An Open Letter to the Oscars
Congratulations, you didn’t get scorned on Twitter this year with #OscarsSoWhite.
I’m so glad that the people in Hollywood still pat themselves on the back for nominating only about twenty persons of color per year. Yes, there are six Asian/Asian American nominees this year, but apparently that’s been about the average for the past ten years. There are eight black nominees in some of the biggest categories this year, but not a single woman of color was nominated in the Best Actress category.
So, no Hollywood, you do not get to pat yourself on the back for this “#OscarsSoDiverse.” Basically, you’re the person who says, “I’m not racist, some of my best friends are black!” It’s time to put my foot down and call BS on this whole thing because — in the words of Fannie Lou Hamer — I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.
are more diverse, but has
Hollywood really changed?
A recent Washington Post article shed some much needed light onto the issue of diversity in Hollywood. I would give that article a read because the facts and figures they present there are illuminating and maddening. Caucasians are still about 51% of all moviegoers, but compared with the percentage of Americans who identify as Caucasian (62%), white moviegoers are clearly underrepresented. Ever single minority group that the article looked at had a higher percentage of tickets sold than the actual percentage of the American population (see above).
So, why aren’t there more stories that represent this diversity and what does this tell me about the future of America? Well, Hollywood, the future ain’t white. The number of nonwhite children under the age of 10 is greater than the number of white children. This next generation of children is set to be the most diverse population the US has ever seen. For me, that means the media needs to step up its game.
And this goes for every nook and cranny of media, not just entertainment. We need more POC producers, show runners, anchors, CEOs, and execs in media. This generation of young people need to see their faces up on the big screen, they need role models, and they need older POCs to help guide them through this process.
I, like many other Americans, watched the Winter Olympics. I screamed when Mirai Nagasu was the first American woman to land a triple axel at the Olympics, when 17-year-old Chloe Kim won gold in snowboarding, and when the Shib Sibs took home bronze. Under-representation of Asian Americans at all levels of professional sports was thrown out the window when these history-making moments happened. 2018 is certainly shaping up to be the Year of the Asian American.
So, back to you, Hollywood. Let’s be real: it is impossible not to be inundated with your media. Heck, the entire world is inundated with American media. It’s called cultural imperialism. When you and your Chinese roommate can bond over a Pixar movie about talking cars, then you know that American culture has basically reached every part of the globe. And, as a person of color who wants to go into media as a future career, I want to create those avenues for other young POCs in America.
Yes, we should have stories like Lady Bird and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, but we should also have more stories like Coco and Get Out. We should embrace that America’s multicultural heritage means richer and nuanced stories. We don’t have to keep telling the same old “white’s good/POCs bad” kind of stories. The time for arguments such as “movies can’t sell without white faces” are done. Whitewashing no longer has a place in 2018, when there are hundreds and hundreds of talented POCs out there. Hollywood, you have to give them the chance.
And for the Old Guard Hollywood actors who keep taking away roles from POCs, I hope you feel ashamed of yourself. You know why Ghost in the Shell bombed? Because people are done with seeing yet another Asian role played by a white person. The United States touts that we’re post-racial, but I have a hard time buying that. And even if we move into a truly post-racial society, it doesn’t mean we should completely erase race from every single character we put on-screen.
April Reign, who started the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite back in 2015 should be lauded for her tweets this year. She brings up the point that “until we can no longer count a traditionally underrepresented community’s number of nominations…on our fingers, #OscarsSoWhite remains releveant.” She’s not done with the fight, and neither am I.
I guess by this point in my life I shouldn’t be surprised that Hollywood is giving themselves kudos for their noms this year. It’s not only the Academy’s problem, but the entire industry’s problem. Until there is more representation across the board, then they’re won’t be more nominations of POC actors/directors/writers/producers.
And the Hollywood community should embrace these stories and people with open arms. Kumail Nanjiani’s film, The Big Sick, came from a very personal place. And honestly, the stories we tell should be just like that. Coco made grown-ups cry from coast to coast. Most of them did not identify as Hispanic, but the nuance and richness of the storytelling made the story transcend cultural barriers. The myth we’ve created for American entertainment that people can only identify with white leads is tired and misleading.
Hollywood, I love you, but you continually misrepresent me and my community. You continually take away our cultural significance, force us into boxes, and keep us from reaching our potential. I suggest you brace yourself for the wave of changes just on the horizon because when they come crashing down, you might just go under.
