The Oscars Were A Bummer For Women — But A Triumph For Men of Color
Which makes it a win (and white feminists need to hear it).
I am, as it appears, a white feminist. I’m white, and I identify as a feminist. Though the phrase “white feminism” is deceiving and has absolutely no relation to my personal beliefs about what feminism means.
White feminism is taking the most elementary theories about gender equality and tailoring it into a prejudiced, privileged, and exclusive form of activism that neglects the struggles that people of color face.
Many feminists abhor this concept, and it is inexcusably oppressive to ethnic minorities who face far more discrimination than white women. Modern feminism has evolved from an issue for women into a movement that includes lifting up ethnic minorities, fighting for reproductive rights, discussions of class, and of course, gender identity and LGBTQ+ rights. It absorbs the fight for gender equality with other equally important topics — this feminism is called intersectional feminism and strives to connect groups facing discrimination with a community of activists willing to fight with them, because, in the end, we are all human, and humans require friends and allies to face foes like misogynists, racists, and homophobes. This means, of course, that feminism isn’t exclusive to women and ultimately attempts to be inclusive to men facing discrimination as well.
Confession time: I was somewhat absorbed into the ever-present gust of white feminists who take Twitter by storm when women have been wronged. This seems especially prevalent during awards season (I can feel your heart rate increasing, but the worse of it is over. We’re safe).
I am not saying that there were women who were not seriously snubbed this year, as expected. Greta Gerwig was ridiculously disrespected when she didn’t earn a nomination for Best Director because the timelines of Little Women were “too confusing” — I’m sorry, but whichever dumb male producer said that seriously needs an eye exam and a sock in the face. Last I checked, she used extremely obvious color grading to assign different time periods, as well as costumes, as well as where the characters were (how was it confusing when Amy was in Paris in one timeline and back home in the other? How did you miss that there was a time change? Can she teleport?). Christopher Nolan is a genius with his insane timelines yet somehow Greta Gerwig is at fault when somebody can’t understand the art of filmmaking. Boohoo.
So yes, women lost a little. Women of color lost too, with only one out of the ten Best Actress/Best Supporting Actress nominations given to Cynthia Erivo for her role in Harriet. Lupita N’yongo was ignored for her part in Us. Song Kang-Ho wasn’t granted a nomination for Parasite. People even noted that Jennifer Lopez was overlooked as Best Supporting Actress for Hustlers.
Why these women were snubbed is a valid inquiry. People have been calling for the Academy to diversify for years: it’s still a mostly white, mostly male club making decisions that disproportionately ignore movies about, by, or starring women and people of color.
But it still left a sour taste in my mouth when women tweeted how Little Women deserved Best Adapted Screenplay — and I got to the bottom of why it made me queasy.
The winner of Best Adapted Screenplay was Jojo Rabbit, a comedy-drama about a young boy in Nazi Germany and his struggles to adapt to the changes that come from World War II. It was written and directed by Taika Waititi based on a book by Christine Leunen. The concept of a satire wherein the main character is a boy obsessed with becoming a Nazi is hard to understand — I recommend it to people with a brief description of the film’s plot and they scrunch their noses in distaste. It is a movie you have to see to understand. And, in my opinion, it is a great movie, and Waititi was able to approach the difficult topic of antisemitism in a profound way.
Taika Waititi has directed movies I like in the past (Thor: Ragnarok) because he is a talented director. But he was also able to connect with the content and I respected the way he handled the message. He was not only the director, but starred in it as Hitler. The Jewish Polynesian director did “zero research” about playing Hitler because “what better f*ck you to that guy?”
Not only was history made when Waititi became the first indigenous person to be nominated (and win!) in the category, but the thriller Parasite directed by Bong Joon-ho also broke records. Joon-ho became the third non-English speaking director in a row to win Best Director. His film was the first non-English speaking film to win Best Picture in history. African-American director Matthew A. Cherry earned the Best Animated Short Oscar for his film Hair Love, which is a short movie about a man who attempts to do his daughter’s hair for the first time (and it’s adorable).
Though the Oscars have a long way to go as far as representing the efforts of women and people of color, it seems that each year history is being made. This year, it was especially satisfying to watch incredible films directed by men of color earn Oscars.
Representation in the Oscars (and other Awards shows) isn’t just about women who were disregarded — and the uproar shouldn’t just be about women, especially when other deserving minority directors are rightfully given Oscars; how many times has Little Women been adapted for the big screen versus Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit?
(Not to say that I didn’t like Little Women. I cried the whole time. It’s one of my top five favorite movies.)
Feminists can still support the successes of women without discounting equally important successes earned by people of color. White feminists were enraged after the Oscars about Waititi’s win and quiet about Joon-ho’s. More attention was given to Natalie Portman’s cape embroidered with the names of women who were snubbed for Oscars than the significance of Waititi and Joon-ho’s wins combined.
In such a divided world, there is no place for feminism that doesn’t include other minorities. Allowing white feminists to exist in a bubble of ignorance about any discrimination that isn’t gender discrimination only endorses white supremacy. Feminism doesn’t just exist for women — it exists to lift up anyone facing discrimination for things they cannot or will not change about themselves. It exists to protect people at higher risk than average white men from harm and discrimination. It breathes life into activism that helps to make the world a more accepting place.
There is undoubtedly a long way to go for the Oscars. But discrediting the successes of creators like Waititi, Joon-ho, and Cherry is an unnecessary promotion of white feminism. Injustices exist not only in gender discrimination, and we, as feminists, owe it to people of color to try and understand that.
Support women, obviously. But also, support and celebrate projects made by black people. By Asian people. By Latinx people. By those in the LGBTQ+ community. That is the only way in which we will see true inclusion in the media.
