Everything, Everywhere, All at Once... For a Very Long While: What Hollywood Got Wrong... Again

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau of 2020 U.S. Demographics by Race
(but I made the pie chart because I'm a dork like that...)

Today is Pi (π) Day and I thought it would be fitting to start off the blog with a pie chart.  I seriously didn't plan it this way but it just happened that I was looking for a way to display U.S.'s demographics and I always like pie charts to show such information.  

A few nights ago, I watched the Academy Awards (aka The Oscars) which I usually don't watch every year. I don't watch a lot of movies but since the last few years were weird, I did watch more movies that usual.  I particularly wanted to watch the Oscars this year because the film Everything, Everywhere, All at Once had 11 nominations for various categories, and it is one movie I did see last year.  And I actually was a little surprised that so many awards were awarded to the cast and crew of this film.

I am very proud of the folks of this movie who received an Oscar, or collectively received the Oscar.  As a Chinese American who grew up in the U.S., I can easily relate to the Chinese American family portrayed in the movie.  I was that little girl, Joy, who wrestled with a lot of things, growing up with parents from Hong Kong and struggling to fit into the American culture. The movie really centered around Michelle Yeoh's character Evelyn Wang, the mother of the family, who felt her life doesn't make sense.  I think in her mind, she could have been so many other things, hence the loopy trip she took throughout the multiverse during the movie.  There were even a few scenes of her as a movie star, but it was really a flashback of her acting days in Hong Kong.  At the end, all that matters is that she is present for her daughter and her husband.

So, looking at the title of this blog, you might ask, "So what is wrong?  Hollywood actually nominated and awarded the Academy Awards to many Asians this year, and many of Chinese descent."  Michelle Yeoh was born and raised in Malaysia, but her parents are of Chinese descent. Ke Huy Quan is originally from Vietnam, but he is also from Chinese descent.  Stephanie Hsu is Chinese American.  James Hong is also Chinese American.

While this is a phenomenal year for Asians to represent, be nominated and earn so many awards, Hollywood again missed the mark when it comes to Black actors and film makers in the film industry.  So, let's look at the pie chart.   If Hollywood truly reflects the actual population of the U.S., there should be more Black actors and film professionals nominated and awarded the Oscars.  In all of the Academy's history, only 60 Black actors/actresses have been awarded the Oscars.  I know it's hard to put a percentage for the Academy Award wins (since some of the awards are for best picture and best screen play, which involves many people), 60 Black professionals out of 95 years of the awards is a very small percentage.  And having so many Asians win this year, it makes you wonder how Hollywood really view their talents.

I wouldn't be surprised if for the next 10 years, there won't be as many awards for Asians.  This might be it for a while.