While I’m not one to outright vilify the Academy Awards as outrageously racist, there’s been a trend in the Academy’s 85 years of existence of excluding minorities. After winning Best Actress for her role in Blue Jasmine, Cate Blanchett’s wisely observed that while female leads garner a healthy amount of box office takings, they’re rarely perceived as viable leads.
Granted, it’s difficult to put quotas on female figures on films, or have affirmative action requirements put in place for directors; consumers expect a level of integrity to accompany their art, and the concept of skewing a character’s race or gender for political reasons will not sit well with most. But that aside, other arguments leveled at the pro-diversity camp claim that there’s a lack of ethnic talent to be tapped; and this appears to be the Academy’s standpoint, too.
Which begs the question of why?
Perhaps it’s got something to do with the way the body of the Academy’s set up. Ninety-four of its members, at last count, was comprised of Caucasians, with 77% of this body being male — and if you’ll permit me to raise my own accusations for a moment, too, I’d say this representation thus explains the skewed ratio of white-to-colored nominations in the Academy Awards. Insularity appears to be the name of the game when it comes to discussion of the Academy’s political interests in voting for awards. Regardless of the addition of 276 new members, 87% of which comprised women and other foreign figures, the expectation of these minorities making an inpact in the coming years is slim to none.
Fewer people of color still make up the body of actors or crew members in Hollywood thus far; the Hollywood Reporter found only 13% of them held jobs in acting, with a smaller 4% to be found in the DGA. To claim that the lack of ethnic representation on screen is directly proportional to the minimal finances invested in the film business by these ethnic groups is also erroneous; the Hollywood Reporter reminds us that minority groups are just as keen to invest in blockbusters as they are films targeted specifically for their racial group.
We’ve not yet touched upon the profiles of African-American actors that surface and then disappear from Hollywood. Think of the dwindling figures in Barkhad Abdi’s bank account, his current lack of employment, and how both pieces of news are surely a testament to the path often trod by minority actors. Pitiably, even rare talents such as Nyong’o herself, not to mention Quezhané Wallis, appear to struggle with packing in the projects: both currently have only one on the go.
As Rope of Silicon rightfully points out, there’s something to be said about the progress we’re making in Nyong’o’s nomination and win in comparison to other Caucasian actresses, in addition to Steve McQueen and Alfonso Cuaron’s respective wins for Best Picture and Best Director. Yet the above commentary on Nyong’o’s career progression, as opposed to Margot Robbie’s, is also pulled from the Rope of Silicon article cited, rendering its final message unclear — is it preferable to be praised for a performance and to see this as positive proof of the shifting paradigm of Hollywood, or is further work required?
(My money’s on the latter.)
Furthermore, it’s problematic that well-received films, such as Fruitvale Station, have failed to capture the Academy’s attention whatsoever. Rather, Al Jazeera purports that certain stock ethnic roles are more likely to be awarded, as opposed to the ongoing racial inequality present in America’s system. The primary difficulty, the piece implies, is moving past the mindset of not perceiving actors of color or gender as “economic and political benefit” that might be “netted to them” in constructed narratives wherein rote white heroes save the day.
At the risk of sounding something like a stuck record, I’ll repeat the question implicit in all of Blanchett’s many, many barbs; why is it that the status quo remains so damned difficult to change?
(Or perhaps, repetition’s needed for the message to sink in.)
But with various members of Hollywood’s elite blasting the lack of forward momentum in this cultural sphere, and the issue remaining a significant topic of discussion in mainstream media outlets, one could hope that the various accolades awarded to those of color can be taken as a nod to the necessary shifting receptiveness on the part of the Academy.
Certainly, the current statistics are simply too distressing to simply let sit.
Infographic produced by Loe and Low Books. Designed by Ben Mautner.