US Academy Awards: Power To Overcome Discrimination

Published in Kobe Shimbun
(Japan) on 2 May 2021
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Dorothy Phoenix. Edited by Jamye Sharp.
At the 93rd Academy Awards, the greatest festival in the U.S. world of cinema, Chinese director Chloe Zhao's film “Nomadland” shone, garnering awards for best picture, best director and best actress. Zhao became the first non-white woman to win the award for best director. We want to congratulate her on this great achievement.

“Nomadland” is the story of a woman in her 60s, who is living like a nomad in the Western part of the U.S. Zhao expressed her delight, saying, "If this win means more people get to live their dream then I am extremely grateful."

The award for best supporting actress was awarded to Youn Yuh-jung for her role in “Minari,” a depiction of a Korean family that immigrated to the U.S. Youn is the first Korean performer, male or female, to win an Academy Award as an actor. In the U.S. film industry, which is dominated by white people, this rapid progress for Asians has great significance.

Hollywood has been predominantly white, so much so that some have said that the "Oscars is so white." However, in 2016, criticism mounted as the previous year's trend of all white performers as candidates in the acting category continued, and some people even boycotted the award ceremony. Accordingly, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences diversified its voting committee, embarking on a reformation to double the number of women and racial minorities. By last summer, the number of women has more than doubled, and the number of minorities more than tripled.

Some say that reform is still in progress but we recognize that significant strides have been made, with award winners including candidates of Asian and African descent, demonstrating more racial diversity and inclusion of younger candidates as well.

Contemporary U.S. society also suffers from division and discrimination. The violence and harassment of people of Asian descent have increased as a result of COVID-19. According to California State University, San Bernardino, in 16 major cities, 122 anti-Asian hate crimes were reported in 2020, 2.5 times more than the previous year. Since last March, U.S. nonprofit organizations have received nearly 3,800 reports of violence and harassment.

In March, six women of Asian descent were killed in a series of shootings in the outskirts of Atlanta. It is suspected that these crimes were racially motivated, and they must not be tolerated.

The Academy Awards results might set an example for such societal issues. The backdrop of the recent hatred is that the previous U.S. president, Donald Trump, called COVID-19 the "Chinese virus," inciting discrimination. President Joe Biden's administration must take swift action to eliminate discrimination.


米アカデミー賞/差別を乗り越える力に

米映画界最大の祭典、第93回アカデミー賞で、中国出身のクロエ・ジャオ監督の「ノマドランド」が作品賞と監督賞、主演女優賞の3冠に輝いた。白人以外で女性監督が受賞するのは史上初めてである。成し遂げた偉業に賛辞を贈りたい。

 ノマドランドは米西部で遊牧民(ノマド)のように暮らす60代女性の物語だ。ジャオ監督は「より多くの人が夢を追い掛ける後押しになるのであれば、ありがたい」と喜びを語った。

 助演女優賞は、韓国から米国に移住した一家を描く「ミナリ」のユン・ヨジョンさんに贈られた。韓国人俳優のアカデミー賞受賞は男女通じて初となる。白人色の強い米映画界で、アジア人が躍進した意義は大きい。

 ハリウッドは「オスカー真っ白」と言われるほどの白人社会だった。しかし、2016年の演技部門候補が前年に続き全員白人となったことから批判が高まり、授賞式をボイコットする人も現れた。そこで、映画芸術科学アカデミーは賞の投票権を持つ会員を多様化し、女性やマイノリティー(人種的少数派)を倍増する改革に乗りだした。昨夏までに女性は2倍強、少数派も3倍以上になった。

 改革はまだ途上との声もあるが、アジア、アフリカ系を含め受賞結果で人種の多様化、若年化が進んだことは評価できる。

 足元の米国社会も分断や差別に苦しむ。新型コロナウイルスの影響でアジア系市民への暴力や嫌がらせが増えた。カリフォルニア州立大サンバーナディーノ校によると、主要16都市で昨年起きたアジア系への憎悪犯罪(ヘイトクライム)は前年比2・5倍の122件。米非営利団体には昨年3月からの1年で、暴力や嫌がらせの報告が約3800件寄せられた。

 3月にアトランタと近郊で起きた連続銃撃事件では、アジア系女性6人が亡くなった。人種による憎悪犯罪が疑われており、断じて許すことはできない。

 アカデミー賞の投票には、そんな社会的課題への警告も込められていたのではないか。憎悪の背景には、トランプ前大統領が新型コロナを「中国ウイルス」と呼び、偏見をあおったこともある。バイデン政権は差別根絶へ対応を急がねばならない。
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