“Tonight we honor Hollywood’s best and whitest –– sorry, brightest,” jokes host Neil Patrick Harris in his opening line of the 87th Annual Academy Awards. Harris, a comedian who tends to skirt dangerously along the line between humorous and offensive, speaks the truth when he perceives the whiteness of the Academy Awards.
This year, only five of the nominated directors were not white, and not one female director or writer was even nominated. Most astonishingly, not a single actor or actress of color was nominated in any category. This has occurred three times since 1995, and it reveals a recurring pattern of whiteness that the Oscars cannot seem to escape.
Last year’s show, boasting relatively diverse nominations and wins, suggested a change in this pattern. “12 Years a Slave” raked in Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress. Among other minority winners, Alfonso Cuarón won Best Director for his film “Gravity,” making him the first winning Mexican director in this category.
These monumentally diverse wins made history for the 2014 Academy Awards and insinuated a change that many thought would lead into this year’s show. Of course, this proved not to be the case, and the striking contrast between the two years has caused many viewers and moviegoers to question the opinion and reliability of the members of the Academy.
According to a recently published article by International Business Times, of the 6,028 members, 94 percent are white, 77 percent are men and 86 percent are 50 years of age and above. Talk about homogenous. Although the president of the Academy, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, is a black woman, this clearly hasn’t had much of an effect, and members seem to use that to justify their own lack of consciousness toward diversity.
The Hollywood Reporter anonymously interviewed a few voting members, one of whom said ,”We have a two-term president who is a black woman, and we give out awards to black people when they deserve them, just like any group.” While it is important for members to vote based on quality, it is hard to believe that “Selma” and “Unbroken” got snubbed out of nominations solely for that reason.
The Academy, nonetheless, attempted to make up for the lack of diversity through selected performances by minority groups. Tegan and Sara, two gay indie rock/pop twins, and Lady Gaga, who is now openly bisexual, were both invited. Jennifer Hudson delivered a breathtaking and soulful performance, and John Legend and Common staged their original song “Glory” from “Selma” based on the Civil Rights Movement.
These shows, while undoubtedly rousing, emotional and symbolic, still represent the Academy’s desperate attempt to play down and draw attention away from this year’s inevitable lack of diversity. Like Whitman College, the Academy Awards face an intense pressure to change the homogeneity of their voters and nominees.
Cheryl Boones Isaacs, in response to criticism, said, “I would love to see and look forward to see a greater cultural diversity among all our nominees in all of our categories.” Realizing this goal would mean an enormous shift in the ethnic makeup of Hollywood itself, and we can only hope that Isaacs will push, as is needed, in that direction.
