Academy establishes inclusion standards for award eligibility
Following the 2020 Emmys’ increase in nominations of underrepresented groups, expectations for the Oscars are high when it comes to their efforts towards diversity and inclusion. NICO VALENTINE, Staff Photographer.
In 2016, after not a single person of color was nominated for an Academy Award in acting, writer, editor and former lawyer April Reign created the hashtag “OscarsSoWhite” to mock the lack of diversity within the award ceremony. Twitter users adopted the mantra almost instantly to call out the program’s shortfall in representing stars of color.
“The #OscarsSoWhite movement was overdue. We have a moviegoing audience on a worldwide basis that doesn't look just white,” said Joseph Rosenberg, associate professor at Chapman’s Dodge School of Film and Media Arts. “If we are supposed to be at the forefront of culture, then we have to make content that appeals to every voice. I don’t think there’s any going back nor should there be.”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Sept. 8 new representation and inclusion requirements for eligibility in the Best Picture award category to take effect in 2024. Though these standards solely apply to the singular award, they serve as both guidelines and as a wake-up call to studios about the kinds of stories that deserve to take home Best Picture, Rosenberg said.
“It’s insane that with all of the talented people – irrespective of race, religion, sexuality and gender – that this didn’t happen sooner,” Rosenberg said. “Talent is talent. We need to be colorblind. We’re supposed to be ahead of the curve and yet, in some ways, we’ve been a traditional industry.”
For the 96th Oscars, a film must meet two of four “standards” to be deemed eligible for nomination. Each standard has a subset of requirements towards diversity quotas, and for a film to fulfill that standard, one of those subset categories must be achieved.
Standard A focuses on onscreen racial diversity; Standard B promotes diversity through creative leadership; Standard C implements industry access for marginalized voices; and Standard D strives to diversify its audience development process.
Stephen Galloway, the recently appointed dean of Dodge College, has been pushing for increased diversity in the entertainment industry for years. In 2009, Galloway – former executive editor and producer at The Hollywood Reporter – created “The Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program,” which works to pair high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds with accomplished women in the entertainment industry. More than 250 teenagers have participated in the program and gone on to prestigious colleges.
“When the Academy massively increased its membership for women and people of color, it sent a very strong message to the industry. But symbolism is not real change, and I put this in the category of not real change,” Galloway said. “Journalism is in the business of pointing out what’s done wrong; I would not say I’ve been very popular with its establishment because I’ve repeatedly said they can do more.”
Adding on to his criticism of the Academy’s new quota system, Galloway suggested more tangible changes to the industry, ones that function at a more individual level. He pointed to creatives such as writer Ryan Murphy, who according to The Hollywood Reporter, gives 60% of directorial positions to women.
Anne Beatts, a lecturer within Dodge College, is a renowned television writer and producer who won two Emmys as a writer for the original “Saturday Night Live” (SNL). She knows quite a bit about the gender inequality within the industry that Galloway has been fighting to rectify.
“When I started on SNL, I was one of three women writers out of 13, and fighting tooth and nail to even be there,” Beatts said. “I fantasized about coming to the writers meeting in a strap-on dildo because John Belushi wouldn’t be in any of our sketches because he said, ‘Chicks aren’t funny.’”
Recently, the 2020 Emmys took steps forward to increasing the diversity of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and women nominees. While increased representation at award shows is notable, ultimately change has to start at a foundational level, Galloway explained.
“(The industry) should be offering female creatives those opportunities, but beyond that, they should be providing, at minimum, entry-level jobs that allow women to experience production and directing – which could then lead to them taking on bigger projects,” Galloway said. “Whether you like Ava DuVernay’s or Lulu Wang’s films or not, how come so few of them are reaching that point to begin with?”