The 2021 Academy Awards broke several records for gender and racial diversity. However, we wish that one day, the matter of "diversity" is no longer a concept to be emphasized, but everyone who is different has the same opportunity, which is a common thing.
May one day we embrace more equality and pluralism in movies, before life.
Following the multi-controversy over "#Oscar So White" at the 2015 Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced a new policy in 2020 that will double the number of women and members of diverse ethnic groups in the future through a multi-rating system.
According to statistics, nearly 89 percent of the nominees in the Academy Awards "Best" category over the past decade have been white, and 71.1 percent of them are men. Over the years, the lack of diversity has been an important issue for the Oscars, and a significant number of women and minority-themed works have failed to receive the attention and recognition of the judges.
Responding to the multiple ratings system proposed in 2020, David Rubin, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said, "We believe that these inclusive norms will inspire lasting and necessary change in the film industry." 」
A year after the diversity review policy was announced, INSIDER, a leading American media outlet, commented on this year's shortlist, noting that "people of color other than whites have received the most Oscar nominations ever this year, and a significant number of nominations have broken previous records." 」
From the shortlist, it can be found that in terms of ethnicity, there are nine non-white faces among the 20 finalists for best supporting actor and supporting actress, and the percentage of finalists from all ethnic groups is the closest in the History of the Oscars;
Photo|Photo by Stockgood on PIXTA
Is the Oscars really diverse?
The more diverse the film, the more diverse the nominations will be.
Many wonder why this year's Oscars have been so quick to live up to expectations of "diversity and inclusion".
Back in 2020, two of the most important events affecting the United States, or the world, were the new coronary pneumonia and the "Freudian Incident", which rekindled the discussion of racial issues. The human rights movement came to a head after Floyd was crushed to death by police, and this year's Oscars were in part a renewed response to racial human rights issues.
As for the impact of the new crown pneumonia on Oscar diversity, you can look back at the NPR (National Public Radio) study, which notes: "According to the UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report, last year, women and people of color in Hollywood gained relatively rich room for development in a variety of jobs (actors, screenwriters, directors, etc.). 」
Meanwhile, 39.7 per cent of the top 185 films released in 2020 were led by people of color, while 47.8 per cent were starring women, nearly double the number in the past. But what does this have to do with the outbreak?
In fact, because of the global epidemic, a considerable number of "big-budget" films can not be shown in cinemas, compared with mid-range and small-scale films, because of cost and budget factors, it is easier to choose to be exposed on the online streaming platform, replacing cinema screenings, which also reflects another contradiction in the film industry.
That is, films that typically feature female and disadvantaged ethnic groups have a lower budget than male- and white-dominated films, so in the past year, video streaming platforms have had a better chance of buying films and videos on these diverse subjects.
This shows that behind the Diversity of the Oscars is the larger nature of Hollywood filmmaking: women, disadvantaged ethnic groups as the main director, film production funding is still relatively inadequate. This is also an important issue for the global film ecosystem as the global epidemic slows down following the 2021 Oscars.
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When pluralism does not have to be an issue, we are finally equal
This year's Oscars, as in previous years, have a considerable number of heavyweight filmmakers on stage to receive awards, speeches.
In the speech, there is a person's faith in himself and the world, and the desire to convey the value through the work. As the number of winners on stage becomes more diverse, the broader the issues of concern become. For the world's tolerance, reflected in the film, but also through the film, to bring more people on stage and off the stage new throbbing, that is the power of language, but also the most moving high-gloss moment of the annual Oscars.
Mia Neal, who won best makeup design and best costume design for the film "Days of Blues," said in a statement: "I was a grandpa with a big grandfather who graduated from Northwestern University, where most schools didn't allow blacks to stay on campus, and when he returned to his hometown hoping to become a teacher, he found that the school didn't allow black people to be hired." I want to thank my ancestors, because they never give up, so we have today, to break this invisible ceiling, but also let me stand here. 」
Mia Neal was divine, her words choked, and the applause rang out from the stage, and she took every second of her speech on the stage.
She continued: "I can imagine the future when black transgender women will come here, and asians, women of all ethnicities, and one day they will no longer be "special" but something more common." 」
In addition to ethnic diversity, this year's Academy Awards have also improved in terms of gender.
Among the "best" awards, women received the highest number of nominations in years, breaking the 23 nominees in 2018 to 24. And in the final 23 awards, nearly half of the women won, including Chinese-American director Zhao Wei, who was the third Asian-American director to win the Best Director award after Ang Lee and Feng Junhui, and the first Asian-American female director to win best director and best picture.
"Thank you to all those who taught us resilience and the power of hope, and remind us of the nature of kindness," Zhao said in his award speech. Believe that human nature has a great impact on me, although I still sometimes feel that human nature is not so good, but fortunately, I met are good people. This award, I would like to dedicate to those who have the faith and courage to keep goodness forever, because that is actually how difficult it is to do. 」
Photo | Dazhi/Reuters
Why are we talking about race and gender at the Oscars?
The film gives a complete picture, leads the discussion, creates the model, provides the narrative, and gives the way to face life.
Invisibly, the film culture has deep-rooted influence on society, so the multi-image, at the same time symbolizes the complexity of the world in all its faces, whether there are equal opportunities to enter the highest hall.
Had it not been for the growing diversity of the Oscars, Jan Pascale, a gay setter who won best art design for "Mank," might not have been so proud and loving, and, in a gentle tone, attributed the glory to his wife when he won the award: "Thank you to all who have helped me and made art design my life's work." Thank you to my wife, who inspires me endlessly every day of her life. 」
If it weren't for the ever-more diverse Oscars, perhaps we wouldn't have found that the most humorous part of the ceremony could have come from the 73-year-old Korean actress Nie Jung.
She won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for "Land of Dreams." In the three minutes of her speech, showing remarkable humor and grace with the actress, she smiled and said, "Finally, today I met Brad Pitt, and it's nice to meet you." There was a roar of laughter under the stage, arguably the most laughter-filled section of the bridge in this year's Oscar-winning speech. So after today, who dares to ignore the charm and humor of Asian women?
Photo | Dazhi/Reuters
Even though this year's Academy Awards are the most diverse in history, the number of nominations for men is still twice as high as that of women, suggesting that there is still a huge gender gap in the filmmaking industry. The proportion of nominations and awards is a microcosm of the entire film industry scene, and only when the films are diverse can the nominations be diversified.
Kickback Zhao Wei at the Golden Globe Awards, she said: "Sympathy will break all the 籓 between mankind, let people compare hearts, the suffering of others equals their own pain, we blend with each other, bear each other." 」
It is expected that everyone in the future, regardless of your gender, race, color, age, body shape, will have the opportunity to find the gold of life in the movie. Finally, a message to American actress Angela Bassett in memory of the filmmaker who died in 2020.
"When we are benefactors, we are only there for a short time, and when we give to others, we will live forever." As of April 25, US time, more than three million people had died of neo-crown pneumonia worldwide, and a significant number had died because of unequal violence, hatred, poverty, leaving us too early, making it even more important for us to cherish the moment of spending time with important others. Today, we want to celebrate the film to our common experience, as well as the praise of life, these love of film, let us in the heart forever left moved. 」
May one day we embrace more equality and pluralism in movies, before life.