Following 2015 and 2016’s #OscarsSoWhite protests, this year’s Academy Awards nominations have been released and show much more diversity.
Denzel Washington, from Fences, has been nominated for “Best Actor”. Films with strong POC lead-roles are up for Best Picture, including Moonlight, Hidden Figures, and Fences.
The 89th Academy Award nominations also see plenty of firsts. In the “Best Supporting Actress” category, three of the five nominees are black women: Naomie Harris for Moonlight, Viola Davis for Fences, and Octavia Spencer for Hidden Figures.
Viola Davis’ role as Rose Maxson in Fences has made her the most Oscar-nominated black woman. With three nominations, it’s the most any black actress has ever received in history.
Naomie Harris’ nomination is a first considering she shot her part in three days, showing that no role is too small of a role.
Denzel Washington, Mahershala Ali, and Ruth Negga are up for nominations as well. This year’s “Best Actor,” “Best Supporting Actor,” and “Best Actress,” also include POC. This is the first time each performance category has had a black nominee.
Arrival‘s Bradford Young is the first African-American to be nominated for “Best Cinematography.” And Joi McMillon, from Moonlight, is the first black woman to be nominated in her category: “Best Film Editing.” In the “Best Documentary Feature” category, three black-centered documentaries are nominated: “O.J.: Made in America,” “13th,” and “I Am Not Your Negro.”
This showcase of diversity at the Academy Awards is shown through a wider variety of categories – including “Best Animated Feature Film.” Moana, a Disney film starring a Polynesian princess is nominated alongside Kubo and the Two Strings, a stop-motion animated film about a Japanese boy.
Although the Oscars have taken a great step towards increasing the diversity within their categories, it does not take away from the #OscarsSoWhite conversation that struck the internet during the past Academy Awards.
