The firestorm surrounding this year’s Academy Awards – that there is a serious lack of racial diversity in most of the major categories – has finally reached the top. Due to public pressure that has, no doubt, been amplified by the recent announcement of several major film stars boycotting the Awards ceremony, The Academy is expected to make some sort of major change to ensure that more than just white people are nominated in major categories. According to The New York Times, several people have been briefed on the matter, and have announced that the changes will come as early as next week.
What changes can be made? The first step is to go to the studios and encourage colorblind casting in major Hollywood releases; the default mode of most casting directors seems to be “white.” Also, voting practices have been of dubious clarity for many years, so more stringent voting rules may be put into place; there’s no incentive for voters to see all major releases of the year, for instance. Perhaps voters should be required to see a minimum number of eligible films in any given year. As a critic, I would make the minimum 100 – a small number for a professional critic – but I know that’s not practical for many people. That would ensure, in theory, that voters see a more diverse cross-section of films.
Check Out: #OscarsSoWhite | The Outrage Continues; More Boycotts Arise
Some are encouraging the older members of the Academy – often amorphously blamed for the very particular type of films that are frequently nominated for awards – to be retired after a certain period of inaction in the industry. If you don’t make a movie for, say, 20 years, you don’t get to vote.
The Academy representative has not yet commented on what changes they may make.
Whatever happens, I look forward to seeing what host Chris Rock will say on the matter.
Witney Seibold is a contributor to the CraveOnline Film Channel, and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. He also contributes to Legion of Leia, and Blumhouse. You can follow him on “Twitter” at @WitneySeibold, where he is slowly losing his mind.
