#OscarsSoWhite Is Gone, So Now What? | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Entertainment

#OscarsSoWhite Is Gone, So Now What?

In spite of an impressive nominations list, the diversity issue in Hollywood films is still far from over.

2
#OscarsSoWhite Is Gone, So Now What?
The Independent

Very soon, the 89th Academy Awards will take place. In terms of headlines, the biggest news are the nominations, with the gigantic push towards minority actors in particular. In terms of above-the-line nominations, which include the acting, writing, and directing categories, as well as Best Picture, the likes of Ruth Negga, Denzel Washington, Dev Patel, Octavia Spencer, director Barry Jenkins ("Moonlight"), and writer Tarell Alvin McCraney, among others, had garnered Oscar nominations for their work. Better yet, films like "Fences", "Hidden Figures", "Lion", and "Moonlight" were given Best Picture nominations. This is important, as the Academy had gone two years in a row without any major nominations for minorities, leading to a massive social media boycott known for the label #OscarsSoWhite.

So this obviously means that the problems the Academy and Hollywood have to handle diversity-wise are officially over? Well, obviously no. While there's plenty to admire in terms of changes, Hollywood still has some issues they need to confront in terms of diversity.

While there are plenty of great films about the African-American experience, whether it be from actors in front of the camera, or from directors and writers behind the camera, it feels right at this point for Hollywood to finance, produce, or acquire films about the Asian-American or Hispanic-American experience. While Dev Patel and Lin-Manuel Miranda had garnered Oscar nominations this year, this quite frankly isn't enough. The 2010 US census revealed that around 5 percent of Americans are Asian and over 16 percent are Hispanic, but this is obviously from over seven years ago, meaning that there's definitely been an increase. Regardless, that's still a very sizable audience, and a decent pool of talent to find some quality actors, producers, writers, or directors to appear in some quality films. So if Hollywood wants to continue to push for more diversity and representation in Hollywood, as they rightfully should, maybe they should push for a few more.

Better yet, where on Earth are the women working behind the scenes? Of the top 250 films of last year, only a whopping 7 percent of directors were women, which even managed to go down from 2015's 9 percent. Even worse, including that, producers, executive producers, editors, writers, and cinematographers, women in general only made up 17 percent of behind the scene roles. Now this is excluding independent films, but it's still ludicrous to see half of the population not having major roles in the production of arguably America's most notable export. Again, if Hollywood wants to be more diverse, race isn't enough.

Now when I bring all of this up, I obviously don't want Caucasian directors, writers, and actors to stop making movies, nor do I want Hollywood to slow down on films featuring black actors, writers, or directors. And it's important to acknowledge that Hollywood is taking many important strides, with this year's nominations being solid proof of that. However, the race is still far from over, and hopefully the executives at Paramount and Universal will finally take the bait.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

752
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

594
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 20 Thoughts College Students Have During Finals

The ultimate list and gif guide to a college student's brain during finals.

37
winter

Thanksgiving break is over and Christmas is just around the corner and that means, for most college students, one hellish thing — finals week. It's the one time of year in which the library becomes over populated and mental breakdowns are most frequent. There is no way to avoid it or a cure for the pain that it brings. All we can do is hunker down with our books, order some Dominos, and pray that it will all be over soon. Luckily, we are not alone in this suffering. To prove it, here are just a few of the many deranged thoughts that go through a college student's mind during finals week.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

1287
group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments