Today in WTF, Walmart bragged about its involvement in the Oscars this year and boasted about hiring some top tier directors for the gig. Problem is — they are all men. Score one more for the patriarchy.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Walmart has hired filmmakers Antoine Fuqua, Marc Forster, and producing partners Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg to each create a ‘short film’ that will air as a 60-second TV spot during the Oscars.”
The campaign, known as “The Receipt,” will see each director/directing team helm an original story from the same prompt: “a Walmart receipt that has six items on it — bananas, paper towels, batteries, a scooter, wrapping paper, and a video baby monitor.” (Note to Walmart: Let’s think about who usually buys all the things on the receipt.)
This is the first time Walmart will air a campaign during the Academy Awards telecast.
The all-male “The Receipt” project is cringe-worthy enough considering all of the press surrounding the persistent gender inequality in Hollywood, whether it is the pay gap, a lack of inclusivity, or the dismal number of women behind the camera. But Walmart’s fun new ad campaign is especially infuriating considering that no women directors or films helmed by women received Oscar nods this year.
As you’ll remember, only four women directors have ever been nominated for an Oscar. Kathryn Bigelow’s win for “The Hurt Locker” is the only time a woman has won the Academy Award for Best Director.
Walmart does not seem to be aware of this problem. Kirsten Evans, Walmart’s Senior VP of Corporate Marketing, said Fuqua (a man of color), Forster, and Rogen and Goldberg were selected “because they have unique perspectives that would result in really interesting and diverse storytelling.”
Even more disappointing, Walmart is a sponsor of Bentonville Film Festival, whose mission is “to champion women and diverse voices in media.” Co-founded by Geena Davis — a known advocate for women in Hollywood and beyond — Bentonville strives to “bring together decision makers and content creators with the goal of ensuring media represents the world we live in which is 51% women and very diverse.” Wouldn’t it have made sense to for Walmart to select some of the directors who screened at the festival?
Folks around the country are peeved. There was a concerted outburst on Twitter yesterday when this surfaced, beginning with Dr. Stacy L. Smith, who adds: “Walmart has publicly committed to supporting diverse voices through the Bentonville Film Festival. Excluding female directors from these ads is not only inconsistent with these values, but perpetuates the lack of women behind the camera in highly visible opportunities.” Smith, the Director of the Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative at USC’s Annenberg Center, continues, “With the Academy Awards a month away, there is still time for Walmart to do the right thing and let their business practices align with their corporate social responsibility.”
We hope Walmart takes Smith’s advice, as “The Receipt” could give a woman filmmaker a real chance to break through and find a larger platform. Fuqua told THR that there were basically “no restrictions” on the project. “They were completely open and supportive,” the “Training Day” director said of Walmart.
Walmart’s short films will air during the Academy Awards and will be available on YouTube. The awards ceremony takes place February 26.
