Over the near 100 years of the Oscars existence, less than 70 Black people have won in any category. The Oscars has a known reputation of prioritizing white audiences and films by white people.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, more widely known as the Oscars, specifically seeks out the approval of white audiences as a way of upholding white supremacy.
The Oscars often choose mediocre films for the Best Picture Award when the counterpart created by people of color is critically better. “Sinners,” a highly successful movie grossed over $369 million worldwide and scored a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, while the 2026 Best Picture, “One Battle After Another” grossed $200 million worldwide with an estimated budget of $130 million making it a flop at the box office and scoring a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.
This bias is problematic in that it reinforces a lack of innovative ideas and discrimination in a sphere that claims freedom for all.
The lack of diversity in the Oscars caused a social media movement, known as #OscarsSoWhite started by journalists, media strategists and advocate for diversity April Reign in 2015 after all 20 nominations for the year’s Academy Awards were given to only white actors. In 2016, the hashtag was revived as the nominations again consisted of mostly white actors and actresses. Critics of the Academy Awards voiced that nothing would change if the voting committee remained mostly white men. The argument was that a group of the same kind of people would never choose movies they couldn’t relate to.
When the same people, with the same backgrounds choose the same movies, not only the diversity of people is limited, but the story’s being told to audiences are also limited. This ritual of producing the same thing again and again kills the creativity that makes film so interesting and a unique way of storytelling.
Halle Berry, the only Black woman ever to win an Oscar in the Best Actress category, has reflected on what change has occurred since her win in 2002. In the Apple TV+ documentary “Number One on the Call Sheet” Berry expressed feeling no change has happened for women of color in the film industry. Other actors such as Taraji P. Henson, has a theory that Black women are seen as secondary parts of films, not lead actresses, further reinforcing white actors and actresses as default options, limiting storytelling.
Of course, people can argue that these award winning films directed by white people are just better compared to those created by people of color. But because the voting board consisted of the same people with shared backgrounds, that creates a limited perspective, not even giving directors of color a chance.
To combat this issue, spaces for young aspiring filmmakers, a place where they can harness their skills should be created and welcomed by people who crave diversity and interesting stories.
Young people of color should be encouraged to defy the status quo and create art that is appreciated and accepted. The Oscars and its known bias towards white filmmakers discourages and limits filmmakers of color and this bias is problematic, reinforcing white mediocrity. Embracing mediocrity kills innovative ideas from diverse backgrounds, limiting the stories told to different audiences.
