Have the Oscars moved past the #OscarsSoWhite controversy that plagued the Academy for the past two years? If one were solely looking at the list of nominations for 2017, it would appear so. Out of the twenty award nominations available to actors and actresses, seven were given to people of color. While this is still less than half of the available nominations, it is a vast improvement from the past two years, when every single actor and actress nominated was white.
This year's Oscar nominees
Out of the seven minority actors and actresses nominated for awards, six are black -- a record for the Academy.
Rounding out the list of seven is Dev Patel, who received an Oscar nomination for his supporting performance in "Lion." Aside from the acting nominations, minorities were also represented throughout various categories. Kimberly Steward, only the second black woman in history to be nominated as a producer, was nominated for her work on "Manchester by the Sea." Barry Jenkins became the fourth black director in history to be nominated for Best Director after his incredible work on the coming of age story, "Moonlight." The category that showcased minorities the most might have been the Best Documentary category, where four of the five directors are people of color.
While minorities were nominated throughout the various categories, its the inclusion into the Academy's biggest award, Best Picture, that will leave some saying the Oscars have officially diversified.
Four of the nine nominated movies ("Moonlight," "Fences," "Hidden Figures," "Lion") heavily showcase minorities behind and/or in front of the camera. "Hidden Figures," a late entry due to its January release, was critically-acclaimed at the box office and has been gaining steam as a dark horse for Best Picture. "Moonlight," possibly the crown jewel of minority filmmaking this year, was nominated for eight Academy Awards, trailing only "La La Land," who tied an Oscar record with its fourteen nominations.
Both are heavy favorites to take home the Academy's most prestigious award. Coincidentally, "Moonlight" has a cast made up almost completely of people of color, while "La La Land" has been criticized for its nearly complete lack of diversity.
Is it enough?
The Academy certainly took a step forward this year with the amount of minorities nominated for awards.
However, it is not a coincidence that they diversified after facing two years of intense scrutiny for their nomination choices. But is it enough? It seems that the Academy may have missed the actual point of the #OscarsSoWhite movement. Diversity is not a simple issue. It's not something that can be parsed as simply as black and white. No, diversity is made of endless shades and hues reflecting all backgrounds and walks of life. Diversity means including Muslims, Asians, Latinos, Native-Americans, and LGBTQ artists as well.
The Academy certainly made progress with their nominations, but it was more of a baby step than a leap. The fact remains that only one Asian actor was nominated for an award, Dev Patel.
Latinos, who make up the fast growing demographic in the United States, were shut out from acting nominations once again. Lin Manuel Miranda took home the sole nomination for Latinos with his work on "Moana." He was nominated for Best Original Song. Asians and Latinos have been under and misrepresented in Hollywood since its birth. The few precious roles carved out to Latinos and Asians have long been absorbed by white actors (coining the term "whitewashing"). Examples of this include Ben Affleck playing Mexican-American CIA operative Antonio "Tony" Mendez in his film "Argo," as well as Mickey Rooney in yellowface playing the role of Yunioshi in "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Both films went on to be nominated for Academy Awards.
It's clear that while this year was certainly encouraging, there is still a long road that the Academy and Hollywood at large need to travel before diversity can truly be realized.
