After the #OscarsSoWhite catastrophe of 2016 because of The Academy’s failure to nominate a single actor of color, the nominees for this year’s Oscars are more diverse than ever. For the first time in history, a person of color is nominated in each of the major acting categories and this shows a huge effort to increase the film industry’s diversity. While #OscarsSoWhite is seemingly a thing of the past, there’s no telling how long this will last and it’s important to understand who votes for the Oscars and how the voting process works in order to ensure that minority representation continues to increase.
After the backlash on Twitter and boycott of the Oscars that many members of Hollywood took part in last year, The Academy vowed to add a significant number of minority actors to its categories by the year 2020.
One way that The Academy sought to combat the issue of the lack of diversity in nominees was by placing membership limits on those who can vote for the awards. Up until this year, membership in the Academy could be kept among members for their entire lives which, to be blunt, led to a majority of old, white men voting for nominees. Now, if a member hasn’t been active for 10 years, their membership expires.
New members are accepted annually and are invited by the board of governors. They must also be accepted by the executive committee of the branch in which they would belong such as actors, directors and even public relations representatives. Members vote within their branch but all members are able to vote for the Best Picture category.
2016 was composed of several stunning films that starred people of color or were made and directed by people of color and it’s encouraging to know that they will be honored during the 89th annual Academy Awards. While there may always be controversy around who gets nominated, ensuring that representation is equal is something The Oscars must aim to do year after year.
America is diverse, it’s about time Hollywood starts mirroring that.