With the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag going around, it is clear that the Oscars have a huge diversity problem, as in there is little to no diversity. Another issue that needs to be heavily discussed is the lack of female representation at the Oscars and in the academy itself.
As shown in the Sunday Morning Talk Show reading, females make up a very small percentage of those working in the news industry, those being interviewed in the news industry, and those working in film and TV. As pointed out, only 16% of television show directors are female.
2015 was a bad year to say the least for women at the Oscars. Not one best picture nomination told a story focused on a woman and her life. The Washington Post pointed out that not one woman was nominated for "visual effects, sound mixing, original screenplay, adapted screenplay, original score, directing and cinematography."
2016 is a better year for females at the Oscars, at least compared to 2015. This year, 3 best picture nominees follow the stories of female characters: Mad Max: Fury Road, Brooklyn, and Room. Also, this year women are nominated for best adapted screenplay, best original screenplay, film editing, and visuals effects. However, there were still no women nominated for cinematography, directing, sound mixing, or original score.
Being a woman who wants to work in the film industry, these facts are less than uplifting. There are so many amazing female filmmakers out there who deserve to be recognized. In my opinion, Room was the best film this year, and Brie Larson's performance is unbelievable.
It is clear that although there are some improvements, many still need to be made. An issue other than adding much more diversity to the academy members themselves, would also be to add more female academy members. According to the LA Times, males make up 77% of the academy. Nothing will change in the media industry until there is more female representation and minority representation.
Source: http://www.bustle.com/articles/135113-the-2016-oscar-nominees-recognized-women-in-more-categories-than-in-recent-years
What is interesting is that because of the fact that their are exclusively "female" categories, we hardly ever are confronted with the fact that women are ignored in other categories. I'd also be interesting in seeing how many trans/non-binary folks are ever included in these award shows, or involved in general in media production, because it's looking pretty cis-centered to me.
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