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Now that the 2018 Oscar nominations have been announced, many people looking for more diversity have been left with a bittersweet aftertaste. We are thrilled to see Jordan Peele being properly recognized for his cultural masterpiece, Get Out, which was nominated for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Director. The film’s star, Daniel Kaluuya, is also nominated for Best Actor. Mary J. Blige is nominated for Best Supporting Actress alongside Octavia Spencer. And Denzel Washington broke his own record as the most nominated Black actor in the Academy’s history.
Yet, the lack of diversity in the major categories still leaves much to be desired. Women of color are still relegated to supporting roles and are altogether absent from the major categories, which is a huge disappointment. And the vast majority of nominees are white, which means that we are far from being done with #OscarsSoWhite.
I would also be remiss not to mention the four non-Black people of color that were nominated this year. Firas Fayyad directed Last Man in Aleppo, which was nominated for Best Documentary Feature. Kumail Nanjiani co-wrote The Big Sick, which is up for Best Original Screenplay. Adrian Molina is the director behind Coco, which could very well win Best Animated Feature. And Ru Kuwahata directed the animated short Negative Space, which was also nominated.
But, if you are planning on “rooting for everybody Black,” these are the names you need to be looking out for.
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