Oscars & Feminism (Reflection of the me-too movement in recent times)
For over 90 years, the Oscars have been a famous and entertaining activity with known actors, directors, and many other people who left their marks in these movies. Families would sit and listen with their radios or like in the present, watch with their devices, this elegant and special night. When the words Oscars and feminism get together, the product is mostly seen as contradictory. Especially with the large involvement of the #metoo movement in current feminism, women’s demands are more boldly revealed. Taking the Oscars as an example, people want the actors who fit into the marginalized part of society to receive the recognition they deserve.
The #metoo movement began 15 years ago with an American activist, Tarana Burk, who wanted on shed light on sexual abuse through social media. Since then, the hashtag resurfaced many times and has been seen trending on Twitter in many other languages. The #metoo movement became a place where women could confidently expose the people who have abused them. Celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence, Alyssa Milano, Gwyneth Paltrow and many more joined the #metoo movement to talk about their own stories regarding the faulted and misogynistic background of Hollywood.
The Oscars, for many years, have been talked about for their “snubs” that questionably always included marginalized actors in the picture such as Little Women which only won the “Best Costume Design” award and left others talking about the poor acknowledgement it received. Especially, with the involvement of feminism in Hollywood, the Oscars have been working to be seen as inclusive which, for many, is only performative.
In the 94-year-old existence of the Academy Awards, only three women directors won the “Best Director” award. Accompanied by the unfunny side jokes such as the most famous one -Chris Rocks' comment about Jada Pinkett Smith’s health condition- many say that the night was a disappointment. Although the Oscars have a very long way to go, there were some improvements seen such as Ariana DeBose, an openly queer woman, winning the “Best Supporting Actress” award or Troy Kotskur becoming the first deaf man to win an acting Oscar.
References
https://www.brit.co/celebrities-me-too/
https://en.vogue.me/culture/feminist-lessons-from-the-oscars-2020/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/08/metoo-around-the-world/
https://www.growthforgreen.org/post/gen-z-and-social-media-s-impact-on-feminism