Friday, February 27, 2015
Academy Awards Recap
This
year’s Academy Awards was
more than just recognition for artistic talent, it also was an opportunity to
voice pressuring gender and racial issues.
As
usual, the start of the Oscars included a warm welcome and a fashion show down
on the red carpet. For many years prior, celebrities have decked themselves out
with stylish gowns, jewelry and suits. However, Reese Witherspoon started a
social media movement called #AskHerMore: a campaign that urges reporters to
ask female celebrities more substantial questions rather than fashion and
gossip.
The
typical question a female celebrity is asked is “who are you wearing tonight?” unlike male celebrities, who are asked the same question
but are also asked about their experiences, roles, accomplishments, or talents
in the industry. The #AskHerMore was created by the Representation Project to
have reporters focus less on an actress’
appearance and more on her accomplishments.
This
campaign created arguments such as, “#AskHerMore
seems to me to be the celebrity version of having it all - another manifesto of
the pressure on women to be everything at all times”. Critics of the movement are calling it “anti-feminist” because it pressures the
female community to not only be pretty, but to be smart as well. Events such as
the Oscars are already known to be frivolous and materialistic, so why frown
upon the question “who are you wearing tonight?” Also,
many designers and talented people were not able to be recognized by their
talents because of this movement. Usually, designers get recognition through
these kinds of events, yet their names were not mentioned that night.
The
highlight of the night was Patricia Arquette’s acceptance speech as she won Best Supporting Actress for her
role in Boyhood. As she thanked the producers, cast, and the public, she
ended her speech with a powerful statement. “To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and citizen
of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights. It’s
out time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in
the United States of America”.
Arquette
gives light to the issue of unequal pay in the labor force. Studies have shown
that on average, women get paid 73% of their male’s counterpart salary.
It’s time for women. Equal means
equal. The truth is the older women get, the less money they make. The highest
percentage of children living in poverty are in female-headed households. It’s inexcusable that we go around
the world and we talk about equal rights for women in other countries and we
don’t. It’s time for all the women in
American, and all the meant that love women and all the gay people and all the
people of color that we’ve
all fought for to fight for us now”.
Although she gave light to a pressuring issue in the United
States, Arquette received a lot of critiques from the LGBT community and the
people of color. Her statement suggested that the gay community and the people
of color achieved equality while women have not. Criticism such as “Feminism
being a movement for white women’s rights, not all women’s
rights” aroused,
which made LGBT community and the people of color hesitant to join the movement
fearing exclusion.
Nevertheless, we should not focus so much on how the message was
delivered, but that it WAS delivered. Women in the labor force do not get the
same pay as men. Women and men are still not treated equally in the workforce
and, despite numerous advances, women face different, and unequal working
conditions. The message that Arquette tries to deliver is that all women do not
have the same level of treatment and recognition for the same work in the same profession.
It is harder for a woman to get hired at high level positions, it is harder for
women to get hired and get maternity leave, and it is harder for women to
secure a job in the future once she starts a family
All in all, the Oscars is one the most popular awards ceremony
that is watched on a global level. Every year, millions of people gather around
to watch as their favorite celebrities and movies get the recognition they
deserve. It is great to know that these kinds of high profile events are giving
attention to pressuring social issues, such as gender equality.
