Post-Oscars Diversity Downer; New York Times, 3/3/14

Juliet Lapidos, New York Times; Post-Oscars Diversity Downer:

"Sunday night’s Academy Awards were a model of diversity. They were hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, a lesbian; Lupita Nyong’o, who is black, won the best supporting actress category; and “12 Years a Slave” won for best picture, marking the first time the top prize went to the work of a black director, Steve McQueen. Mr. McQueen did not win the best director prize, which was awarded instead to the Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón.

That the Oscars aren’t a whites-only boys club is obviously worth celebrating, but we shouldn’t pretend that Hollywood’s award ceremony is an accurate reflection of Hollywood. It’s not. A recent report from the Women’s Media Center found that race and gender disparities still mar the film industry...

Hollywood’s great at congratulating itself for diversity; it’s just not great at actual diversity.