Last year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced “new representation and inclusion standards for Oscars eligibility in the Best Picture category.” In brief, the new standards establish hard quotas regarding both personnel and movie themes that must be met before any film can even be considered for the Best Picture award. The standards would be considered farcical if they were not so tragic. Indeed, the standards show what happens when radical wokeness runs amok in Hollywood.
Before even looking at the quotas, one important thing must be noted: the quotas are illegal as they violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964. According to the Act:
“It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer –
(1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or
(2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin….
It shall [also] be an unlawful employment practice for any employer, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining, including on-the-job training programs to discriminate against any individual because of his race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in admission to, or employment in, any program established to provide apprenticeship or other training.”
Yet the quotas of the Academy do exactly these prohibited things. They unabashedly establish hard racial, sex and ethnicity quotas in clear violation of the law. Let’s hope that some courageous producer, director, or studio will bring a civil rights action against the Academy for its blatant violation of one of our country’s most fundamental laws.
Now on to the quotas. To begin with, it appears that a movie studio will need to hire a mathematician and a grammarian to have a chance of complying with the quotas as they are so convoluted. There are so many precise numbers and precise uses of “and” and “or” that even the clearest mind can get confused.
The Academy states that to be considered for the Best Picture category, a film must satisfy two (not one, three, or four) of the four standards that follow.
To achieve Standard A: On-Screen Representation, Themes and Narratives, a movie must meet at least one of three criteria:
- “At least one of the lead actors or significant supporting actors is from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group: Asian, Hispanic/Latinx, Black/African American, Indigenous/Native American/Alaska Native, Middle Eastern/North African, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, [or] other underrepresented race or ethnicity.”
- “At least 30% of all actors in secondary and more minor roles are from at least two of the following underrepresented groups: Women, Racial or ethnic group, LGBTQ+, [or] People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing.”
- “The main storyline(s), theme or narrative of the film is centered on an underrepresented group(s): Women, Racial or ethnic group, LGBTQ+, [or] People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing.
To achieve Standard B: Creative Leadership and Project Team, a movie must meet one of three criteria:
- “[a]t least two of the following creative leadership positions and department heads—Casting Director, Cinematographer, Composer, Costume Designer, Director, Editor, Hairstylist, Makeup Artist, Producer, Production Designer, Set Decorator, Sound, VFX Supervisor, Writer [with] Women, [members of a] Racial or ethnic group, LGBTQ+, [or] People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing.
However, to satisfy this criterion:
- “[a]t least one of those positions must belong to the following underrepresented racial or ethnic group: Asian, Hispanic/Latinx, Black/African American, Indigenous/Native American/Alaskan Native, Middle Eastern/North African, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander [or] other underrepresented race or ethnicity.”
Apparently, you don’t want to have too many White women, LGBTQ+ representatives, or disabled people satisfying this criterion.
To satisfy the second criterion of this standard:
- “At least six other crew/team and technical positions (excluding Production Assistants) are from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group. These positions include but are not limited to First AD, Gaffer, Script Supervisor, etc.”
Finally, to meet the third criterion:
- “At least 30% of the film’s crew is from the following underrepresented groups: Women, Racial or ethnic group, LGBTQ+, [or] People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing.”
You cannot make this stuff up. Keeping track of all the percentages and necessary groups is mindboggling….
If you want to satisfy Standard C: Industry Access and Opportunities, a film must meet both criterion one and criterion two, rather than just having to satisfy one of several as in the prior standards. Simply confuse an “and” for an “or” and you could fail to be nominated for Best Picture. But studios will have paid grammarians on staff, so no worries. Under the first criterion:
- “The film’s distribution or financing company has paid apprenticeships or internships that are from the following underrepresented groups and satisfy the criteria…: Women, Racial or ethnic group, LGBTQ+, [or] People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing.”
But there is a distinction between major players and others:
- “The major studios/distributors are required to have substantive, ongoing paid apprenticeships/internships inclusive of underrepresented groups (must also include racial or ethnic groups) in most of the following departments: production/development, physical production, post-production, music, VFX, acquisitions, business affairs, distribution, marketing and publicity.
The mini-major or independent studios/distributors must have a minimum of two apprentices/interns from the above underrepresented groups (at least one from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group) in at least one of the following departments: production/development, physical production, post-production, music, VFX, acquisitions, business affairs, distribution, marketing and publicity.”
Again, this criterion makes clear that you don’t want just White women, LGBTQ+ members, and the disabled filling up the internships.
Under the second required criterion:
- “The film’s production, distribution and/or financing company offers training and/or work opportunities for below-the-line skill development to people from the following underrepresented groups: Women, Racial or ethnic group, LGBTQ+, [or] people with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing.”
Finally, under Standard D: Representation in marketing, publicity, and distribution, a film has to meet just one criterion. (Whew! No “ands” or “ors” here to confuse things….)
- “The studio and/or film company has multiple in-house senior executives from among the following underrepresented groups (must include individuals from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups) on their marketing, publicity, and/or distribution teams: Women, Racial or ethnic group, LGBTQ+, [or] people with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing.”
But don’t forget those important words in the parenthesis; you must have members from racial and ethnic groups. Once again, having only White women, LGBTQ+ members, and the disabled will not cut it.
So there you have it. If a film wants to be considered for an Oscar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, it must satisfy:
- two of four standards;
- one of three criteria for Standard A;
- one of three criteria for Standard B;
- both criteria for Standard C; and
- the one criterion of Standard D.
And oh, yeah, remember what the quota groups are and which of these groups are mandatory and which are permissive. And don’t get those numbers and percentages wrong for each group or forget about those LGBTQ+ and racial themes. And that big and small studios are treated differently.
You simply cannot make this stuff up. The Academy is contorting itself in all kinds of positions in an attempt to satisfy the woke gods of identify politics and political correctness. It is playing a game of Twister in an attempt to “cancel” the idea of merit.
I have a better idea. To ensure that the best movies are made, why not use just one simple, easy to understand standard: no unjust discrimination for or against any group or theme. Only the best people and the best themes will be chosen.
Alas, that would be too radical for Hollywood and would rob the glitterati of virtue signalling. So I guess the Civil Rights Law of 1964 and the principle of nondiscrimination will be scrapped by Tinseltown. Let’s pray for a brave studio to stand up to oppose this insanity; to restore and enshrine–once again–merit in Hollywood.