The Oscars are taking steps to address its lack of inclusivity and diversity. The Academy has asserted that it will be making much-needed changes to the way it operates in the film industry.
Although the Oscars have been postponed, that gives The Academy longer to properly implement the many changes it’s making. “The Academy will encourage equitable hiring practices and representation on and off screen in order to better reflect the diversity of the film community,” it announced in a press release last Friday.
The Academy is also taking a hard look at the company culture and is enacting term limits, a maximum of 12 years. It has already put the Board of Governors through unconscious bias training, and is forming the Office of Representation, Inclusion, and Equity.
It asserts the changes will not affect the nomination process, but they are making the category for “Best Picture” a fixed 10 nominees instead of a variable number. That means that films that might otherwise have been left out because of ambiguous standards get their time in the spotlight.
The Oscars have been criticized for overlooking works from colored directors and writers. It set mostly white actors up for great things later in their careers, like Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, who later appeared in the Assassin’s Creed movie. Clearly, the Academy wants to make amends and provide those benefits to deserving filmmakers and actors from broader walks of life.
Source: Oscars
