The 73rd Emmy’s Have Sparked Debate About the Nature of Performative Diversity
The days leading up to Sunday’s Emmy award ceremony seemed promising, with 49 non-white actors nominated for various honors. All sense of hope was demolished when all twelve major acting awards went to white actors. Social media backlash erupted almost immediately as fans noticed the lack of representation amongst winners. Outrage at the Academy for Television Arts and Sciences has sparked discussions about the nature of performative diversity in popular culture and Hollywood more broadly.
Many pointed to the high density of non-white announcers, as well as the inclusion of Cedric the Entertainer for the show’s host as indicators of the ceremony’s performative nature. The past several years have witnessed increased scrutiny over a lack of diversity in high-profile award ceremonies. Despite this, these events continuously showcase an overwhelming number of white winners. The 2021 Golden Globe Awards came under similar scrutiny several months ago when none of the winning films featured the stories of under-represented communities. The trend of white-washing events like the Oscars, Golden Globes, and Emmys is not a new issue. It was only six years ago that the hashtag, #OscarsSoWhite first called out the Academy for not having a single actor of color nominated. The hashtag which quickly blossomed into an expansive social media campaign has since prompted the Academy to diversify its membership. As the most recent Academy event has shown, progress continues to lag as artists of color still struggle to win major awards.
Some critics of the movement to diversify Hollywood incessantly undermine the importance of representation in awards ceremonies by dubbing such events as “irrelevant”. This argument only works to trivialize larger issues such as the systemic marginalization of colored communities in the country. Representation is incredibly crucial, especially when it comes to prestigious ceremonies which are widely viewed across the country and even the world. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020, as well as a global pandemic that has disproportionately affected communities of color, representation is now more vital than ever. To simply brush off the lack of diversity in Hollywood as “no big deal” is to legitimize discriminatory narratives which have pervaded our country for centuries. These are the very narratives that social movements like Black Lives Matter are attempting to make explicit. Implicitly prejudiced social discourses validate and empower the social systems and political institutions which systemically marginalize communities of color. They are the very discourses that have given rise to problems such as the for-profit prison and detainment systems, discriminatory voting legislation, and the systematic over-policing of marginalized communities.
Highly publicized events such as the Emmy’s are meant to showcase the most talented artists in the world. In this sense, they are an essential reflection of society more broadly. By not representing or recognizing the achievements of diverse artists, these ceremonies and the institutions which sponsor them are further enabling eurocentric ideologies which underpin the systemic racism that permeates our country as well as the global community.