Twitter Roasts Academy for Reviving 2016’s #OscarsSoWhite

The nominations for the 2020 Oscars were announced on 13 January.

The nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards, which were announced on 13 January, saw a revival of the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag that began trending on social media in response to the Academy’s non-inclusive line-up in 2016. Many have criticised this year’s predominately white nominees and general lack of diversity.

While Korean director Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite is in the running for Best Picture, six of the nine contenders, including The Irishman, Joker, Marriage Story and Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, are centred around white men.

and the oscar for filming pissed off white men goes to https://t.co/sin1tRqWp3

— rachel handler (@rachel_handler) January 13, 2020

Don't allow them to say 'first South Korean film to be nominated' like it's a good thing, use it as a stick to beat the Oscars

— Uday Bhatia (@yooday) January 14, 2020

Jennifer Lopez (Hustler), Jamie Foxx (Just Mercy), Eddie Murphy (Dolemite Is My Name), Awkwafina (The Farewell) and Lupita Nyong’o (Us), were among the actors of colour who were snubbed for their performances this year. Cynthia Erivo, who plays American abolitionist Harriet Tubman in Harriet, is the only nonwhite actor nominated. Some social media users have highlighted the irony of having Issa Rae and John Cho, both people of colour, as hosts for the nomination ceremony, likening them to token diversity hires.

The Academy is also being criticised for only featuring men in the Best Director category, despite many of 2019’s acclaimed films being helmed by female directors, such as Greta Gerwig (Little Women), Lulu Wang (It’s Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood) and Marielle Heller (Hustlers). The nominees include Martin Scorsese (The Irishman), Todd Phillips (Joker), Sam Mendes (1917), Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Bong Joon Ho (Parasite).

No Greta Gerwig for ‘Little Women,’ no Lulu Wang for ‘The Farewell,’ no Lorene Scafaria for ‘Hustlers,’ no Melina Matsoukas for ‘Queen & Slim’ no Marielle Heller for ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.’ Once again, the Oscars nominated five men for best director. #OscarNoms

— Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) January 13, 2020

so interesting to learn that Little Women directed itself and Parasite didn't have any actors in it

— Angie J. Han (the J stands for Jellicle) (@ajhan) January 13, 2020

tfw Florence Pugh perfectly describes why it's ridiculous that Greta Gerwig wasn't nominated for an Oscar for directing Little Women — a category wherein only men were nominated — and a movie about women's work not being deemed as valuable or important as men's work. pic.twitter.com/XCYjHIcsiP

— Lane Moore (@hellolanemoore) January 13, 2020

Host Issa Rae’s reaction while announcing the nominations in this category didn’t go unnoticed on social media. “Congratulations to those men,” she deadpanned during the livestream.

“Congratulations to those men.” Issa Rae is a legend. pic.twitter.com/WmfhDaBSkf

— Harry (@TheHarryParsons) January 13, 2020

Many have also questioned the inclusion of Joaquin Phoenix-starrer Joker in 11 categories, including Best Picture, Director and Leading Actor, especially considering the sharp criticism the film received for glorifying misogyny, violence and toxic masculinity.

Makes sense that the Academy likes this clown movie so much, it’s because the Academy is full of clowns only 🤡🤡🤡 https://t.co/RvnxgncnOJ

— Priyanka Paul (@artwhoring) January 14, 2020

I said it before and I will say it again: there’s no way you can see Tears of a White Clown as some sort of profound, masterful stroke of storytelling if you’ve seen E6 of WATCHMEN.

They are not the same.

— Soraya Nadia McDonald (@SorayaMcDonald) January 13, 2020

Imagine looking at these films and going like, "nope, Joker has better costume design". #OscarNoms pic.twitter.com/OezLrVGePj

— Juan Carlos Ojano #TeamParasite (@carlosojano) January 14, 2020

the academy members letting joker into every category pic.twitter.com/s2tNvV3sjd

— jonah (@phntmthrd) January 13, 2020