Oscar Recap: When Will Hollywood Normalize Diversity?
The light shined through the large windows of Union Station as attendees sat at their socially distanced tables in a room that embodied old-time Hollywood. The camera followed Regina King strutting through the venue in a blue, custom Louis Vuitton dress with an Oscars in hand to open the 93rd Academy Awards.
In a year where it felt like every major moment was captured on Zoom, seeing people in person on my television screen brought a sense of normalcy back. This year’s academy awards took a departure from its usual overstuffed Dolby Theater ritual. The intimate celebration was styled into a mini-movie with an all-star cast instead of presenters and it skipped the clip montages in favor of the personal anecdotes of each nominee.
The faces in the room were not the usual Meryls or Toms, but new talent that finally was able to have their breakout moment thanks to commercial blockbusters taking a seat during the pandemic. The stories of 2020 introduced us to a Korean family in the heart of America, a widow traveling the country in a van, the leader of the Black Panthers, and so many more. Mainstream news outlets wrote Op-ed complaints that the films felt too real to the current state of the world and that the show should be canceled because they did not consider these stories worthy enough for an Oscar.
Even though the ambiance of the night felt different, it followed its predecessors by maintaining the theme of diversity. The conversations around diversity and inclusion have been much needed prior to 2015’s #oscarssowhite. Since then, the Academy has increased membership of women to 32% and people of color to 16%. The needle is slowly moving with the progress the voting body is making with the inclusivity of membership. It is translating into winners and nominees. This year we saw major history Sunday night that put Hollywood’s inclusive initiatives into action.
Chloe Zhao was a frontrunner for Best Director the entire season. She delivered one of the most beautiful films filled that was a humanistic, love letter to the American landscape. Zhao became the first woman of color, the second woman ever to win Best Director for Nomadland, and the second Asian woman to win Best Picture. Although it was a call to celebrate her achievements, it also felt bittersweet that it took 93 years for the Academy to finally award the second female director and first woman of color in this category. It only emphasizes the lack of inclusivity Hollywood was built on.
As Jamika Wilson accepted the Oscar for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom alongside Mia Neal and Sergio Lopez-Rivera, the two women became the first Black women to win this category. Neal’s speech focused on the need for intersectional women in Hollywood. She looks forward to the day that people from trans, Asian, Indigenous, and Latin communities can grace the Oscar stage and accept the prestigious award. That day will not be groundbreaking -it will be normal.
She sums up how Hollywood sees diversity. These wins are so monumental and will only be seen as so until people of color and marginalized communities are considered equal to their white counterparts. People of color winning at these ceremonies are not treated as a norm but more like a once-in-a-lifetime situation. With more of these wins happening consistently the industry slowly inches closer to equity.
When we think of diversity, accessibility is so often left out of the conversation. This year’s ceremony had an American Sign Language interpreter present. Marlee Matlin delivered awards in the documentary categories in ASL. The media room included closed captioning and audio descriptions. On the other hand, 83-year-old Anthony Hopkins was denied being able to Zoom in from his home in Wales. The Best Actor Winner had his representatives plead to the Academy to let him Zoom but was denied. It seems a little absurd to expect an 83-year-old man to travel to a covid hotspot in London to be able to accept his award.
Diversity prevailed in the supporting acting categories as Daniel Kaluuya and Yuh-Jung Youn won their first Oscars. She made history as the first Korean actress to win in her category and Kaluuya was the fifth black actor to win in his.
The celebration of these wins was undercut with some moments that show Hollywood is still antiquated in the past. Fresh off his win, Daniel Kaluuya was mistaken for Leslie Odom Jr. in the press room by a reporter. Youn called out the mispronunciation of her name by presenter Brad Pitt and others during the award season. Youn, a famous, well-established actress in Korea, was asked three questions by journalists all because she was walking with Brad Pitt. These mishaps can be seen as microaggressions toward minorities. Journalists covering high-stakes events should be carefully vetted and required to know the careers of each nominee. This type of mix-up would not happen to a Meryl or Tom. These microaggressions further misrepresent marginalized voices by not accurately covering them as they would a white counterpart.
The Best Actress and Best Actor categories were the most exciting they had been in years with every nominee deserving of the award. Frances McDormand in an incredible role that only she could play won her third-best actress trophy and became the first person to win for acting and producing in one night. Anthony Hopkins with a career-best performance pulled off a shocking, well-deserved win. Chadwick Boseman was expected to win Best Actor as he swept award season and the whole show was marketed and restructured for the emotional win. By the end of the night, Hollywood returned to its normalcy after making so many strides in previous categories. When will Hollywood finally allow a woman of color to follow Halle Berry in winning the top award?
The wins of Zhao, Youn, Neal, Wilson, H.E.R., and more should be celebrated. It shows that Hollywood has the potential to include more voices than the norm. It is time for Hollywood to stop its gatekeeping and follow through on its promises to amplify the voices of the marginalized. It is time to make these normal.