Awards season films usually arrive with a certain
feel to them. Big stories, strong acting, deeply felt and poignant moments. But when it comes to telling diverse stories with nonwhite casts or stars in awards season, storytelling often feels a bit more limited and familiar.
“How does the industry recognize a prestige project?” asks Darnell Hunt, UCLA dean of social sciences and coauthor of the 2019 report “By All M.E.A.N.S. Necessary: Essential Practices for Transforming Hollywood Diversity and Inclusion.” “Nothing drives the industry like a successful project. Civil rights films, biopics of singular iconic figures, slavery films with roles coveted by great actors of color. But we want to see a broader representation of experiences across diverse groups.”
USA TODAY
In June 2020, protests sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police erupted nationwide and had many Americans searching for resources to understand why Black folks are upset, angry, tired, fed up, sad and emotionally drained.
Six days into 2021, Congress was set to formally declare Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol. Four people were killed, the National Guard was deployed and more than 50 people were arrested.
The police response to each of these protests was starkly different as many civil rights leaders and people on social media pointed out. While Black Lives Matter protestors clashed with law enforcement and were met with tear gas and rubber bullets, pro-Trump supporters, mostly white, stormed a federal building and the crowds of law enforcement were notably absent.