FEATURING DR. DARNELL HUNT – Sunday’s Academy Awards were considered to have the most diverse lot of nominees in the history of the annual ceremonial accolades, years after the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag began trending. With films such as Judas and the Black Messiah, Minari, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom featuring casts with majority people of color, there was much to celebrate. Still, the entirely white film, Nomadland’s, Asian American director Chloe Zhao was chosen as Best Director and the 83-year old Anthony Hopkins snagged a surprise win over the late critically acclaimed actor Chadwick Boseman. 

Does the slight increase in the Oscars’ diversity reflect what is happening in Hollywood at large? The latest Hollywood Diversity Report from UCLA seems to suggest so.

To get the full report visit https://socialsciences.ucla.edu/hollywood-diversity-report-2021/.  

Dr. Darnell Hunt is Dean of the Division of Social Sciences at UCLA, and professor of sociology and African American Studies at UCLA. He is the author with Dr. Ana-Christina Ramón of the 2021 Hollywood Diversity Report, subtitled “Pandemic in Progress.”