The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Film academy moving full speed ahead on diversity
Despite stumbles, group remains very committed, it says.
LOS ANGELES — Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs appointed three new governors this past week: black director Reginald Hudlin, Latino writer Gregory Nava and Asian American animator Jennifer Yuh Nelson.
The appointments follow through on a promise Boone Isaacs made to diversify the leadership of the academy in January. Before the appointments, she and cinematography branch governor Daryn Okada were the only two board members of color.
The board also appointed additional academy members to various committees, adding Latin American actor Gael Garcia Bernal to the awards and events committee, cinematographer Amy Vincent to the preservation and history committee, black producer Effie Brown to the museum committee, Asian American executive Marcus Hu and black animator Floyd Norman to the education and outreach committee, black executive Vanessa Morrison to the finance committee and black pro- ducer Stephanie Allain to the membership and administration committee.
In a sign of the complexity of the diversity issue the academy faces, the industry group apologized Tuesday for jokes mocking Asians during its Oscars telecast, promising to be “more culturally sensitive” in the future.
The apology came in response to a letter sent by 25 academy members of Asian descent, including director Ang Lee, actors George Takei and Sandra Oh and former academy governors Don Hall, Freida Lee Mock and Arthur Dong.
The Feb. 28 telecast, which was packed with racially charged material related to the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, included one bit by host Chris Rock in which Asian American children played accountants, and a derogatory joke about Asians by presenter Sacha Baron Cohen.
“If you watched the Oscars, the word ‘diversi- ty’ seemed to mean black and white. That was it,” said Takei.
“We were absolutely aghast to see they compounded that by having a joke about Asian American children. How insensitive and how ignorant.”
The “Star Trek” actor, who was held with his family in an internment camp during World War II, said he and other Asian academy members began emailing each other about lodging a protest the night of the show.
“I grew up in prisons behind barbed-wire fences largely because of those stereotypes,” Takei said.
“Asians were depicted as merciless villains to be laughed at. Now the stereotype is we’re silent number counters or depicting child labor.”
Documentary filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña said she and other Asian academy members were surprised to see the jokes in a year when inclusion has been a defining is- sue for the academy, with the group taking dramatic action to diversify its membership after a second year of all-white acting nominees sparked an outcry.
In the letter, the academy members asked the board to respond to their criticism.
Last week, the academy addressed the letter in a statement issued by a spokeswoman.
“The academy appreciates the concerns stated, and regrets that any aspect of the Oscar telecast was offensive,” the statement read.
“We are committed to doing our best to ensure that material in future shows be more culturally sensitive.” Academy Chief Executive Dawn Hudson also sent a note expressing that sentiment to the 25 academy members who penned the letter.
Going forward, the board must figure out how to implement A2020, the plan Boone Isaacs announced in Janu- ary aimed at doubling the number of women and people of color among the academy’s 6,261 voting members.
Asians currently account for just more than 2 percent of the academy’s membership, according to a 2016 Los Angeles Times analysis.
Typically in the spring, each of the 17 academy branches begins considering new members, with the board approving and inviting them in June.
But this year is apt to be different from any before it.
In a February interview, Boone Isaacs told the Los Angeles Times that the academy is nevertheless committed to attaining those targets.
“There are enough qualified people,” Boone Isaacs said.
She also said that academy leaders will “do everything in our power to meet our goals because we know that this is the right thing to do. We’re going to make it happen.”