The Oscars are the most sought after and prestigious awards. Though, they have been criticized for a lack of diversity from a long time now. Now, the Academy organizers have taken a significant step in this regard. On Friday, the group announced the creation of a diversity and inclusion guidelines. These will be necessary for making films eligible for Oscars.
In order to promote equitable hiring practices on and off screen, promote diversity and inclusion, the Academy along with the Producers Guild of America are making these guidelines. Further, they will be created by July 31.
These guidelines will not be applicable on films for next year’s Oscars.
Though the Academy has got criticism from a long time over its lack of diversity, it got more intense in 2015. The all white acting list of contenders caused people to run the #OscarsSoWhite campaign on social media. To counter this criticism, the Academy doubled the number of Women and color people in its invitation-only ranks.
This step by the Academy will prove to be more important especially now after the killing of African American, George Floyd. His killing has led to widespread protests in U.S. and several people have accused Hollywood too over their depiction of racism in films.
Recently, HBO Max pulled off ‘Gone With The Wind’ temporarily from its platform over its depiction of racism.
The Academy’s chief executive, Dawn Hudson in an interview said –
“We know there is much more work to be done in order to ensure equitable opportunities across the board. The need to address this issue is urgent.”
Meanwhile, Now 10 pictures will compete for best picture at the Oscars. Earlier, the number was fluctuating up to 10.