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Friday, May 26, 2023

HOLLYWOOD--Tokenism and Inclusion-- GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS 2021

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     Hollywood Redline (IV 89451)-- "Golden Globe Award, any of the awards presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) in recognition of outstanding achievement in motion pictures and television during the previous year." (Britannica)

Tokenism--

     "Is the practice of placing or promoting individuals from disadvantaged groups (e.g. women, ethnic minorities, disabled people) into high-profile roles in the organization in order to give the impression that the organization practises equal opportunity. It represents a cynical move by managers to disguise or ignore the structures and procedures that disadvantage women, ethnic minorities, and disabled people. In this way, whilst the token individuals may benefit personally, their role does nothing to help further the cause of the disadvantaged group to which they belong." (Oxford Reference)



     Even with the new rules set down by the Academy this year regarding the Oscars, the practice of exclusion still exists, only a bit more refined. An indication of that is apparent in the various categories of the Golden Globes awards from last Sunday. In some of the major categories, minorities and women did well, but that appeared to be a coverup for the overall distribution of the trophies. 
     Forget the Best Picture and similar categories as inclusion should focus on individual performances.
In a field of five women, Andra Day won Best Actress in her performance of United States vs Billie Holiday;
     "Sunday's Globes aired amid renewed backlash about the lack of diversity among the voting body behind the awards show, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The group of Hollywood-based journalists for foreign media outlets does not count one Black voter among them, as was reported one week ahead of this year's show in the Los Angeles Times." (Hollywood Reporter)
Recently deceased Chadwick Boseman received the award for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Two other nominees with ethnic backgrounds are nonetheless from Europe. Best Actress for Motion Picture Musical/Comedy are all White; the winner, Rosamund Pike starring in I Care A Lot, from the United Kingdom. The Best Supporting Actress for a Motion Picture are all White. 
     Tokenism appears to come into play in the supporting categories with two of five in Golden Globe award for best actor, motion picture; three of five--women and minority-- for best director, motion picture. Aaron Sorkin took Best Screenplay for Trial of the Chicago 7, in a field of five males and two women, one of which with an ethnic background.  Best Actress for TV motion picture are all five White; the same holds for best actor. Best TV actress for drama, all five White; the same for best TV actor-drama. Other categories in which no inclusion was present include: TV actress musical-comedy, TV supporting actress; the Cecil B. deMille award went to Jane Fonda and the Carol Burnette award went to Norman Lear.
     Clearly, where exclusion was possible, it exists. There doesn't seem to be any direct correlation, however, to the nominees and the demands of the Academy; the results might be a larger systemic problem associated with casting itself. If there are no women, minorities and alternative lifestyle quotas filled in the films, the series and the episodes, then it makes sense that, opportunities for awards are limited indirectly. The studios can always, as indicated above, find a route around inclusion simply by not including the various underrepresented groups in the cast, or in production.
    In two weeks, the Academy Awards nominations will be announced; that will provide a better picture of just how the new rules affect those nominees, and what role tokenism might play in the selections.


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OSCARS2021---Academy Awards Diversity Report-- INCLUSION CONFUSION

 

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     "...there are no Hispanic, Native American or Middle East nominees; .."

     Hollywood Redline (Exclusive to EOC)-- Now that the winners of the nominations have been announced, it is fair game to see if they follow the inclusion rules set forth by the Academy leading up to ...today. The rules at the Academy as of airtime show yet another set of inclusion rules so it would be more appropriate, if not a bit more innovative, to look at who's been nominated for what rather than go by some industry standard. 



Actor in a Leading Role: Riz Ahmed (38, Pak-British), Chadwick Boseman (deceased, African-American), Anthony Hopkins (83, White-Welsh), Gary Oldman (62, White-British)

Actress in a Leading Role: Viola Davis (55, African-American), Andra Day (36, African-American), Vanessa Kirby (32, White-British), Frances McDormand (63, White-American), Carey Mulligan (35, White-British)

Actor in a Supporting Role: Sacha Baron Cohen (49, White-British), Daniel Kaluuya (32, Ugandan-British), Leslie Odom Jr. (39, African-American), Paul Raci (72, White-American), LaKeith Stanfield (29, African-American)

Actress in a Supporting Role: Maria Bakalova (29, White-Bulgarian), Glenn Close (73, White-American), Olivia Colman, (47, White-British), Amanda Sefried (35, White-American), Yuh-Jung Youn (73, North Korea)

Directing: Thomas Vinterberg (51, White-Danish), David Fincher (58, White-American), Lee Isaac Chung (42, S. Korean-American), Chloé Zhao, (38, Chinese), Emerald Fennell, (35, White-British)


     The above are just a few of the categories and the full list can be found at the Academy (cited below). The distribution appears to be almost in favor of non-Americans across the board in the individual award groups. By age, two above the age of 70 are men: Hopkins, Raci and two are women: Close and Youn Yuh-Jung. Five are White-American.  The first category at the Academy for the rules of inclusion are the following:




STANDARD A:  ON-SCREEN REPRESENTATION, THEMES AND NARRATIVES
To achieve Standard A, the film must meet ONE of the following criteria:

A1. Lead or significant supporting actors

At least one of the lead actors or significant supporting actors is from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group.
• Asian
• Hispanic/Latinx
• Black/African American
• Indigenous/Native American/Alaskan Native
• Middle Eastern/North African
• Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
• Other underrepresented race or ethnicity

     Although there are sub-groups represented, such as of African descent, there are no Hispanic, Native American or Middle East nominees; in other words, only two, possibly three, of the seven groups are represented. It becomes clear that so long as the criteria has been satisfied, it is acceptable to exclude the others who should have representation. It then becomes clear also just how fair the standard (A.) is by placing race and ethnicity into the same category. Because of this rather ambiguous classification, ethnic representation, such as indigenous and Native Americans, have a higher likelihood of being excluded. The category is A-weighted toward other groups that are racially underrepresented;
     "These two concepts (race and ethnicity) are often confused despite their subtle differences. Race includes phenotypic characteristics such as skin color, whereas ethnicity also encompasses cultural factors such as nationality, tribal affiliation, religion, language and traditions of a particular group." (SciELO)
    This draws attention to the Hispanic group in particular since it can almost fall into both categories. Either way, it shows no representation in the primary actor-actress-director fields for #Oscars2021. In retrospect, the inclusion rules were hastily drawn by the Academy with no real insight or consideration for the subtleties that could arise through dividing up the classes, races and ethnicities in order to create a tokenism balance to the award distribution. Some authorities insist there are over 600 "ethnic" groups but only five "racial" groups. How the inclusion rules were decided upon, and by whom, would reveal to what degree the voters had--based on their own backgrounds (a governors' "task force")--in the necessary knowledge to create an equitable system for the awards. 

Golden Globes: HFPA Promises 13 Percent Black Membership By Next Ceremony



Cited
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