A Look Back on Diversity in the Academy

2019 marks the fourth year since the start of the #OscarsSoWhite trend.

The hashtag started to trend when, BroadwayBlack.com Managing Editor and former lawyer, April Reign used it to mock the diversity of the Oscars. Although its initial debut on a social media platform, it quickly turned into a united movement backed by film directors, actors, actresses, activists, and moviegoers. Despite the media exposure and support from those in the industry as well as audiences, there still is a lack of voice and representation for the Asian community, a minority of the minorities.

Only three actors of Asian descent have ever won the Oscars.

1. In 1957, Japanese descent Miyoshi Umeki won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Katsumi Kelly in Sayonara, marking a milestone for the first Asian actress to be nominated and to win the Best Supporting Actress award.

2. In 1982, half-Indian descent Ben Kingsley won Best Actor for his role in Gandhi, making him the first Asian to be nominated and win Best Actor.

3. In 1985, half-Chinese and half-Cambodian descent Haing S. Ngor won Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Killing Fields, making him the first Asian to win Best Supporting Actor.

Honorable mention: Ang Lee for Best Director for Brokeback Mountain (2005), Life of Pi (2012)

The AAPI community has also won:

Best Cinematography (1955, 1963, 2000)

Best Film Editing (1977, 2014),

Best Production Design (2000, 2017)

Best Costume Design (1954, 1982, 1985, 1992)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling (2017)

Best Original Score (1987, 2000, 2008)

Best Original Song (2008, 2013, 2017)

Best Sound Mixing (2008)

Best Visual Effects (1992)

Best Animated Feature (2002)

Best Documentary Feature (1994, 2010, 2015, 2018)

Best Documentary Short Feature (1990, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2018)

Best Animated Short Film (2008, 2010, 2018)

Best Live Action Short Film (1977, 1997)

Best Foreign Language Film (1951, 1954, 1955, 1975, 2000, 2008, 2012, 2017)

2016 marked a turning point for the Academy as the then-president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who was also the first African American to take on this position, vowed to double the female and minority members by 2020. This commitment came in part to save the Academy’s reputation and to move towards a greater diversity from the current membership which is vastly white, male, and over the age of 50.

On June 25, 2018, the Academy invited 928 new members to join the membership. Despite the expanding membership and its diversity, the percentage of people of color still stands at 16 percent, with AAPI members making a smaller portion of the percentage. In reality, solely reaching Isaacs’s commitment did little--it only diluted the overwhelming amount of white men who continue to dominate among the roughly 8,700 members of the Academy.

At the past 91st Academy Awards, Chinese descent Domee Shi took home the Best Animated Short Film for Bao, the beloved short film that accompanied Incredibles 2. In a subsequent interview, she revealed that being part of the change is a way she hopes to push the limited industry further.

The APPI community also won the Best Documentary Feature for Free Solo as well as the Best Documentary Short Subject for Netflix original Period. End of Sentence.

Looking forward, even greater equality and diversity in the entertainment industry must be embraced. The conversation must be kept going, whether on the screen or behind the scenes, till one day #OscarsSoDiverse trends.