Hollywood Blackout

An exhaustive Hollywood history from the perspective of those who fought for diversity, inclusion and acknowledgement.

In almost one hundred years of the Academy Awards:
    One black woman has won Best Actress
    No black filmmaker has won Best Director
    Three women have won Best Director.
    Asian actors have won only five Oscars. None have won Best Actor.
    One actor of Indian descent has won Best Actor. None have won Best Actress No Native American has won Best Actor or Best Actress
    Latino actors have won only four Oscars. No Latina has won Best Actress

Hollywood Blackout chronicles the stories behind these bleak statistics, where minorities and women      have struggled to be recognized within a system designed to discriminate against them.

 Award-winning writer and broadcaster Ben Arogundade narrates their tumultuous journey from exclusion to the brink of inclusion, via classic movies we know and love, and their subsequent Oscar nominations, victories and acceptance speeches. Throughout the decades their progress has been driven by defiant boycotts, civil rights protests and social media activism such as #OscarsSoWhite.

    Richly detailed and exhaustively researched, the story interweaves the experiences of black actors and filmmakers with those of Asians, Latinos, South Asians, Indigenous People and women.

Many of history’s biggest names feature, from Denzel Washington to Michelle Yeoh, as well as a roll call of behind-the-scenes characters – from Louis B. Mayer, founder of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927, to Charles Butler, head of Central Casting’s black division in the 1920s and 30s, to Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the first black woman to head the Academy in 2013.

Thanks to the work of hundreds of Hollywood pioneers through the ages, the Oscars landscape has gradually metamorphosed into one which today is increasingly diverse, and better reflects the make-up of Hollywood’s film community, and the global film fans they so rely on.

Whether you are a film fan, history lover or diversity advocate, Hollywood Blackout is the quintessential choice for all those who wish to know the real story of Hollywood, the Oscars and the talents who fought to make change.

Are the Oscars still so white? Yes. Only less so.