Being divisive appears to be the current trend in the world today since one has to wonder just how this kind of issue hasn’t been addressed in the past and why the idea of ‘the best’ doesn’t appear to be as inclusive as it should be. The Oscars have been under fire for a few reasons in the past, but being inclusive and diverse is one that is easy enough to argue, but hard to reach a definite compromise when speaking to others as to the real core issue, since the truth of any contest shouldn’t have much of anything to do with race or color, but who puts forth the best and most appreciated effort. When it comes to racial stereotypes as mentioned by MovieWeb writers and many others, there have been some truly big gaffes in the past that have done more harm to the psyche of various people than others, but looking back upon the history of cinema it’s still far too simple to see where many people have diverged in their lines of thinking when it comes to diversity and inclusion. As far as BIPOC go in movies, there are many that have been seen as rather troubling, but there are also many that have, from an historical and cultural standpoint, been on point and respectful of the cultures they’ve depicted. Yet lately there are plenty that are standing up and stating that the movies of the past and present are not as diverse as they could be, or as inclusive as they could be.
The argument as to why shows such as Game of Thrones and The Witcher don’t feature more POC’s has become an issue, while movies that are based in African or primarily black nations or in other parts of the world where European influence is not seen as a huge factor appear to suffer no criticism for their supposed lack of diversity. Funny how that pendulum doesn’t swing both ways, isn’t it? Like it or not, movies and shows that are featured in various regions of the world are going to show a primary lean towards the dominant population of the region, meaning that in some areas Caucasians will be dominant, while in others Native Americans might have been the dominant group, while in other regions POC’s might be dominant. In terms of the movies, particularly those period pieces that some might think aren’t inclusive enough, the fact is that while POC’s did exist in that era, it is likely that they weren’t as prominent within the population. But I’m rambling, and I’ll get back to the point.
Inclusion doesn’t involve one side giving way to allow greater influence from other parts of the world in order to make sure they’re represented. If there’s going to be true equality then the flow needs to go both ways, but that doesn’t appear to be the desire at the moment. Instead, the Oscars are being forced to conform in this instance to add in new rules concerning inclusion and diversity that sound rather odd since if there’s any purity in a competition to be the best, it’s that the best presentations will win out. Whether a person wants to agree with this or not, those that find that their efforts aren’t being rewarded and think it’s because of their color or race are being a little childish and might have been the recipient of too many participation trophies at one point in their life. The Oscars are meant to be like any other competition, despite the fact that they’ve become a running joke among many Americans as the ‘best’ usually tends to be a biased and very disappointing choice that many people feel has leaned more towards one agenda or another in the past. One example of this was when Kathryn Bigelow’s movie, The Hurt Locker, took an Oscar over James Cameron’s movie, Avatar. Many people agreed that from multiple standpoints that Avatar was the superior movie, and created a much bigger buzz than The Hurt Locker, which was provocative and interesting on a more cerebral level. But this is the state of the Oscars at this time really, as the competition has become not unlike a sapling in the winds of opinion, able to be swayed and bent without much effort should a minor breeze or a strong gale blow by.
In a big way the Oscars were already giving in to a lot of pressure from people thinking that the competition was rigged, but now with the push towards even more inclusive measures and a bid for more diversity, it’s likely that ‘the best’ will be swayed even more as any attempt to choose something other than a racially diverse movie will be met with harsh and unyielding criticism. At some point it feels as though people might have to stop apologizing for things they haven’t done and pick their heads up to see where things are going.
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