Diversity Macht Frei
January 25, 2017
It looks like the Oscars are going to be a re-run of the Miss Helsinki contest.
But the most obvious sign of karmic evolution was that — in contrast with recent years when actors and filmmakers of color were barely represented or erased outright — this year’s list of nominations showcases an encouragingly inclusive spectrum of artists, genres and stories.
When you create a public culture based on the idea that some people have secret moral taints in their soul, everyone lives in fear of Accusation and Anathema. A psychological pressure – sometimes subtle and subconscious, sometimes overt and obvious – is applied to do things that will make you a smaller target when the accusations start to fly. So, last, year, the Oscars committee recruited lots of new members, about half of whom were brown-skinned.
Of course, the Establishment is now at pains to deny that this was a factor in producing this more diverse list of nominees.
It’s clear that, unlike recent years when the red carpet looked lily white, this year’s Oscars will resemble the outside world much more vibrantly. And, despite assumptions to the contrary, this development most likely isn’t a direct response to public awareness efforts such as the #OscarsSoWhite Twitter campaign or efforts by the academy’s president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, to recruit a more inclusive membership. (After last year’s outcry over lack of representation, the academy invited 683 new members to join the organization, 46 percent of whom were female and 41 percent of whom were people of color.) “Moonlight,” “Fences,” “Hidden Figures” and their co-nominees have all been in the pipeline for at least two years, probably more, suggesting that the pluralism on display isn’t a reactive flash in the pan but an indication of more-enduring — and encouraging — structural change.
Very plausible argumentation. Because the movie projects must have been rolling before the recent recruitment of “diverse people”, this recruitment cannot have affected the voting decisions, even though these were only made recently. It doesn’t even begin to make sense. But in DiversityLand, we employ Alternative Logic.
And Alternative History. We can assume that Hidden Figures will do well thanks to its outstanding propaganda value, ticking both the negro and female boxes. It also helps cover up the awkward fact that the American space program was led by Nazis. Not neo-Nazis. Not the Alt Right. Not people who think there’s too much immigration. Actual, real Nazis who knew Adolf Hitler personally. But 100 years from now, people will think it was run by negresses.