Despite the endless online commotion surrounding the new year and decade, you could be forgiven for thinking we have actually slipped back a few years this week. On Tuesday, the 2016 hashtag #BAFTAsSoWhite was trending on Twitter again after the announcement of nominees, a list that contained not one person of colour in any of the acting categories.
And so begins the first awards season of a shiny new decade. This is not a Bafta-only issue, mind; the #sowhite hashtag can be affixed to almost any big awards ceremony, as can #somale. Even the breakthroughs seem to take us multiple steps back: Awkwafina become the first Asian person to win best actress at the Golden Globes while simultaneously being snubbed entirely at the Baftas.
The resistance to change is all the more uncomfortable to see given that awards shows have increasingly become a vehicle for progressive, politicised speeches. A pregnant Michelle Williams taking an impassioned stance about abortion rights at the Golden Globes drew more attention to how sidelined women were on the night. Others – Regina King pledging to make all her future projects a 50/50 split on gender lines last year or Natalie Portman calling out the all-male shortlist of directors in 2018 – made it clear the actors are being heard, on the biggest platforms available, but not listened to.
The organisers of these awards shows are more concerned with optics. Clearly the Golden Globes bosses believed that Awkwafina’s historic win would distract from the fact she was one of only two minority winners on the night. A cohort of diverse presenters including Tiffany Haddish, Priyanka Chopra and Salma Hayek only highlighted the lack of diversity of winners.
Cynics may say that praise for perceived progress came too soon (the consensus from the media was that Get Out’s 2018 Oscar obliterated industry racism for good), but the truth is, many minorities stayed cynical. Jubilation over a one-off, stand-out year for diversity as seen at last year’s Grammys left us worrying about the next five, wondering how long it was before it was all declared “even stevens”.
This is what happens when diversity is treated as a trend; it falls in and out of vogue. Conversations around diversity become something deemed wearable every decade or so: we can expect to see their comeback in time for the return of bootcut jeans. The 2018 Grammys were dreadful for women, with only Alessia Cara walking away with a major prize, and just 17 awards (out of 86) going to women. Unsurprisingly, 2019 fared much better after a backlash – 31 women won. But given the current trajectory, we can expect inclusion to be firmly off the Grammys’ agenda by 2022.
