I Have a Few Things to Say About This Whole Diversity Thing

Now that Oscar Season is over and everyone is returning to the drudgery of real life, I feel it’s time to address the “diversity” controversy that plagued this year’s celebration of 2014 filmmaking. Because this is going to affect the Academy Awards nominations and winners forevermore, and, in my opinion, that is a true shame.

The complaints of “lack of diversity” started immediately after the Oscar nominees were announced on January 15. Although not everyone who was nominated was white, the fact that the acting categories featured a group of white people was enough to start the anti-diversity-accusation motors revving. “How dare the Academy only nominate white people?” they cried. “Look at all the deliberate snubs!” they roared.

Of course, the fact that the nomination process is designed to prevent any real “snubbing,” was irrelevant. And at no point did anyone look over the list of films eligible for nominations and ask how many of those films featured outstanding performances by minority actors. Or consider that many Academy members may, in fact, have included minority actors on their nomination forms but just not close enough to the top of the list to make the cut. Such ranking would indicate that they felt a minority performance was worthy, but not as worthy as, say, Eddie Redmayne’s incredible turn as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything or Michael Keaton’s fine performance in Birdman. They weren’t saying “We don’t want to nominate any black people this year.” They were saying, “These are the performances we thought were best.” Period.

And note that really it was just one film that everyone felt was snubbed – the Martin Luther King Jr. biopic, Selma. Not a single other minority-led film was in on the snub-party. Just one movie was left out, according to the whiners. So, it wasn’t like a whole year went by filled with outstanding minority performances and every one of them got ignored – 323 features were eligible for Academy consideration in 2014, and the diversity squad could only come up with ONE it felt deserved to be honored. That wasn’t the Academy’s fault.

Basically, their interpretation of events went like this: out of 323 films, one minority-made film was any good, and Academy members deliberately left it off their ballots because they were racists. (We’ll assume nobody noticed that this year’s Director and Picture awards went to Alejandro González Iñárritu, who is a native of Mexico . . .so . . . not white).

So, here’s what will happen this year when the nomination process begins.

Rather than writing down the films, performances, and technical achievements they feel demonstrated the best storytelling and the most skill, Academy members will feel duty-bound to adjust their lists to make sure they feature some minorities. Nobody will want to be accused of all those ugly ‘isms again, so everyone will deliberately nominate minority-themed films, black or female directors and producers, and black actors, even if those films and individuals were not actually their first choices.

At which point, the purpose of the Oscars will be compromised.

They might as well adapt the nominations form to read, “Please list the five best performances by an actor in 2015. Now pick the best minority performance and place it in the #1 slot.”

I’m not saying that I’ve agreed with every choice the Academy has made in the past or that I’m unaware of the amount of money that goes into promoting films and accomplishments in the hopes of influencing voters. But when a group of artists feels bullied into nominating and bestowing awards upon works and people for reasons other than honest appreciation of the talent displayed, those nominations and awards no longer mean anything.

And at this point, how can any minority Oscar nominee or winner really trust that the recognition received is actually deserved? Do people really want awards that were granted solely because of their skin-color? Is “Best Actor Who Was Black” really an honor? And for that matter, do women really want to win the “Best Director Who Was Female” award?

To all of you who considered it a travesty that the Academy failed to recognize more minorities in their nominations this year, here’s how you solve the problem:

• Volunteer to run a free filmmaking camp for minority students.
• Create scholarships for young minorities interested in studying film production in college.
• Encourage middle and high schools to expand their film departments.
• Hold acting seminars at YMCAs or Boys & Girls Clubs in inner cities.
• Donate your money to organizations that work to keep under-privileged youth off the streets and engaged in productive activities – such as . . . oh, I don’t know . . . filmmaking.
• GO OUT AND MAKE YOUR OWN MOVIE.

The correct response to the “all white” 2014 nominations wasn’t to accuse the Academy of doing something wrong. The correct response to to step up your game. Don’t demand that the Academy “be more diverse.” Every person who wins an Oscar becomes an Academy member, so stop whining and make the Academy more diverse by creating great movies and participating in the process.

You want minorities recognized for outstanding achievements? Achieve something outstanding! Make a great movie. Deliver a performance that’s brilliant. Write something that takes the audience’s breath away. Win an Oscar because you did something remarkable – not because you complained the most loudly.

-Kristin

2/25/15