Hollywood Blackout: The Battle for Inclusion at the Oscars

Hollywood has often composed ill-informed stories about people of color without their input. London-based fashion designer Arogundade (Black Beauty: A History and a Celebration) substantively charts Hollywood’s uneven journey, in response to outside events, to greater inclusion in racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, and physical ability representation. Various movements (civil rights, women’s rights, LGBTQIA+ rights), particularly the Oscars So White, Me Too, and Black Lives Matter mobilizations, ameliorated attitudes. Early recruiters such as Charles Butler and Bessie Loo sought out Black and Asian people, respectively, albeit as extras, as portrayers of their communities. As in professional sports, enhanced involvement of those previously left out ensued when they entered executive decision-making jobs. Arogundade notes issues like the initial absence of people of color in film credits, despite the actors’ appearing in the films; the casting of non-Indigenous performers to play Indigenous people; and the “Oscars curse,” whereby acclaimed actors went years before receiving other substantive roles.