COLUMN: Oscar nominations showcase lack of diversity
Growing up, movies were always a part of my life. My family would sit down every Saturday to watch a movie together.
Now I am about to graduate and enter the movie industry. Breaking into the media world as a woman is tough, and that couldn't be more apparent to me after the 87th Academy Awards nominations list was revealed.
This year, 94 percent of the Oscar nominations are for white actors and 76 percent are for male actors.
If this doesn't make you angry, it should.
Where's the diversity?
It is 2015. It should be expected by now that Hollywood recognizes diversity. Unfortunately, the 87th Oscar nominations demonstrated that diversity and gender equality are not priorities to the Academy.
Actor David Oyelowo's very convincing performance as Martin Luther King Jr. should have earned him a nomination in "Selma."
This is the whitest Oscars since 1998, which was the last time there was not a single person of color nominated for an acting category.
Gender equality in Hollywood has always been a work in progress. Unfortunately, Hollywood took a step back this year. Ava DuVernay, director of "Selma," did not receive the nomination she deserved. DuVernay may not have won in her respective category, but a nomination would have at least acknowledged her talent and prowess.
DuVernay was able to move audiences with a story that can be difficult to convey. She was able to artistically reimagine a widely-known historical narrative. History tells us it is not outrageous to suggest that DuVernay's status as a woman may have caused her righteous achievement to be overlooked.
DuVernay was not the only female snubbed in the this year's Oscar nominations. Gillian Flynn's adapted screenplay for "Gone Girl" went unnoticed as well.
Every film nominated for "Best Picture" this year has a story heavily based on a male character. "American Sniper," "The Theory of Everything," "Whiplash," "Birdman," "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and "Boyhood" all have male, white lead characters around whom the plot centers.
There were films made this Oscar season that had strong female leads which could have been great contenders, such as Tim Burton's "Big Eyes" starring Amy Adams or "Wild" starring Reese Witherspoon.
The media industry as a whole has a lot to change. It is still a "man's world," and I hope in the near future that begins to change. Yes, there were a lot of great films that got the nominations they deserved, but there is something very wrong with the lack of diversity from the Oscar nominations this year.
