Much ado about the Oscars
The Oscars has become more unpredictable since it added younger members, women and people of color to its voting ranks. Here are the biggest talking points of the race
01 DIVERSITY REIGNS
The Oscars haven't been the same since activists launched the #OscarSoWhite campaign in response to the all-white slate of acting nominees in 2015 and 2016. Black celebrities such as Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee boycotted the 2016 ceremony, with Lee writing on social media: "40 White Actors In 2 Years And No Flava At All. We Can't Act?! WTF!!" The launch of #MeToo and #TimesUp has also impacted how the Academy chooses its nominees, with more women being recognised for technical achievements such as cinematography and directing.
The Academy responded by shaking up its membership, which primarily consists of older white men - and still does. Since June 2016, it's recruited more women and people of colour from different countries. In 2017, there were non-white actors picked for all the four acting categories - a first in Oscar history. That trend has been repeated this year, with Rami Malek, Mahershala Ali and Regina King leading the Best Actor, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress race respectively.
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