Leading up to last year’s Academy Awards ceremony, #OscarsSoWhite was one of the biggest trending topics on social media platforms. Since then, the film industry has seen some progress, as there have been more diverse narratives and artists at the forefront. And they have been deservedly nominated for Oscars this year.
Here are some exciting prospects for this year’s nominees:
Historic diversity in the acting categories
Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures
For the first time in ten years, all four acting categories feature non-white actors:
Best Actor: Denzel Washington (Fences)
Best Actress: Ruth Negga (Loving)
Best Supporting Actor: Dev Patel (Lion) and Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis (Fences), Naomie Harris (Moonlight), and Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)
The three black nominees for Best Supporting Actress is an all-time record for any acting category. In addition, Patel’s achievement makes him the first Indian performer to earn an acting nomination in thirteen years.
Denzel Washington could make history with a Best Actor win
Denzel Washington (Fences) could become the seventh performer in history to win three acting Oscars — and the first black actor at that. The performer with the most Oscar wins is Katharine Hepburn with four. After her, Ingrid Bergman, Walter Brennan, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jack Nicholson, and Meryl Streep all have three wins each. (Bonus: Should Streep win for Best Actress this year, she would tie with Hepburn’s record — who run the world?)
Lin-Manuel Miranda could be the youngest EGOT winner
Photo courtesy of Jordan Strauss
And be the second Latinx to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (following Rita Moreno) if he wins the Oscar for Best Original Song (Moana’s “How Far I’ll Go”).
Barry Jenkins could become first black director to win an Oscar
Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) could be the first black filmmaker to win the Oscar for Best Director. He is the fourth black director to be nominated in history, the second to receive a nomination for writing, and the third to direct a Best Picture contender.
Even with this progress, there is more work to be done to ensure that more diverse narratives make their way onto the big screen — and in the same vein, greater inclusions of and opportunities for diverse writers, directors, performers, and other artists. Here, it is worth noting that in its 88 years since the Awards began, only 5 Latinx and 3 Asian actors have taken home an Oscar.
Diverse narratives should be recognized not only in terms of talent but for their importance. This year’s Best Picture category shows reverence to three films that wrestle with African-American identity and history in their own ways (Fences, Hidden Figures, and Moonlight). The Documentary-Feature category similarly showcases stories depicting the racial divide in the U.S. (I Am Not Your Negro, 13th, and OJ: Made in America). In light of our country’s current political climate (and independently from it), this is all definitely worth celebrating.
Photo courtesy of Hopper Stone
Make sure you check out these films and performances before the Oscars’ airdate on Sunday, February 26th.
None of the images used belong to the author or Her Campus UC Davis.
(Thumbnail courtesy of Derek McLane)