Oscars’ diversity response not a joke

It pained me to watch Stacey Dash’s introduction as the new “director of minority outreach” at the Oscars.

“I cannot wait to help my people out,” Dash declared. “Happy Black History Month!” She then walked offstage while the room remained awkwardly silent.

Dash’s uncomfortable joke and host Chris Rock’s provocative monologue made light of the racial controversies surrounding the Oscars. But they didn’t reflect what the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is now doing to confront those problems. While the changes it is making to its nominating system should’ve happened long ago, people should champion — not mock — them.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone enter and leave a stage as quickly as she did. I can still hear Dash’s awkward giggle, her fleeting attempt to defuse some of the tension. The conservative Fox News contributor made it clear that she’s unaffected by all of the public disapproval she’s received lately.

Dash wrote in a recent blog post, “I would rather be a free thinking, black than a cookie cutter black who thinks — and votes — just like all my friends.”

She assumes that black people dislike her because she’s “not black enough,” but I have a feeling it has something to do with her January interview on Fox & Friends. During that interview, she explained the need to abolish Black History Month, the BET network and the NAACP Image Awards.

Dash attacked essentially all of the mediums that actually celebrate black people for the work they’ve contributed to culture and the world.

The backlash Dash has received is equally, if not more, furious than that facing the Oscars itself.

People started posting the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag to point out the actors and movies who clearly qualified for a nomination in the past, but got pushed to the back of the line. They had a right to, because this was the second year in a row that the Oscar’s 20 acting awards have had zero minority nominees.

The lack of nominee diversity is no surprise when looking at the Oscars’ nomination stats. From 1927 to 2012, a whopping 7 percent of Best Actor award winners were minorities. Halle Berry remains the only woman of color who has won the Best Actress award since doing so 14 years ago.

The choices for nominees trace back to the people who vote for them, the Academy voting members. It’s interesting to note that the lack of diversity could be related to the fact that most voters come from very similar backgrounds.

According to a 2012 investigation by the Los Angeles Times, 93 percent of the Academy’s voting members were white. Black filmmakers and actors made up just 2 percent of the membership. The group was about 77 percent male and also had a median age of 62 years old. The people deciding artistic recognition are predominantly old, white men.

This increases the likelihood of candidates resonating with voters based on identification, which then leads to a pattern of picking the same types of nominees. Those nominees are usually white and usually male — just like the voters.

To back away from these horrifying trends, Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs announced via Twitter that “The Academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership.”

Isaacs also pointed out that she recognizes these changes aren’t happening as fast as people would like. She agreed that the Academy must “do more, and better and more quickly.” Their efforts alone are reassuring.

One of the most important new changes limits members’ voting eligibility to 10 years. Memberships extend another 10 years if the person remains active in film throughout the previous term. Lifetime voting will be available to Oscar winners, nominees and members who complete three of the 10-year terms. New members will join the Academy’s committees and board of governors with the goal of diversifying their leadership.

All of these changes and several others are keys to its pledge of doubling the number of minority and female members in the next four years.

Despite the unnecessarily awkward moment during this year’s ceremony, courtesy of Dash, the Academy is taking a progressive approach to its lack of diversity.

Yes, these opportunities are long overdue, seeing that these changes are coming after the 88th annual Academy Awards Ceremony. But most of the nominees, and those who picked them, didn’t see this as a pressing issue for quite a while.

Why would they? Many of them probably haven’t been in the position of consistently losing out on opportunities because of the way they look. It took thousands of shouts, both in the industry and in everyday life, for them to address the injustices of the system. What matters most is how the Academy moves forward.

This new call for change will hopefully lead the Academy Awards and the rest of Hollywood in the right direction. As long as these potential policies stick, the movie industry will begin to recognize all impressive talents, regardless of race.

The simple fact that an institution has pledged to change is a good sign. If all goes as planned, these changes could truly offer more opportunities to many minorities.

The Academy can keep its new “employee” — we’ll settle for it delivering on its promises.

Write to Natasha at nat38@pitt.edu.