5 Charts Show How the Oscars’ Diversity Problem Goes Far Beyond the Academy

Friday, January 29, 2016

GoLocal Lifestyle Team and Graphiq

It had been going so well. In 2014, the Academy Awards rolled out a (somewhat) diverse list of nominees, including Steve McQueen (director), Chiwetel Ejiofor (lead actor) and Barkhad Abdi (supporting actor). Lupita Nyong’o (supporting actress) and John Ridley IV (screenwriter) were also nominated, each winning Oscars for their contributions to “12 Years a Slave.”

Fast forward two years, however, and the world’s most prestigious movie awards show has gone nearly all white. Last year, African-American director Ava DuVernay (“Selma”) failed to earn a nod, while the film’s star — David Oyelowo — was also ignored.

This year, the omissions are arguably even more blatant. The critically acclaimed “Straight Outta Compton” featured standout acting performances (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) and strong direction (F. Gary Gray), each from a person of color. But the film was only nominated for its screenplay.

“Creed” received even better reviews, featuring the directing talents of Ryan Coogler and acting starpower of Michael B. Jordan (previously, “Fruitvale Station”). The film received only a supporting actor nomination for Sly Stallone.

The kicker? The nominated writers for “Compton” and supporting actor for “Creed” are all white.

In fact, among the seven biggest award categories at the 88th Academy Awards — including acting, directing and writing — 95.3 percent of nominees are white.

Compare the current slate of nominees to the demographic makeup of America:

It’s tempting to assign all the blame to voters at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The exclusive group includes more than 5,000 members of the film industry, mostly old and mostly white. To even be considered for membership, the academy outlines a series of requirements, including quantity and quality of film credits and a history of previous awards. Still, the final decision remains in the hands of various “Branch Executive Committees,” regardless of a candidate’s track record.

Add it up, and the Los Angeles Times estimates 93 percent of academy membership is white (as of 2013), although the academy does not release an official list.

But to pile on to the academy exclusively is to miss the larger, more intractable problem: Hollywood itself is overwhelmingly white.

The PrettyFamous team analyzed our database of celebrities to determine the demographic distribution of the rich and famous. Specifically, we looked at Gracenote data for Hollywood celebrities, from famous actors to directors to screenwriters, leading to a final list of about 26,000 people. Note that this list is not an exhaustive portrayal of the film business, but nonetheless provides a broad picture of the industry, with a particular focus on the biggest names and most frequent award winners.

By our estimates, Hollywood itself is about 80 percent white, at least among the actors, directors and writers routinely considered for big parts and highly publicized assignments.

This reality has ramifications at multiple levels. First, the pool for established Hollywood talent is disproportionately white to begin with, meaning that white film professionals are more likely to star in or contribute to each year’s top films. Second, the academy sources its voters from this pool, creating a self-fulfilling cycle of ever more white voters. Third, a homogenous pool of writers, directors and actors leads to likeminded creators, with fewer outside perspectives and less appetite for risk.

Finally, and perhaps most problematic, box office receipts feed off of past success. When the majority of successful films happen to star white actors, filmmakers make even more movies with white actors. There’s a reason we get 13 white, male superhero movies every year, next to just one “Fruitvale Station” or “Straight Outta Compton.” And so we return to the unrepresentative breakdown below.

Based on the Hollywood numbers in the chart above, we’d still expect the Oscars to feature about 20 percent people of color across all award categories, which partially justifies the current pushback. The academy got a lot closer in 2014, so what’s gone wrong in 2015 and 2016? To the institution’s credit, the academy pledged to double the number of female and minority members by 2020.

To fix the larger issue, however, Hollywood must fundamentally change its complexion. So long as the Hollywood pool remains disproportionately white, so too will the top films, and, ultimately, the nominees. Even a more diverse academy can’t fix that.

Explore Over 1 Million Celebrities, Actors, Directors and More on PrettyFamous

Related Slideshow: Oscarlandia? Oscar Winners and Nominees with Ties To Oregon

GoLocalPDX speaks with Oregon film historian Anne Richardson, to find out more about past Oscar winners and nominees with ties to Oregon.

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Clark Gable

"Best Actor" Winner- It Happened One Night (1935).

As a teen Gable worked as a logger in Seaside, Oregon and worked as a salesman in Portland’s Meier & Frank department store.

Clark Gable, James Beard, and Mark Rothko were classmates in a Portland acting class that Josephine Dillon taught. "They performed together during a student production at what is now Portland State University’s Lincoln Hall" says Richardson.

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Will Vinton

Close Mondays- Best Animated Short Film Winner (1975)

Close Mondays, Will Vinton’s stop motion animation was Oregon’s first Oscar win.

Vinton grew up in McMinnville Oregon and studied architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. “The list of award winning animators trained at Will Vinton Studio include Brad Schiff (ParaNorman), Travis Knight (Coraline) and Mark Gustafson (Fantastic Mr. Fox)” says Richardson.

See a interview with Richardson and Vinton HERE.

Photo Credit: Will Vinton Twitter

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One Flew Over The Cuckoo

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest- Best Picture (1976 Academy Awards)

Not only is the book set in Oregon, but the movie was filmed at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, Oregon.

The film won five Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor and Actress.

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Joan Gratz

Mona Lisa Descending A Staircase- Best Animated Short Winner (1992)

Joan Gratz founded the animation technique claypainting. Small chunks of clay are blended with colors and then composes fine lines to create a flow of images.

Art history and key artworks of the 20th century, are the subjects behind the animation Mona Lisa Descending A Staircase.

In her Academy Award acceptance speech, Gratz thanks Portland figures and the the Portland public library, “which helped in the research. ”

Gratz’s The Creation was a 1982 Academy Award nominee and is based on a poem by James Weldon Johnson

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Brad Bird

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year-Ratatouille (2007)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year- The Incredibles (2004)

"Brad Bird's family came to Corvallis from Montana when he was old enough to go to school. He grew up entirely in Corvallis,” says Richardson.

Bird was mentored by Disney legend Milt Kahl and graduated with John Lasseter and Tim Burton from the California Institute of the Arts.

Bird was a creative consultant on The Simpsons, created by Matt Groening who was born and grew up in Portland. He then went on to make some of Disney’s highest- grossing features; The Incredibles and Ratatouille.

Photo Credit: nicolas genin via Wikimedia Commons (image cropped)

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David Fincher

Best Achievement in Directing Nominee- The Social Network (2010)

Best Achievement in Directing Nominee- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Film director David Fincher was born in Colorado, grew up in San Anselmo, California and moved to Ashland, Oregon during his teen years. That is where he graduated from Ashland High School. Making movies since a very early age he would go on to make classic films like "Fight Club" from the book by longtime Portland resident and Northwest native Chuck Palahinuk.

Photo Credit: Elen Nivrae via Wikimedia Commons

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Dave Metzger

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song- “Let It Go” (2014)

Dave Metzger grew up in Corvallis, Oregon and began composing music in the 7th grade. He received a music degree from California State University, Long Beach.

Metzger has orchestrated on films like Training Day, August Rush, and Brother Bear. He recently arranged Frozen’s "Let It Go,” with the Frozen album passing Beyonce on the Billboard Charts at one time. Metzger’s music studio is in Salem, Oregon.

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Wild

2015 Actress in a Leading Role Nominee- Reese Witherspoon

2015 Actress in a Supporting Role- Laura Dern

A love letter to Oregon and the Pacific Coast, Wild is the new quintessential Oregonian novel.

Wild chronicles author Cheryl Strayed's 1,100-mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail and her recovery after a catastrophe. Oregon locations include Portland, Bend, Crater Lake and Ashland: providing a beautiful backdrop for her journey.

Reese Witherspoon chose the memoir for her company, Pacific Standard before it was published. The memoir is on Oprah's Book Club 2.0 list.

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E. Max Frye

2015 Original Screenplay Nominee- Foxcatcher

Frye was born in Oregon and grew up in Eugene. Before moving to Europe, Frye attended Lewis & Clark College. He attended New York University after returning to the States. He has written the screenplay for action comedy film Something Wild which was nominated for three Golden Globes.

Foxcatcher stars Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo

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The Boxtrolls

2015 Animated Feature Film Nominee- The Boxtrolls

The Boxtrolls is LAIKA’s third feature film. LAIKA is well known for its stop motion feature films Coraline (2009) and ParaNorman (2012). Both were nominated for “Best Animated Feature Film”.

Deborah Cook, LAIKA’s costume designer for The Boxtrolls, recently shared information about the costumes created for the citizens of Cheesebridge. See the story HERE.