The infographic at the bottom of this post (via Lee & Low) is nothing new. In 2012 the “Los Angeles Times” published a report telling us 94% of Oscar voters were white and 77% are male with a median age of 62. Lee & Low’s numbers match that exactly. Why? Well, because as the fine print on the bottom says, they used that very article from the Times to aid in their research.
Of course, this year the Academy demographics may be looked at a little closer, especially with Steve McQueen‘s slavery drama 12 Years a Slave being a major contender for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress and Adapted Screenplay.
it was widely reported some Academy members were unwilling to watch Brokeback Mountain? Despite Ang Lee taking Best Director that year it was Crash that took home Best Picture.
However, I can’t help but consider some items that seem to have been overlooked with this year’s race considering the year’s other lead contender.
Does it help to mention the #1 film competing against 12 Years for Picture and Director is Gravity, which was written and directed by Alfonso Cuaron, a Mexican-born filmmaker? Neither a film from a black director or Mexican director has ever won Best Picture or Best Director. Cuaron is widely considered the front-runner for Best Director and the film has become, more-or-less, a split front-runner for Best Picture alongside 12 Years, a status no more evident than by the tie for Best Film at the 2014 Producers Guild Awards.
Is it not a “win” for diversity if either film takes Best Picture? Then again, this isn’t to discount the lack of diversity in the Academy. It’s not as if we can just say, “Hey look, they gave it to a film directed by a Mexican!” or “Hey look, a black man won Best Director!” and everything is solved. It was 50 years ago when Sidney Poitier won Best Actor and I’d argue, despite some advancement, not a whole lot has changed since then.
Everyone recognizes the Academy for what it is — white, male and old — and in general terms the industry reflects similar demographics. I do, however, think the graphic below and the accompanying blog post by Lee & Low is a little misleading when it says it’s looking at “the Academy’s entire 85-year history” considering the Academy is now coming up on its 87th year in existence, which makes these numbers two years short of “entire”. The Academy has shown signs of recognizing it has an issue with diversity, though what are the quick fixes?
In 2013 the Academy added 276 new members, 87 of which were women along with foreign filmmakers and black filmmakers including Ava DuVernay (Middle of Nowhere), McQueen and Tim Story (Fantastic Four). In a membership totaling nearly 6,000 people it’s going to be hard to make much of a dent in two years.
New Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the first African American president and third female, recognizes this, and says in a new article at Reuters, “I believe very strongly that the entertainment and motion picture business is going to be more open and aware of different voices.” Only time will tell and it’s going to take a lot of time.
This isn’t a defense of the Academy, but while so much attention during this time of year targets the Academy, I think it’s a much larger issue than anything having to do just with awards. Take, one recent example, two actresses from this past year — Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street). One was nominated for an Oscar (and considered the frontrunner), the other not. One has lined up nothing since their breakout 2013 performance, the other has lined up two films, one a studio tentpole. I’ll let you guess which is which.
