Last nights result at the Oscars were both surprising and highly predictable. Most notable of all however, and worthy of mention right from the beginning is the award for Best Picture being given to a non-English speaking film, Parasite directed by Bong Joon-ho, for the first time in Academy history. But let’s back up a minute and start from the beginning!
The Academy Awards (commonly known as the Oscars) are awards given by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) at the beginning of every year for artistic merit in the film industry from the previous year. They are generally regarding by the public as the most prestigious film awarding body there is. However, for the past few years, they have been known for something else entirely: a complete lack of diversity.
Boasting between 9 and 10 nominations each, and numerous Golden Globe nominations as well, there are four films that were highly notable in this year’s award season: The Irishman, Joker, 1917 and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Undoubtedly great movies, I do still find it interesting how much they have dominated both the Golden Globes and the Oscars. Even more interesting is how few women or people of colour were included in either lists.
However, this had nothing to do with a lack of choice. Indeed, 2019 saw films starring or directed by women or people of colour. For example, Harriet, a film telling the tale of Harriet Tubman as she escaped slavery and liberated many others through the Underground Railroad only received two nominations, one very rightly to Cynthia Erivo for her portrayal of Harriet. It’s worth pointing out that black authors tend to only be recognised for their talents when in the role of a slave. Activist April Reign, the originator of the #OscarSoWhite campaign, stated that ‘The majority of the roles that have been awarded by the Academy for black women have been them experiencing significant trauma, playing an enslaved woman or a woman living in abject poverty’.
Other incredible actors and films that were snubbed this year include Just Mercy, starring Michael B. Jordan as civil rights defence attorney, Bryan Stevenson, had a limited release at the end of 2019 to qualify it for award season and even still it received minimal notice; Lupita Nyong’o in Us, the second horror film from comedian Jordan Peele, though while possibly not as impactful as Get Out, was received incredibly positively in the box offices; and Jennifer Lopez, who was nominated for numerous awards for her role in Hustlers.
Last year we wrote about how the Oscars had historically been limited in their diversity and indeed, this year does not seem to be any better. That was not the first or last time we’ve talked about our criticisms of institutions and their (often poor) use of their influence (see: On the Social Responsibility of Writers). This year the return of the #OscarsSoWhite and #OscarsSoMale hashtags are quite representative of the diversity once again, as were the results that saw all white actors winning the acting categories.
However, there are some outliers! Indeed, I must acknowledge that the documentary branch of the Academy, headed by board governor Rory Kennedy, is probably the most diverse branch of this year’s nomination list. With four out of five featured documentaries directed or co-directed with women, the stories similarly focus on the lived experiences and struggles of women. Julia Reichert, who co-directed American Factory, won in this category.
Indeed, it was something noticed by presenters as well, with Chris Rock making light of the lack of progress by remarking ‘Think how much the Oscars have changed in the past 92 years. Back in 1929 there were no black acting nominees.And now in 2020 we’ve got one.’ Similarly, Janelle Monae made the ironic statement that, ‘We are celebrating all the women who directed phenomenal films,’ when in face, not a single women was nominated for Best Director.
The absence of women in the category shocked many, raising questions as to why the likes of Greta Gerwig had not even gotten a nod for her direction of Little Women. Gerwig is up for Best Adapted Screenplay for the same movie, however, somewhat making up for the snub. Indeed, it has been 12 years since a female director has won either of the screenplay (Adapted or Original) categories. Other female directors notably absent were Lulu Wang for The Farewell, Alma Har-el for Honey Boy and Lorene Scafaria for Hustlers.
More interesting results were found in the Short categories with both Best Animated Short and Best Documentary Short celebrated those absent in other categories. Hair Love directed and written by Mathew A. Cherry, is the story of an African American father who must do his daughter’s hair for the first time. The short celebrates atypical parenting roles, where a father can engage in the aesthetic aspects, as well as the much need and culturally authentic representation for young girls to look up to.
Nevertheless, these few examples are not enough to combat the systemic whiteness and lack of diversity in the Academy’s recognition processes time and time again. What looked to be perhaps one of the most unremarkable and awkward Oscars in recent years was turned around only due to the historic win by Parasite. This is no doubt a sign that the path to rising the quality of the award show is in acknowledging and celebrating diversity. Hopefully next year will be better for diversity in the awards, however, history is not on their side.
