Over the past few years, the Oscars have faced scrutiny over their lack of nominating people of color. The hashtag “OscarsSoWhite” was used two years ago when there were no people of color nominated for a major award at the Oscars. The 2016 awards were widely criticized because of this and even prompted the host, Chris Rock, to mention it in one of his monologues. The 2017 awards seemed to show some improvement; Moonlight, a film that chronicles the life of a young, black, gay, man won the award for Best Picture and several other awards. However, the film La La Land was accused of whitewashing the history of jazz music, and still won five awards, leading to the assumption that there is still room for culturally insensitive pieces.
This year, there seems to be some more improvement. One of the largest is the nomination for the film Get Out; the movie is a complex thriller movie dealing largely with race. This nomination was a huge step towards diversity and inclusion. The director, Jordan Peele, is the fifth black man to be nominated for this award, ever. The romantic comedy The Big Sick, which was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, also shows improvement in diversity. The Big Sick is the story of how comedian Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily V. Gordon met and how they handled Gordon’s time in a coma. Nanjiani is a Pakistani-American and the story also revolves around how his life has been impacted because of the cultural influence from his parents. Some lesser known films have also been nominated for smaller-scale awards.
The awards seem to be expanding to more than just racial diversity; the film Call Me Your Name which focuses on the relationship between two young men in Italy, has been nominated for four awards. Many in the LGBT community have said that this film resonates strongly with them and is a powerful story that needs to be told. The star of this film, Timothée Chalamet, was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. His biggest competitor in the category seems to be Gary Oldman. While talented, it is inexcusable that Oldman was nominated as he was accused of abusing his former wife, Donya Fiorentino, in 2001. In addition, he also faced criticism in 2014 for defending anti-semitic, racist and sexist comments made by actor Mel Gibson. By rewarding an abuser the whole message of the prominent “Me Too” movement seems to be called into question. Many award shows are accepting and supporting the movement, but by treating known abusers with praise, society seems to be taking several steps back.
A great deal of progress has been made over the past few decades. Nevertheless, there is still much work to be done. The Oscars are gaining diversity, but they do not quite represent the actual diversity of the industry. However, there are many issues with the industry as well; writers do not always write roles specifically for people of color and may be less likely to cast them as well. Overall, the industry and culture around it must change if the industry wants to be a true reflection of the world’s diversity and culture.