And the Award Goes To...Someone White

Representation should mean that everyone is represented. People want to see themselves and their backgrounds being told onscreen instead of the same narratives told repeatedly. With a global rise in the Black Lives Matter movement, Hollywood and celebrities alike were the first to raise their voices. These people and organizations pledged to do better and to have more representation and diversity. However, when the time came to take action and follow through on the promises made, Hollywood failed—majorly.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the 78th Golden Globe nominations. The TV & Films nominated are dominated by white stories and actors.

This year only 18% of Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) were nominated for a Golden Globe. Now you may be thinking, what's wrong with that statistic? These numbers have doubled since last year. With 82% of nominees being white, Hollywood has officially doubled their statistic of excluding BIPOC from success. When you look at the actual shows being nominated, it is astounding to see the number of diverse stories not being told.

One show that seemed to shock the public was Emily In Paris. This show follows a young white woman who moves to Paris to start her big marketing company career—not a new show idea, and it cast a white woman as basically getting everything. The author and screenwriter of Emily In Paris, Deborah Copaken, issued an apology to Michaela Coel, who wrote I May Destroy You about Coel's experience as a BIPOC and sexual assault. Copaken's statement was issued on Twitter stating, "Dear @MichaelaCoel: I was a writer on Emily in Paris, but your show was my favorite show since the dawn of TV, & this doesn't seem right. I loved I MAY DESTROY YOU, and I thank you, personally, for giving us your heart, your mind, your resilience, & your humor."

Source: IMDB

Hollywood can talk the big talk, but when it came down to proving their words were true, they failed. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association released an article stating how they support organizations and charities. Within this article, it says, "The HFPA recognizes that in a moment in which the industry faces difficult challenges and strives to become more diverse and inclusive, it is important that we reach out beyond simply financial support to uplift and empower those who represent our future." HFPA stated they support diversity and diverse stories, yet the nominations don't reflect this notion. Their claims of striving to do better are just that—words. Many BIPOC shows and films that tell important stories and narratives are regularly overlooked.

At the Oscars in 2014 and 2015, all 20 acting nominations went to white men. This prompted the social movement #OscarsSoWhite, created by April Reign, was born. That year, 92% of top film directors were men, and 86% of top films featured white actors. This movement sparked #WhiteWashedOUT, which is for Asian representation, and #TimesUp, which focuses on gender equality. After the spark of these hashtags, movies such as Get Out, Crazy Rich Asians, and Black Panther were nominated. However, this representation didn't last long. In 2019, a record of 13 BIPOC took home awards from the Oscars. Hollywood had representation in their nominees for one award season and then moved on.

Source: Metro News Source: Times Up

Representation is critical in our society. People of all races, backgrounds, genders, and sexual orientations need to have equal opportunity as whites, straights, and males. We need to move away from only showcasing BIPOC stories as slave stories, immigrant stories and overcoming someone putting them down for their race. It's time for Hollywood to include black actors in their films without the story being about race.

It isn't good enough to only have 18% of BIPOC represented in 2021 award nominations. People need to be held accountable. Hollywood needs to start diversifying itself.