How white are the Oscars?
Posted 8 years ago
Last year, the M.D of BroadwayBlack.com, April Reign, a former attorney, expressed her disappointment with the lack of diversity in the Oscar nominations. She correctly pointed out how women, people of colour and movies centered on them haven’t been given the much deserved recognition they are worthy of.
To express her displeasure, she coined the hash tag #OscarsSoWhite. This hash tag took social media platforms by storm, especially Twitter. She never expected it to become a wide spread movement that shook the very foundation of the most coveted awards in the world. Or so she thought.
A large hue and cry erupted, where many people voiced their concerns about the diversity problem. Her movement really took shape last year when people began boycotting the event. Ticket sales dropped and a few prominent names from the film fraternity also came out in support of inclusion of diversity. The agenda was to create an environment where the best and brightest people are acknowledged for their good work, regardless of their colour or ethnic background.
With this year’s nominations, everyone expected alterations in the policies of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. But clearly, not much has changed. For the second consecutive year in a row, not one coloured person has been nominated in the top four acting categories. Even in other categories, coloured people are more or less absent! Although, it can be safely assumed that people haven’t forgotten last year, the hash tag #OscarsSoWhite seems to have merely evolved in to #OscarsStillSoWhite.
What do you think? We would like to know your opinion regarding this alleged bias! Is there really a discriminating tendency in the academy awards against coloured people? Or is it a mere coincidence that this year too, all actors/artistes nominated for their cinematic excellence are white? Write to us and give us your opinion on this matter in the comments section, below. Your Adytude matters!