USA TODAY International Edition
OSCAR SHOWS SMALL SIGNS OF DIVERSITY
Latinos and other minorities shut out of nominations; many wonder if 2017 is progress or ‘ for now’
Baby steps? Maybe. But Hollywood proved Tuesday it can do a better job honoring actors and actresses of color in Oscar nominations — and at the same time fall short of full inclusiveness.
The nominations for the 2017 Academy Awards, which cover movies released in 2016, makes clear this will not be a third year in a row in which all 20 of the nominated actors and actresses are white people — thus averting another year of online jeers and sneers of # OscarsSoWhite.
The list of nominees includes Mahershala Ali ( Moonlight), who is African- American, and Dev Patel ( Lion), who is British of Indian descent, nominated in the bestsupporting actor category. And three of the best- supporting actress nominees are black: Viola Davis ( Fences), Naomie Harris ( Moonlight) and Octavia Spencer ( Hidden Figures).
The lead categories are the least diverse in 2017, but they’re still not entirely white. Denzel Washington is vying for best lead actor for Fences and Ruth Negga for best actress for Loving.
Spencer made history as the first African- American woman to win an Oscar for best supporting actress ( in 2012 for The Help) and then be nominated again. “I’m just over the moon,” she said.
But she echoed the widespread reaction to the look of the nominees this year: elation for black entertainers mixed with disappointment for other minority entertainers.
“I don’t feel there’s a lot of diversity. There’s black and white,” Spencer said in an email to USA TODAY. “There’s so much more to diversity than being black or white. ... I’d like to see diversity in directing — there are brilliant women directors and cinematographers.”
So is this the start of a permanent shift in nomination diversity or just a temporary break from the same- old, same- old?
The immediate reaction from some activists was exultation, along with reminders that there is still far to go in improving representation of other minority groups: There were no nominations for Latino actors or for female directors, for instance.
“In terms of the diversity of the list this year, we are so totally thrilled,” says Gil Robertson, president of the African American Film Critics Association. “There were 18 African Americans nominated across various categories, and that’s something to celebrate. Hopefully, this is the start of something that will continue every year, and one day there won’t be a reason to have this conversation.
“Now we just have to make sure that Hispanics, Asians, Muslims, LGBT and others also are represented in the future.”
The Twitter activist who created the # OscarsSoWhite hashtag, April Reign, was impressed. “I see y’all and I appreciate the support so much. Things are changing because our voices are strongest together,” she tweeted.
But she, too, pointed out the continuing under- representation of other groups. “One year of films reflecting the Black experience doesn’t make up for 80 yrs of underrepresentation of ALL groups,” she added in another tweet.
Alex Nogales, president and CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, said the film studios fell short — again. “Without question, the multidimensional portrayals of our community are what audiences want,” he said. “Latinos are outraged: Our actors are not getting the opportunities to work in front of the camera and, with few exceptions, in back of the camera as well.”
Daniel Mayeda, chair of the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition, applauded the increased number of black actors and actresses in the nominations list but said Patel’s status as the only Asian actor nominated reflects “the continued lack of real opportunities for Asians in Hollywood.”
Mayeda said it’s “obvious” that studio heads need more help in diversifying the industry and should work more closely with multiethnic coalitions such as his to achieve that.
“We believe that the box- office results of Hidden Figures and Moana, which were huge successes, show that a general audience will respond to an authentic story, and that’s what we’re asking for — authentic stories that put us at the center,” he added.
Sarah Kate Ellis, CEO and president of GLAAD, which monitors LGBT representation in the media, posted congratulations for Moonlight, a coming- of- age story about a gay black youth. She also hailed Negga’s nomination in Loving, the story behind a 1967 Supreme Court decision upholding interracial marriage that many believe paved the way for the court’s ruling upholding the right to same- sex marriage.
“This should be a signal to filmmakers to tell more diverse stories,” Ellis wrote. “The global impact of inclusive and diverse stories is massive and changes hearts and minds. The Oscar noms are uplifting in these darker political times.”
Jeetendr Sehdev, a professor at the University of Southern California who studies the challenges in improving diversity in the film industry, last year charged Hollywood had been “whitewashed.” This year represents an improvement — but not for all, he says.
“The Academy seems to have missed the point of # Oscars SoWhite,” Sehdev said. “This movement isn’t about pacifying black film critics because you were named and shamed by them for two years, but genuinely embracing diversity today as a necessary way of life that doesn’t just include nominating black people but also including Hispanic, Asian Americans and LGBT people, who remain horrifyingly under- represented at the moment.”
The lack of diversity in Hollywood movies and Oscar nominations is anything but new; it’s been the rule since the invention of cameras that most of the people in front or behind those cameras have been white males.
But 2016 was the second year in a row that dissatisfaction with the status quo boiled over and found a near instantaneous means of expression in the # OscarsSoWhite campaign.
Tuesday’s nominations put that issue away, at least for now. But it’s not over.
The critically acclaimed musical La La Land, tied with All About Eve and Titanic for the most nominations ever — 14 total. But Sehdev says its relegation of actors of color to insignificant roles will “only exacerbate the feeling that Hollywood’s core values remain whitewashed.”