Diversity Or Merit? What Matters More
The lack of diversity has been seen as a major issue at this years award season. This article aims to highlight the issue from both sides of the perspective
Its the most intriguing time of the year for Hollywood, as it is the start of the award season. Prestigious award ceremonies such as the Oscars and Golden Globe tend to be the most talked about events in all of tinsel town. However, this year’s award season has created some what of a controversy. There has been a massive discontent among the critics and the viewers over the lack of diversity at this year’s award nominations.
Diversity is a hot button topic in the west. Much of western cinema and art has revolved around Caucasian culture. For many progressive minded people in the west, they have always viewed Hollywood as being dominated by Caucasian people. They see American cinema as being highly discriminatory against people of colour.
Many believe that a sort of systematic form of oppression exists in Hollywood where people of colour are not rewarded. They believe that the entertainment industry does not award the work and talent of minorities fairly. This was the case with the BAFTA nominations that caused a major uproar over its lack of diversity.
Many critics and advocates of inclusiveness argued that the BAFTA jury overlooked the work of several people of colour, who had performed much better than their Caucasian counterparts. For instance, many critics argued that the performances of Lupita Nyongo, Jennifer Lopez and Awkwafina were ignored, while Margot Robbie was awarded for her role in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, a role that many critics argued was minuscule.
However the issue of diversity is not one about race but also about gender. Another major complaint at this years award season is the lack of female directors nominated at this year’s award season. Last year saw a number of female directors make amazing films but were not rewarded for their pieces of work. Directors such as Greta Gewig, Lulu Wang and Lorene Scafaria were ignored at this year’s award season despite making some critically acclaimed films.
The accusation of bias has been met with a counter argument of meritocracy. Those who advocated for this approach believe that the notion of diversity is counterproductive as it seeks to ignore actual talent and hard work. They believe that by awarding people on the basis of their minority status is not beneficial. It deters the notion of emphasizing talent over anything else.
Although it is important to provide equal opportunity and reward to everyone, the importance of being equal should not override the importance of talent. Merit should always be prioritized over anything else and no other factor should influence it. People of colour and women should be awarded for their talent but they should simply not be awarded on only just the basis of their status or belonging to a minority group.
About Us:
At Runway Pakistan, we commit to providing a lifestyle magazine that focuses on variety more than just glamour. Covering a diverse range; from fashion to entertainment. To sports and health & fitness, business to lifestyle, and much more. Our print magazine named Billboard Pakistan and online publication as Runway Pakistan binds our expertise in social media, content development, publication, and production.
Like and follow our Facebook page:
Runway Pakistan
