Last year, the Academy Awards faced a lot of criticism for being too white, as not a single person of color was nominated in any category as an actor. But this year saw a dramatic change, with a record high number of people of color being recognized. And a record-breaking total of six black actors were nominated across the acting categories.

It was an evening of firsts: Viola Davis won the Oscar for best supporting actress in “Fences,” which makes her the first black woman to win an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony for acting. Mahershala Ali became the first Muslim actor ever to win an Oscar, for his supporting role in “Moonlight.” It was also the first time a wrong winner has been announced. After it was announced that “La La Land” won for best film, the movie’s cast and crew were already halfway through their victory speeches when staff ran up on stage to announce that “Moonlight” was the real winner.

What is now being talked about as the worst blunder in Oscars history took away some of the epic-ness of “Moonlight’s” win–it was the first movie with an all-black cast to win. “La La Land” producer Jordan Horowitz said into the microphone, “There’s a mistake. Moonlight, you won best picture,” before insisting it wasn’t a joke. “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins was clearly taken aback and walked to the stage to standing ovations. “Very clearly, even in my dreams this could not be true,” he said.

The event was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, who attempted to save the situation, joking “I blame Steve Harvey for this,” referring to when Harvey announced the wrong winner in the 2015 Miss Universe pageant. Then he jokingly shouted at Warren Beatty, who had read the wrong envelope, “Warren, what did you do?!” The incident shocked many people on social media.

This is still my reaction to that mixup and #moonlight winning the Best Picture Oscar almost 30 min later #Oscars pic.twitter.com/nnW2clUhIS

— Betty Bloop (@flgal83) February 27, 2017

Throughout the evening, Kimmel repeatedly made jabs at President Donald Trump, starting off with, “this broadcast is being watched live by millions of Americans and around the world in more than 225 countries that now hate us.” He also called for people to give the totally “overrated actress” Meryl Streep a round of applause, referring to when Trump criticized her after the Golden Globes.

#Oscars @jimmykimmel takes down “overrated” Meryl Streep’s “lackluster” career in film: https://t.co/qQpyXghz4Y pic.twitter.com/JLyrSCIoAM

— Matt Wilstein (@TheMattWilstein) February 27, 2017

Later Kimmel said he was worried about the president because he hadn’t seen a tweet from him for several hours, so he tweeted at him on live TV.

Hey @realDonaldTrump u up?

— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) February 27, 2017

But not even Kimmel made it through the whole evening without a gaffe. After Mahershala Ali’s acceptance speech, Kimmel joked about his name, and immediately faced backlash from the internet for his rather tone deaf joke:

Jimmy Kimmel thinks Mahershala is a weird name? Jimmy Kimmel sounds like dog treats.

— Cari Nation (@cari_nation) February 27, 2017

Even though it can be seen as a victory that many movies by and about black people won awards on Sunday night, those movies have taken a long time to make and were already in the works last year during the #OscarsSoWhite controversy. Like the creator of the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, April Reign, pointed out on social media, they didn’t win because of last year’s backlash but because they absolutely deserved it.

Viola, Mahershala, and the wins for Moonlight happened because they were DESERVED. Not because of #OscarsSoWhite. I want that very clear.

— April (@ReignOfApril) February 27, 2017

And the fact is that the Oscars are still pretty white. Dev Patel, a British actor of Indian heritage who starred in the movie “Lion” was nominated in the supporting actor category. But actors of other ethnicities, including Hispanic and Asian, were largely absent. And diversity of gender is still lacking as well–on Sunday, only one female screenwriter was nominated, and not a single female director. Hopefully things are moving in the right direction–but there’s still so much work to be done.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The 89th Academy Awards: Were They Still #OscarsSoWhite? appeared first on Law Street.

Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Politics at the Oscars: No Surprise There

Last night was the Academy Awards and “La La Land” got a lot of the statuettes. But it didn’t get the most prestigious award–Best Picture–even though it was incorrectly announced as the winner at first. After an embarrassing mix-up, “Moonlight” took home the coveted prize.

This off-camera shot of the cast/crew of Moonlight winning Best Picture pic.twitter.com/uWfxehXRsJ

— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) February 27, 2017

The whole evening was a success for more diverse movies, following last year’s criticism of #OscarsSoWhite. “Moonlight,” which depicts the coming of age story of a young black gay man, was an important victory as debates centering on race, immigration, and LGBT rights are in full swing. “Moonlight” actor Mahershala Ali also became the first Muslim actor ever to win an Oscar. While there’s still a lot more work to be done to increase representation and diversity in Hollywood, the success of “Moonlight” was heartening.

But the politics didn’t stop there. The night saw plenty of jabs at the new president from host Jimmy Kimmel. “I mean, remember last year, when it seemed like the Oscars were racist?” he said.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: February 27, 2017 appeared first on Law Street.

Riding high off the success of Ava DuVernay’s “Selma,” David Oyelowo is once again stepping forward in an Oscar contender biopic. This time he portrays Seretse Khama, Botswana’s first president, who caused waves both in Botswana and the UK when he married Ruth Williams, a white Briton played by Rosamund Pike. “A United Kingdom,” which depicts their marriage against the backdrop of British imperialism, digs into attitudes regarding interracial marriage in both black and white communities. It will be easy for certain viewers to applaud the love story and then reassure themselves that we have come so far since the 1940s–which is exactly why Jeff Nichols’ “Loving“ is so necessary. “Loving,” starring Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton, tells the story of Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving, who were arrested and imprisoned for their interracial marriage in Virginia in 1967. The suit they brought against the state went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ultimately declared prohibiting interracial marriage unconstitutional. “A United Kingdom” introduces the unique space that interracial love occupies in our history while “Loving” reminds audiences exactly how recent legal acceptance of that love is.

“Loving’s” debut at Cannes and “A United Kingdom’s” spot opening the London Film Festival essentially guarantees that they will be at least contenders for Oscar nominations. The joy of Oscar season is that films that are difficult to market in other times of year are thrust onto the public radar. These two films reveal too much about the gritty reality of racism to be written off as sweet romances like last year’s “Brooklyn“ (which depicted the difficulties of two lovers from different ethnic backgrounds but who were both white) yet they also are concerned with love stories so they will not necessarily draw crowds who want heavy hitting drama in the style of “Spotlight” or “The Revenant.” Neither director has quite enough star power to attract an immediate, built-in audience. Amma Asante, director of “A United Kingdom,” already proved herself a master of portraying the complexity of interracial relationships with her film “Belle” in 2013 but Jeff Nichols, director of “Loving,” has previously worked largely in the thriller realm. “Variety’s” review of “Loving” at Cannes describes Loving as “too damn polite” and “The Guardian” labeled the film “underpowered.”  Reviews of “A United Kingdom” have yet to hit the presses.

When looking at the contenders for the 2017 Oscars, these films stand apart–but while that makes them the answer to our wish for cinema that reflects our experience, it also paints a target on them. These films will exist between our traditional concepts of cinema–not classically romantic enough to be considered part of the old guard but not angry enough to be revolutionary calls to action.

In the wake of #OscarsSoWhite, critics and the general public alike are looking for films that will starkly contrast those of last year. There is a desire for more actors and directors of color, more diverse stories and more contemporary storylines. These two films bring all of those elements to the table but the weight that will be placed on them is monumental–they will be expected to be perfect to make up for the mistakes of last year. Asante and Nichols face more pressure than any other directors because they are telling true stories but they have to package them in a precise way: not harsh enough to frighten the critics but not sweet and revisionist in a way that will anger viewers aching in the wake of a summer of violence.

In the search for this perfection, there is a distinct threat that critics will judge these films more harshly than if they were love stories about a couple of the same race. They will be pulled apart because they fail to represent the full scope of interracial marriage (interracial love includes many races beyond black and white), their use of “brand name” Hollywood stars (although Negga could still be considered relatively unknown) and, of course, the fact that they center on interracial relationships–why is Hollywood not making more films concerning love between two people of color? Interracial couples and families deserve to see themselves reflected on screen, to have attention paid to their challenges and history–yet this year, when every Oscar contender with a person of color in the lead role is marked as reactionary in the context of #OscarsSoWhite, more attention will be paid to whether critics approve of the films than to whether the viewing public finds joy in seeing interracial love at the multiplex.

It is rare for a film to strike the perfect balance, to satisfy every viewer while making a larger statement about our culture without being defeatist or romanticist. A film that truly achieves that may come about once every decade–and now we are asking two films to do exactly that within the same year.

Jillian Sequeira

Jillian Sequeira was a member of the College of William and Mary Class of 2016, with a double major in Government and Italian. When she’s not blogging, she’s photographing graffiti around the world and worshiping at the altar of Elon Musk and all things Tesla. Contact Jillian at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com

The post Interracial Marriage is Front and Center this Oscars Season appeared first on Law Street.

The #OscarsSoWhite movement criticizing the lack of diversity in this year’s Academy Awards nominations has really had an impact in Hollywood. Reforms are already being made for next year’s nomination process, and the Academy has pledged that by 2020 it will have doubled its female and minority members. Still, there are some people out there who don’t see a need for any diversity enhancements to the Oscars, or anything else for that matter.

Black actress and FOX commentator Stacey Dash is one of these people. During an interview on FOX & Friends, Dash criticized Jada Pinkett Smith’s boycott, calling it ludicrous. Dash continued saying,

We have to make up our minds. Either we want to have segregation or integration. If we don’t want segregation, then we need to get rid of channels like BET and the BET Awards and the [NAACP] Image Awards, where you’re only awarded if you’re black. If it were the other way around, we would be up in arms, it’s a double standard.

She then took it a step forward adding, “There shouldn’t be a black history month. We’re Americans. Period.”

Needless to say the blowback was immediate, however, BET’s “Being Mary Jane” star Gabrielle Union’s response to the scandal showed us sometimes it’s better not to even dignify these kinds of people with a response.

When asked how she felt about Dash’s comments at the Sundance Film Festival, where her critically acclaimed movie “The Birth of a Nation” was being shown, the actress answered simply, “Who’s that. Who’s Stacey Dash? Is she like related to Dame Dash? Was she on Roc-A-Fella?” Adding, “I heard of a crazy lady once, maybe last week. But I don’t know what her name is.”

Gabrielle Union was asked about Stacy “Clueless” Dash pic.twitter.com/B04lfFpSfV

— KANYE ASADA (@gilossal) January 26, 2016

Then she turned off the shade for a second to get real, saying,

It’s why there’s a need for Birth of a Nation, and why there’s a need for the Country Music Awards, and the ALMA Awards. If you don’t see yourself reflected in mainstream awards, you tend to create your own.

After that, Union’s comments were quickly turned into the trending hashtag #WhoIsStaceyDash, where people pretended to be clueless as to who the “Clueless” actress was.

#whoisStaceyDash Yaass @itsgabrielleu pic.twitter.com/qz7mf5tJsI

— Starlynn (@SavvyStarMUA) January 27, 2016

#WhoIsStaceyDash is she lady that makes those seasonings? — comin up trillhouse (@2Fat2Furiosa) January 27, 2016

Is this her? #WhoisStaceyDash pic.twitter.com/Sk0WRd9pnr

— Eric Isaac (@ericisaac) January 27, 2016

#whoisStaceyDash A woman that used Black spaces to advance her career and now sh*ts on them for #foxnews pic.twitter.com/fxXFPFisI6

— Ricky Riley (@epicarthouse) January 27, 2016

#WhoIsStaceyDash? Y’all were in a movie together pic.twitter.com/bHu3etz0te — Raymond Price (@Raymond__Price) January 26, 2016

“What do I think of Stacey Dash? …I don’t.” #WhoIsStaceyDash pic.twitter.com/yaqQmSWMza

— iconick (@NICKWALSH) January 27, 2016

Preview of my interview with @ArevaMartin. Subscribe here: https://t.co/XMlFonugSQ #WhoIsStaceyDash @Adele pic.twitter.com/RCaVLgvBxQ — Dave Rubin (@RubinReport) January 27, 2016

The #WhoIsStaceyDash hashtag is the best fruit the shade tree has dropped in a good long while.

— Kylo Brin (@Brindolyn) January 27, 2016

But BET may have had the best comeback of the bunch when it published a slideshow on its website titled “Every Time Stacey Dash Proved She Was Clueless.” The network then took it one step further by calling out Dash for guest starring in one of its most popular shows “The Game.”

Soooooo @REALStaceyDash can we get our check back… or nah? #Remember #YouWereOnTheGame   #AndWeDontMeanTheRapper pic.twitter.com/2vWq03J0c9 — BET (@BET) January 20, 2016

Ouch, that’s gotta hurt. Hopefully next time Dash will think twice before mouthing off some of her controversial opinions. But who are we kidding, because after all, she is on FOX News.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Shade Alert: Gabrielle Union Wants to Know #WhoIsStaceyDash? appeared first on Law Street.

When the Academy Awards revealed its nominations last week for the 88th Oscars, people couldn’t help but notice that all of the actors and actresses named have something in common:

All of them are white.

That’s right, for the second year in a row not a single person of color was nominated for any of the four highly coveted acting categories–and the industry isn’t happy about it.

Nominations are #OscarsSoWhite all over again https://t.co/o6MImkEfYR pic.twitter.com/vHsB1orcLv

— Mashable (@mashable) January 14, 2016

The diversity shutout spawned critics to start the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite to voice their disapproval, and on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday Monday, filmmaker Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith both announced in separate statements that they would be boycotting the February 28th ceremony.

In an Instagram post Lee explained that both he and his wife could not support the “lily white” awards, writing:

How Is It Possible For The 2nd Consecutive Year All 20 Contenders Under The Actor Category Are White? And Let’s Not Even Get Into The Other Branches. 40 White Actors In 2 Years And No Flava At All. We Can’t Act?! WTF!!

Spike Lee will not be attending the Oscars because #OscarsSoWhite pic.twitter.com/gODpStApjv — Black Ballad (@Blackballaduk) January 18, 2016

Lee continued:

Dr. King Said “There Comes A Time When One Must Take A Position That Is Neither Safe, Nor Politic, Nor Popular But He Must Take It Because Conscience Tells Him It’s Right”.

Pinkett Smith, whose husband Will Smith was not nominated for his leading performance in the NFL head injury biopic “Concussion,” echoed her disapproval over the votes in a Facebook video message.

The actress asked that people join her in boycotting the awards saying,

Maybe it is time that we pull back our resources and we put them back into our communities and our programs and we make programs for ourselves that acknowledge us in ways that we see fit, that are just as good as the so-called ‘mainstream’ one.

She then added,

Begging for acknowledgement, or even asking, diminishes dignity and diminishes power. And we are a dignified people, and we are powerful.

Fellow actors Idris Elba, who was snubbed for his acclaimed role in “Beasts of No Nation,” and David Oyelowo, who failed to get an Oscar nomination last year for his portrayal of MLK in “Selma,” also joined in on criticizing the all-white line up. But not everyone supported Lee and Pinkett Smith’s stand against the Academy.

Actress Janet Hubert, who played Will Smith’s mom on the hit show “Fresh Prince,” slammed her former costar’s wife in her own video response, calling Pinkett Smith’s boycott ironic.

Hubert took some nasty shots at the couple saying,

You ain’t Barack and Michelle Obama. And y’all need to get over yourselves. You have a huge production company that you only produce your friends and family and yourself. So you are a part of Hollywood, you are part of the system that is unfair to other actors. So get real.

On Monday, the Academy’s African American President Cheryl Boone Isaacs shared in a statement that she is “heartbroken and frustrated” over the lack of diversity. Boone promised to work toward reviewing the organization’s membership recruitment in order to ensure diversity is a priority moving forward, but as Oyelowo pointed out, the votes are not her fault.

Since the voters are made up of predominantly white males, it should come as no surprise that individuals getting the most nominations across the board happen to be both white and male. If the Academy can’t begin to accurately reflect the nation’s diversity, the integrity of its awards will continue to be called into question. With the award show still weeks away, it will be interesting to see how the boycott affects the night.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Lack of Diversity in Nominations Has Black Actors Boycotting the Oscars appeared first on Law Street.

Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o wore a beautiful, “supposedly” pearl-encrusted dress to this year’s Academy Awards.

Check out the incredible beading on the @CalvinKlein dress on @Lupita_Nyongo, amazing! #Oscars2015 pic.twitter.com/M7Reh9E6cb

— DailyFrontRow® (@DailyFrontRow) February 23, 2015

Unfortunately, it wasn’t just admired by spectators and fashion-watchers across the world. In fact, the dress was so admired that it went missing from her hotel room, purportedly stolen. Then, even more strangely, it reappeared, in the same hotel, under a bathroom sink.

The dress was a Calvin Klein creation, and is estimated to have cost $150,000, although it could have been worth even more on the black market. Originally, the dress was reported as being covered in real pearls, specifically 6,000 real Akoya cultured pearls. But now there’s speculation that they may have been fake. In fact, a Calvin Klein representative has essentially denied that the dress was encrusted with real pearls, questioning, “Do they really make dresses out of real jewels since Cleopatra died?”

The fact that the pearls were not actually real may have been what led to the thieves returning the dress. According to a TMZ report a source told them:

A guy called us at around 2:30 PM Friday and said he had taken the dress from Lupita’s hotel room after he noticed the door was ajar. He said he and others took two pearls off of the dress and took them to the garment district in downtown L.A. … where they were told they weren’t real.

The dress was then reported stolen on Wednesday by Nyong’o. According to TMZ, that makes sense as well:

The thief says he decided to take the dress back to London in a garment bag that was inside a trash bag that he deposited in a second floor bathroom adjacent to a fitness center.

TMZ apparently then tipped off the police, who reported finding the garment bag where the thieves claimed they left it. Although it hasn’t been confirmed that it’s the same dress, the sheriff’s department said it “resembled the one” Nyong’o wore. The sheriff’s department is working to make sure that it is, in fact, the same dress.

Either way, the police have said they’ll keep looking into the theft. Regardless of whether the pearls were real or fake, a crime clearly occurred.

Both Nyong’o and Calvin Klein seem to be glad to have the dress back in safe hands. Clavin Klein Women’s Creative Director Francisco Costa stated:

All of us at Calvin Klein are thrilled to know that the dress has potentially been located. This was an amazing collaboration between the brand and Lupita and the dress looked truly exquisite on her. Once it’s returned to us, we will be able to have the dress restored and archived, as it now represents an important moment for the brand.

While this entire story seems weird–it’s unclear why, exactly, the thieves didn’t just ditch the dress when they found out it wasn’t real–it’s good the dress is back in the right hands.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Lupita Nyong’o’s Stolen Oscar Dress Returned to Hotel Room appeared first on Law Street.

Now that awards season is officially in full swing, it means that red carpet season is upon us as well. And as we watch the red carpet coverage there seems to be only one question that reporters are interested in asking female attendees: Who are you wearing?

This year, The Representation Project launched a campaign promoting the hashtag #AskHerMore. The idea is for red carpet reporters to ask female actors and entertainers about anything other than their appearance.

The whole reason I write here on Law Street is because I am in fact a woman who is interested in business, politics, and law (and yes I do identify as the “F-word”). But I’m a little different from most of the other Law Street ladies (and men), because I work in the fashion industry as well. While many might argue that law and fashion are like apples and oranges, my career is focused around fighting against that notion. That said, can #AskHerMore and the fashion industry exist in solidarity? Absolutely, but allow me explain why.

The main reason most attend a red carpet event is that their work is nominated or because they are being celebrated in some shape or form that evening. While reporters may want to ask first-time nominees what it feels like to be recognized, they’re not going to ask someone like Meryl Streep the same questions for the umpteenth time. Asking what they’re wearing can serve as a sort of ice-breaker for any nominee. I’m not so sure, however, that “What are you wearing?” should be the only question women or men on the red carpet are asked.

Also, the fashion and entertainment industries are both based on artistic forms of expression. You can’t really have one without the other (Ahem, best costume design award?). But you also can’t have art without politics either. In fact, the reason behind a given celebrity wearing a certain designer is strictly business. These celebs have contracts with fashion houses that require them to wear designs that are meticulously picked out and designed for a given public appearance. In turn, these designers get calls from clients the second the celeb reveals to the reporter what he or she is wearing.

That’s not to say, however, that even celebrities aren’t fed up with being asked about their appearance. Last month during the Golden Globes, several celebrities chose to pass on partaking in E! News’s “mani-cam.”

While I don’t think there’s anything wrong with reporters asking celebs what they’re wearing, the idea behind #askhermore is that it shouldn’t be the only thing they’re asking. But what else are they supposed to ask in the few seconds that they have to interview them? I’m not sure. If it were up to me, I would just get rid of E! News’ red carpet coverage altogether. It all gets covered online anyway. That way we can focus on the actual show and honoring these women for their work, while still preserving the Old Hollywood tradition or seeing celebs all dolled up in their best evening wear.

Katherine Fabian

Katherine Fabian is a recent graduate of Fordham University’s College at Lincoln Center. She is a freelance writer and yoga teacher who hopes to one day practice fashion law and defend the intellectual property rights of designers. Contact Katherine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post #AskHerMore But What? Feminism, Fashion, and Awards Season appeared first on Law Street.

Movies are supposed to be an escape–a medium of entertainment where the viewer can suspend their own reality and delve into another. However, recently complaints have arisen that movie executives have stretched audiences’ imaginations too far. Instead of problems with the content however, these critics take issue with the actors who are delivering the performances. The silver screen continues to be inundated with white, heterosexual, male actors despite the diverse population of the United States and the world. Read on for an analysis of the racist, sexist, and discriminatory tendencies of the modern entertainment industry.

Race

When 44 percent of movie tickets are purchased by non-white customers, it would be plausible to think the ethnicity of actors on screen would reflect the diversity of the viewers. That is simply not the case.

American movies have a history of being dominated by caucasian actors and actresses. As a study by University of Southern California discovered:

• Out of the 565 directors of the 500 top-grossing movies from 2007 to 2012, 33 of them were black–and only two were black women.
• In 2012, the speaking characters of the top 100 grossing films were 76.3 percent white, 10.8 percent black, 4.2 percent Hispanic, 5 percent Asian, and 2.6 percent other ethnicities or mixed race.
• Hispanic actors and actresses are the most underrepresented group on screen.
• From 2007-2012 the ratio of non-black directors to black directors was 16:1.

Halle Berry became the first African-American to win an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2002. During her acceptance speech she reflected on her achievement and what it will mean for other minority women. She opined, “this moment is so much bigger than men…it’s for ever nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened.”

However since this momentous achievement, every other recipient of the award has been white.

Unfortunately, that is not the only acting category lacking diversity. In 2001, Marcia Gay Harden and Benicio del Toro won Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor respectively, and there has not been a Latino, Asian, or Native American winner in any acting category since.

Juliet Lapidos of The New York Times pointedly stated,

“Hollywood’s great at congratulating itself for diversity; it’s just not great at actual diversity.”

Whitewashing

Although blackface is no longer deemed as acceptable, the entertainment industry continues to inaccurately depict minorities in films. In part this is done by whitewashing–casting white actors as characters in roles that were written for minorities.

There’s a very long history of white-washing in Hollywood–West Side Story, winner of 10 Academy Awards and one of the most beloved musicals of all time, is a famous example. Natalie Wood (who is of Russian decent) played the leading female character Maria, who is supposed to be Puerto Rican. Disney has also received some criticism for similar portrayals–Aladdin is a good example. The voice of the film’s protagonist is provided by Scott Weinger who, unlike the title character, is not of Arab decent.

More recently, Jake Gyllenhaal as Dastan in Prince of Persia, Ben Affleck as Tony Menendez in Argo, Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily in a new Peter Pan project, and rumors of Angelina Jolie being cast Cleopatra are all examples of roles being white-washed.

In addition to being offensive, white-washing diminishes roles–leading to non-Caucasian performers being cast as minor characters that serve to supplement a white lead.

Gender

Women make up slightly more than 50 percent of the population in the United States, yet they continue to be sidelined by the entertainment industry.

Some findings surrounding the inequalities are:

• Women in the top 100 films of 2012 only made up 28.4 percent of roles with speaking parts.
• In 2013, 30.2 percent of women were dressed in sexualized clothing compared to 9.7 percent of men.
• A recent study of films from the past six years showed that 29.5 percent women and 11.7 percent men were shown partially or fully nude.
• In 2013, 16 percent of films had a balanced cast; an increase from 2010 when it was just 4 percent.

The amount of women represented behind the camera faired even worse in 2013:

• Only 1.9 percent of directors were female
• Just 7.4 percent were women
• Women made up 19.6 percent of producers

While accepting her award for Best Actress during the 2014 Oscars, Cate Blanchett remarked:

For those of us in the industry who are still foolishly clinging to the idea that female films with women at the center are niche, they are not! Audiences want to see them and in fact they earn money. The world is round, people!

Actress Olivia Wilde is known for being a feminist and has spoken out multiple times about the quality of roles available to actresses in Hollywood. In the video below, she further explains the differences between roles normally crafted for male and female roles.

Bechdel Test

In 1985, Alison Bechdel created the cartoon Dykes to Watch Out For. From the comic strip the Bechdel test was created, which is a list of standards that determines gender bias in entertainment. Many feminists use it to analyze various forms of media.

The basic principal of the Bechdel Test it that the women depicted in Hollywood should not be clichés, but character who express genuine feelings about diverse areas of their lives.

The rules for the Bechdel Test are that the film:

1. Has at least two women
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something besides a man

Magazine editor Nikki Baughan offered insight as to the importance of the test:

The Bechdel test acts as a magnifying glass; by breaking down a film in these simple terms, it draws attention to the shocking gender disparity that exists in the majority of cinematic narratives.

LGBT

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community is incredibly underrepresented–and oftentimes misrepresented–in Hollywood. When an LGBT actor or character is written into a movie, they often serve as a token member of the ensemble. Their purpose is to represent the stereotypical trait habitually accompanied with their identity in the media.  

Depiction of race in LGBT characters does not differentiate greatly from heterosexual characters. In a study conducted by GLAAD, it was found that the races of LGBT characters were 76 percent white, 12 percent black, 8 percent Asian, and 4 percent Latino.

Derived from the Bechdel Test, GLAAD created the Vito Russo Test to examine the presence of LGBT characters in movies.

In order for the film to pass the Vito Russo Test, these qualifications must be met:

• The film contains a character that is identifiably lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender.
• That character must not be solely or predominantly defined by their sexual orientation or gender identity.
• The LGBT character must be tied into the plot in such a way that their removal would have a significant effect.

Out of the films GLAAD assessed using the Vito Russo Test, less than half passed.

Rayon

Although hailed by mainstream critics, the recent movie Dallas Buyers Club received a combination of praise and condemnation from the LGBT community. The focus of criticism fell upon Jared Leto for his Oscar-winning portrayal of Rayon, a transgender woman.

Steve Friess of Time accused Leto of pandering to the transgender stereotype, stating, “she’s a sad-sack, clothes-obsessed, constantly flirting transgender drug addict prostitute…There are no stereotypes about transgender women that Leto’s concoction does not tap.”

Advocates were also dismayed that an actual transgender actor was not cast in the role. Since Rayon is a fictional character, the casting directors had a wide breath of opportunity and freedom in choosing an actor for the role, yet they chose not to include a transgender actor.

However, Mara Keisling, executive director at the National Center for Transgender Equality, had a contrasting view, saying, “to the film’s credit, I think it accurately showed what the life of this brave person [Rayon] must have been and how she was treated.”

In his Oscar acceptance speech, Leto took a moment to recognize the LGBT community, stating, “to those of you out there who have ever felt injustice because of who you are, or who you love, tonight I stand here in front of the world with you and for you.” Despite his accepting comments, reception to the portrayal remains mixed.

Oscars 2014

The 2014 Academy Awards appeared to be a step in the right direction. The year before, Cheryl Boone Isaacs became the first African American and third woman to ever be elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Not only did the Academy itself get a shake up, but the recipients of the awards did as well.

The movie “12 Years a Slave” won Best Picture, one of the most coveted awards. This was a significant victory, because before this film, a movie featuring a black leading man had not won Best Picture since 1967. Steve McQueen–the director, and co-producer–is the first director of African descent to have a movie win in the Best Picture category. The 2014 Best Director award went to Alfonso Cuaron, the first Mexican director to win the category.

Conclusion

In an industry that has such a drastic impact on our culture, it is disheartening to see Hollywood fail in diversity both in front of and behind the camera. Hopefully, future films will be created that cast individuals who accurately represent the audience viewing the films.

Resources

Primary

University of Southern California: Race/Ethnicity in 500 Popular Films: Is the Key to Diversifying Cinematic Content Held in the Hand of the Black Director? 

University of Southern California: Gender Inequality in Popular Films: Examining On Screen Portrayals and Behind-the-Scenes Employment Patterns in Motion Pictures Released between 2007-2013

Additional 

New Yorker: Lessons From Late Night

Mic: 6 Disney Films That Are Undeniably Racist and Sexist

The World Bank: Population, Female (% of Total)

Metro: The Bechdel Test and Why Hollywood is a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World

GLAAD: 2014 Studio Responsibility Index

GLAAD: The Vito Russo Test

KPCC: Oscars 2014: 8 Ways They Made Diversity History

TIME: Don’t Applaud Jared Leto’s Transgender ‘Mammy’

IndieWire: 10 Trans Actors Who Could Have Played Jared Leto’s Role in ‘Dallas Buyers Club’

Huffington Post: Jared Leto’s Oscar Win For ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ Criticized by Transgender Community

Alex Hill

Alex Hill studied at Virginia Tech majoring in English and Political Science. A native of the Washington, D.C. area, she blames her incessant need to debate and write about politics on her proximity to the nation’s capital.

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Last night at the Oscars, a group of America’s most recognizable celebrities banded together to take this record-breaking selfie.

If only Bradley’s arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars pic.twitter.com/C9U5NOtGap

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 3, 2014

When she gathered everyone, Ellen DeGeneres announced that she wanted to make it go viral as the most retweeted photograph ever. And that’s exactly what happened — the picture was retweeted about 2.5 million times as of this morning. It was retweeted so many times that it even crashed Twitter, and smashed the previous record of 700,000 retweets of a picture of President Obama and the First Lady.

While last night’s picture was of course a particularly well known one, celebrity selfies in general are becoming increasingly popular. Others are getting in on the fun too — for example, just a few days ago, Bill Nye posted this photo to his Instagram account.

That is, of course, President Obama with Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Bill Nye, two influential scientists and pop culture icons.

And for a combo politician and celebrity pic, check out this one of real-life and TV Veeps Joe Biden and Julia Louis-Dreyfus:

That was an unforgettable evening. Thank u @JoeBiden @BarackObama @MichelleObama pic.twitter.com/eFOQlVGjlg

— Julia Louis-Dreyfus (@OfficialJLD) February 12, 2014

I’ve seen news stories on multiple platforms about all three of these pictures, last night’s Oscar selfie of course being the most popular of the three. Now part of me is thinking, “Why should I give a damn?” At the same time the Oscars were happening, Venezuela’s protests were getting worse, and Ukraine was devolving further into a bonafide mess.

But there’s also something to be said for the pure, sophisticated brilliance of these selfies. Free publicity is arguably the best kind of publicity, and it cost that gaggle of A-Listers absolutely nothing to have their picture retweeted a few million times last night. For years, celebrity gossip magazines have been printing pages with pictures of stars being “just like us” — they get Starbucks, they grocery shop, or they take their dog for a walk. These selfies are just an extension of that idea — a way for stars to connect with their fan bases.

The same goes for politicians and other public figures. When Obama takes a selfie with two of the most recognizable faces in science, it’s not just to commemorate meeting the two men, but also because it serves as free publicity. It goes on Instagram, a social media platform used mainly by young people. Much as he did during the 2008 and 2012 elections, he’s reaching out to young people on their terms. Now, obviously most politicians do use Twitter and have other social media accounts, but Obama’s usually pretty much on the cutting edge.

What about Bill Clinton’s selfie with Demi Lovato?

Too excited to filter this… NO BIG DEAL – #Selfieswiththeprez…. @billclinton – so nice to meet you!!!! pic.twitter.com/un07E9JEOy

— demetria lovato (@ddlovato) February 28, 2014

Maybe I’m wrong, but I’ve got to assume that there isn’t a ton of overlap between Clinton’s and Lovato’s fans. So by sending this picture out, they probably both got exposure to different groups.

Viral marketing is by no means new, companies have been doing it for a few years now. But the selfie as an individual marketing tool has grown over the years. Not all industries are doing such an excellent job with free marketing. For example, a few weeks ago, a report came out that indicated that law firms in particular are not doing a good job with social media marketing. These celebrities and politicians are doing an excellent job harnessing the power of social media to get their names — and mostly their faces — out there. The selfie is no longer just a thing that teenagers share with their friends. It’s become a powerful tool — and last night proved that.

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Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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