
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The Oscars this year were standard yet surprising. Again, as mentioned in the article and as everyone knows, there is a lack of diversity within the nomination pool at the Oscars on many different levels. No female directors were nominated and almost no people of color were nominated. Out of all the films produced in a year that not only get so much love and attention, but praise, I think it’s impossible for only white men to win every award. Although, there is so much evolving and growth to be done in the entertainment industry and especially with the Stars as they are notorious for their lack of diversity, there are baby steps being made. For example, the front runner of the Oscar awards was the movie Parasite. An asain director and team won several Oscars for the outstanding movie being produced. The movie Parasite goes to show the subtitles can enrich a cinematic experience in a very unique way. The awards for Parasite were incredibly well deserved.
Every year I would watch the Oscars with my family regardless of whether or not we had seen all the movies. I often became bored about halfway through, but I was much more engaged this year. I noticed this especially during the Red Carpet segment, where the discussions were much more interesting than as advertisement for which designer the celebrity is wearing. Discussions were more focused on the careers of the individuals, rather than just how they look. This is an important change because in the past, these discussions were catered more towards the men, whose choice of suit was not necessarily commented on. The fact that there was no host was really successful because it eliminated a lot of unnecessary transitions between presenters and winners. Rather than constantly rushing from person to person, more time was able to be taken into each particular segment. One speech I found particularly moving was that of the composer of "The Joker" who took a moment to address the women in the industry and aspiring to be in it.
In comparison to other recent years, the Oscars didn’t leave that bitter taste in my mouth that I have been so used to. Although there were a lot of issues, this article was a good look at all of the wins that did occur that night. Hildur Guðnadóttir’s win for Joker was very impactful for me. We’ve seen female creatives win many times in categories like costume design or wigs/makeup (although that doesn’t make their wins any less significant) but sound has typically been a male-dominated field. Seeing her win was like absolute breaking of a mold. Her work in Joker was very good, and not only was she nominated, but she took the big prize home. I felt very encouraged by her winner’s speech and I don’t think I’m alone in my feelings. The Oscar’s still have a lot of progress to make, but despite all my hesitations about this year’s I still feel proud of the people who did win.
I have a weird opinion here where I think almost all of the wins went to the correct people, but the nominations didn't. Parasite absolutely deserved all of its wins and I wouldn't change a single win for Parasite or Bong Joon Ho. But, I do think the nominations themselves matter and I think they were lacking a bit. Greta Gerwig and Lulu Wang (as well as Noah Baumbach, but that's beside the point) both should have absolutely been nominated in the directing category. But again, Bong Joon Ho deserved his win and I wouldn't have voted any differently. I love the way this article highlights the wins for women, despite the loss of the director nominations. I would like to mention that the moment Hair Love won was so incredibly powerful and made me so so happy! I watched that movie and it was so incredible. I'm so glad it won! I didn't know Kwak Sin-ae was the first woman of color to win best picture and that's so cool! She was so sweet and she definitely deserved it for producing such a wonderful film!
I was super disappointed when the Oscar nominations came out, as once again there was a lack of diversity and representation of women artists. However, this article does make me feel optimistic about the presence of women in these award ceremonies. Despite the fact that several of these movies (such as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Joker, etc) and were heavily focused on men, women took home awards for acting, design and a historical moment was made when Hildur Guðnadóttir was the first woman to take home an award for the best score. However, the most exciting moment of the night was when Parasite took home awards for both the best foreign-language film, best picture, best director and best original screenplay. These are huge awards to take home regardless but as an international, non - English film it was extremely exciting to see this show have such great success.
This was my first year of watching the Academy Awards all the way through, and what a year it was. When Jane Fonda stood up on that stage and opened the envelope, the whole room went quiet. A brief pause, "Parasite," and the room exploded. I yelled so ferociously that my voice went. A friend of mine, South Korean, began weeping on the spot. I had hoped, in my heart of hearts, that Parasite would win, but I did not really think that wish would be realized, knowing what I know about the Oscars. As an Asian American, watching Bong Joon Ho accept four Oscars in a night (tied for most awards in one single year even though the best international film award is technically ascribed to the country of South Korea) was a surreal experience. This year makes me plenty more hopeful for the future of the Academy Awards.
I am also of the opinion that, although there were some large (very, very, very large) issues with the way the nominations for this year’s Academy Awards turned out, the recipients of the Oscars this year were extraordinarily deserving (and much more diverse than in former years). Although the nominations in the Best Director category were seriously lacking in terms of diversity, I think that most of the focus (at least from what I have seen) has been directed towards that category. Yes, the awards season as a whole (as well as their various and respective industries, if I am being completely honest) need a little bit of revamping in terms of accepting and acknowledging diversity but, for now, I think that we should focus on the wins. Composer Hildur Guðnadóttir’s acceptance speech moved me to tears, as did all four (four!) of director Bong Joon-ho’s. Yes, women won for Best Costume Design and Best Hair & Makeup Design in categories where women typically are nominated and win, but that should not invalidate their wins. I think that the most touching part of the Oscars, for me, was being able to watch it in a room where people saw themselves being represented: female sound designers and composers watching Hildur and Eímear Noone win and conduct (respectively) at the Oscars, friends of southeast Asian (and specifically South Korean) descent watch “Parasite” win.
I do think that the Oscars continue to have a very long way to go when it comes to diversity and inclusivity when it comes to nominations and awards for both women as well as people of color in general. I was so incredibly excited to see that Hair Love won Best Animated Short Film. To see a short film created by two people of color, one being a woman, made me so incredibly proud. I loved Hair Love as soon as I watched the first 30 seconds of the film. To see the little girl attempting to do her own big and messy hair made me laugh and remember myself when I first told my mom I wanted to do my hair from then on, and let's just say..... it did not turn out well at all. As a little girl, I dreamed of having naturally straight hair and not having to worry about coming home after school with what was left of a cute half up half down look that eventually turned into a humidity-induced afro. Hair Love was exactly the short film that I would have loved to see as a little girl. We need more films like these to get out there and be recognized for their beautiful story-telling and the amazing message they send out. I was just as ecstatic to see that Parasite won Best Picture. I could not contain my own excitement. Parasite's win was a huge step for people of color around the world, and I felt proud to see that progress is being made. I consider this the first step to what I hope is a much more diverse Oscar ceremony.
I’m very glad this article was published because there really were well-deserved wins at the Oscars for women and people of color in general. The animated short, Hair Love, since the idea was first published, I have been so excited for. This short winning its category made my heart fill up with so much joy and all the little black children watching it and learning that their hair is beautiful. I truly wish I had seen a film like this when I was little so that I didn’t have the want to straighten my hair to look like all the other little white girls. The Oscars was filled with political commentary all night, but the one that stuck out to me was from the composer of Joker. It was simple, poetic, and heartfelt. This actually my first year watching the Oscars because I have seen that type of platform is not for people of my skin color. I’m glad that is changing and I can’t wait to see the beautiful work that is produced for next year!
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