So something kind of wonderful happened on last night’s Tony Award telecast. Amidst the wonderful opening number and raucous atmosphere, history was made: two women (Pam MacKinnon and Dianne Paulus) won the directing prizes, Cyndi Lauper became the first woman to win for Best Original Score without a writing partner, and four out of the eight acting winners were African American. Wait, what? Yes, the Tonys became the anti-Oscars, with women and minorities just winning every damn where. It was a wonder to behold not only for the sheer weight of the occasion, but because it didn’t feel out of place or momentous, just felt like the right people won. After doing the latest Awards Circuit podcast where in the subject of race came up and spurned on by a colleague’s great analysis of sexism within the Academy, I wanted to share my thoughts on why I think Hollywood is severely behind in terms of equality.
It’s fascinating to me that Hollywood has not found a way to be more inclusive of minorities and women, yet the theater community has seemed to embrace them wholeheartedly. The Oscars, by extension, happen to mirror that lack of inclusiveness. But why is it then that one industry has managed to be so accepting and another one can’t?
Broadway is arguably a more competitive business than the film industry. Think about it, we literally see HUNDREDS of movies a year and this past theater season only 46 shows opened. FORTY SIX. That’s it. Shows can close before or after one performance and no one will bat an eyelash, except to coerce that house owner to give them the new vacant theater. So does something like last night happen? It’s because the industry is built on a sense of community and merit; if you can play the part you can get it or if you have the vision you can direct it. That attitude permeates through the entire community and when it comes time to reward people, their race, sex, religion, sexual orientation doesn’t matter.
I look at the film industry and wonder why they can’t come close to matching this. Why is it that every big movie seems to go to a male director? Even female driven films like The Hunger Games have had two male directors and I won’t even go into the minority Oscar count, but it’s not great. The film industry in its current state doesn’t seem to have much in the way of truly out there originality so why not mix it up with casting and directing? The Fast and Furious franchise has proved that you can throw any kind of acting ability into a movie, regardless of race, and get a hit.
Even looking at the people trying to get into the industries and it’s so confusing how Hollywood has remained so resistant to equality. People looking to go into theater can be just as impoverished as those unpaid interns in Los Angeles, and yet women and minorities have made their way to the highest levels. Meanwhile at the Oscars we have yet to have a woman repeat her directing nominations let alone win multiple Oscars (both Pam and Dianne have multiple Tony noms in addition to their wins). It’s a glaring problem that just makes it more plain the need for diversity in storytelling and producing.
So how does Hollywood change to be more inclusive? Here’s 3 things they could do:
1. Expand your minds come awards time. You remember how I mentioned we see hundreds of movie a year? Some of those were directed by/written by/starred women and minorities. How about you nominate some of the good ones.
2. Take some (low risk) chances. There’s no reason you can’t have a woman take the reins of some of these franchise films or place a minority in a role in those franchises.
3. Pay your interns. It’s a lot easier to encourage diversity when communities that aren’t super wealthy can have something to assist them on the journey.