II. #OscarsSoWhite
It’s 2020 and we are in the middle of a pandemic, and that probably means you haven’t seen a movie inside a functioning movie theater since this whole thing began. Maybe, like me, you miss all the chick flicks, rom-coms, dramas, comedies, etc. that you used to go see on the big screen on opening weekend. Within all those movies coming out, there are the more “A-listed” films that give off the vibe of being Oscar-nominated. Once a film is Oscar-nominated for a certain category those people that were nominated for that category go on and attend the awards show. The Oscars are formally known as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences or just the Academy Awards for short. They have been happening every year for 92 years so far. But since the beginning, they have been nominating prominently white males in each category except best actresses which is even then white women.
April Reign had created the #OscarsSoWhite in 2015 because all the nominations on the list for the 87th Academy Awards were all white and she was outraged at that fact because there are so many other actors and actresses that are equally as amazing as white actors and actresses that are POC, along with films that are made by POC. Reign mentions in her article on Variety, “ Since the majority of the Academy are white males, and the nominations are viewed through their lens, that may explain why we are seeing the nominations that we are.” and she is absolutely right! The hashtag went viral almost instantly because hundreds of people agreed that there should be more POC nominations in all categories, leading to the hosts of the Oscars to bring that topic up ever so slightly during their time on screen. For example, during the 87th Academy Awards, host and actor Neil Patrick Harris opened up the show with “Tonight, we honor Hollywood’s best and whitest. Sorry, brightest,” which was kind of a kick in the butt towards the Academy for not nominating more diversely. For the 2020’s Oscar nominations announcements, Issa Rae and John Cho both hosted, and when the Best Director nominations were shown they were all men, and she simply and iconically said, “Congratulations to those men.” and that was just so powerful to hear.
When I first heard about the hashtag, it was right after I saw the 2015 Oscars and I heard Neil Patrick Harris say that opening line and I was so shocked that he had said that because it was just when I started understanding the underrepresentation in films. The next day I went on my social media and there it was #OscarsSoWhite, I had clicked on it to see what it was about and sure enough, it was self-explanatory. The Academy messed this one up and the whole world was mad. As a Cinema major now, I fear that I will also get sucked into the hole of not being up to the Hollywood standards as a cinematographer, and it will take me years to reach the small percent of POC that get nominated one day. So hopefully by the time I make it big with the big boys in Hollywood as a Latina cinematographer in a room filled with white cinematographers they will choose me.
As I researched more and more #OscarsSoWhite affects everyone in the industry, it attacks The Academy, it calls out casting directors and it shows how POC actors and actresses and all production crew, and women aren’t being represented enough. In an article, “Only 32 Oscars have been awarded to actors of colour — here’s the list”, by Megan C. Hills, she mentions that of the 336 acting awards given in the Academy Awards lifetime only 19 Oscars were won by Black actors, 5 won by Latinx actors, 3 won by Asian actors, and 1 by an Arab actor, Rami Malek. This goes to show who the Academy is looking for to nominate and also shows that the industry needs to give more main character roles to BIPOC and POC actors and actresses.
