The student news site of Oakton High School

Oakton Outlook

The student news site of Oakton High School

Oakton Outlook

The student news site of Oakton High School

Oakton Outlook

#OscarsSoWhite

%23OscarsSoWhite

The 2015 Oscar nominees were presented to the public, and as a result, many people were angered by the fact that most of the nominees were white and male. Immediately after the announcement, Twitter blew up with the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. However, they have every right to be mad about the nominations. 20 of the contenders for lead and supporting actor are all white for the first time since 1998. This is baffling, since in this time and age, we are more encouraging of diversity.
The movie “Selma,” which is based around Martin Luther King Jr.’s civil rights protests, received only two nominations for best picture and best song. People were surprised by this, considering this movie has been judged as the best film of the year by Rotten Tomatoes. Ava DuVernay, the film’s director, who was nominated for a Golden Globe, was not even nominated for an Oscar. If she were, she would have made history by being the first female African American director nominated for an Oscar.
The director category was mainly dominated by white males. Richard Linklater (Boyhood), Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game) and Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher), were all the white males nominated for best directior. Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu (Birdman) was the only nonwhite nominated. No women were nominated in the two screenwriting categories as well.
However, there may be a reason for why all the nominees are white and male. A 2012 Los Angeles Times report found that the people who vote for the nominees of the Oscars are 94% white and 77% male. This brings forward some questions to why the judges of the Oscars are not diverse. If they were, then the voting process would be more fair. Over the next few years, the Oscars should reinvent the group of critics who vote for the nominees. Having a more diverse group will promote diversity not only in the Oscars, but also it will influence diversity amongst others.

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