The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is further addressing its inclusivity problem. The Academy has announced a “fresh set of measures aimed at boosting representation both within the group and across the film industry as a whole, including new inclusion standards for Oscars eligibility, marking the next chapter in the historically white-male-dominated organization’s ongoing campaign to remake itself inside and out,” The Los Angeles Times reports.
Aimed towards “increasing representation in the organization’s governance, membership and workplace culture, as well as in the films nominated for Oscars,” the phased initiative is named Academy Aperture 2025. It was approved by the group’s 54-person board of governors.
In collaboration with the Producers Guild of America, the Academy will launch a task force comprised of industry leaders who will develop “new representation and inclusion standards for Oscars eligibility by the end of July.”
Changes won’t be immediate — eligibility for next year’s Oscars will not be affected by the new guidelines. Starting the following year, “the best picture category will be permanently set at 10 nominees, as it had been from 2009 to 2011, rather than the recent fluctuating number of five to 10 nominations from year to year.” By raising that number, the Academy is trying “to ensure that a more diverse array of films can compete for the Oscars’ top prize.”
The Academy will be hosting “Academy Dialogue: It Starts With Us,” a series of panels that address “race, ethnicity and inclusivity in filmmaking.” Programs will include a conversation with Academy board member Whoopi Goldberg “on the impact of racist tropes and degrading stereotypes in films as well as conversations on the need for systemic change across a range of fields in Hollywood to boost opportunities for underrepresented groups.”
The Academy also announced that “it will amend its bylaws to enact maximum term limits for governors, with a new lifetime cap of 12 years of service on the board,” suggesting an awareness of the importance of welcoming fresh voices to their ranks. The Academy will create an Office of Representation, Inclusion and Equity, designed to oversee the Aperture 2025 initiative and “work within the Academy to ensure accountability throughout the organization.”
These measures come in the throes of Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd by the police. Systemic racism is, at long last, becoming a bigger part of the national — and international — conversation. The Academy’s reckoning is long overdue, with membership and the films they favor skewing heavily white and male. Following the 2015 #OscarsSoWhite controversy — which saw all 20 acting nominations go to white actors — the Academy announced A2020, an initiative “aimed at doubling the number of women and people of color in the group’s membership ranks by this year. The Academy, which has rapidly expanded in recent years, is set to announce its newest class of members next month,” the source details.
In 2019 the Academy invited 842 new members, 50 percent of whom were women and 29 percent people of color. Recent years have seen more women and people of color being invited to join, but both groups remain underrepresented in the Academy.
The Academy also recently announced results of its most recent board of governors elections. The number of women board members has increased from 25 to 26, and the number of POC has risen from 11 to 12, both historic highs. “When They See Us” creator Ava DuVernay and “A Star is Born” producer Lynette Howell Taylor are among the new members.
“While the Academy has made strides, we know there is much more work to be done in order to ensure equitable opportunities across the board,” Academy Chief Executive Dawn Hudson said in a statement. “The need to address this issue is urgent. To that end, we will amend — and continue to examine — our rules and procedures to ensure that all voices are heard and celebrated.”
Academy President David Rubin added, “Through the dedication, focus and concerted effort of our Board of Governors and members on the branch executive committees, the Academy has surpassed the goals of our A2020 initiative. But to truly meet this moment, we must recognize how much more needs to be done, and we must listen, learn, embrace the challenge, and hold ourselves and our community accountable. Academy leadership and our Board are committed to ensuring that we continue to weave equity and inclusion into the fabric of every Academy initiative, committee, program and event.”
