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Danai Gurira Joins the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

The Walking Dead and Black Panther Star is now an Academy member!

The group best known for organizing and voting on “The Oscars” (The Academy Awards), has set a new record by sending out more invitations than it has before. This is after concerns were brought forward about the alleged stagnation of The Academy because it’s “occupied by older, white, male members”. Their incentive was to push towards a more inclusive institution which includes a majority of female invitees for the very first time. They included Gurira, Mindy Kaling, Tiffany Haddish, Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall, and many more. The academy also included younger, minority-friendly candidates like Kendrick Lamar.

It is expected that after the class of 2018, the Academy will be made up of 31% women and 16% people of color. “Statistics which are notable”, according to variety. Rayn Coogler’s Creed was nominated for almost every category in 2016, but it was almost entirely shut out of the Academy Awards. This led to discussions about the Academy’s point of view and the conversations have been getting louder ever since. In 2018, the academy’s goal is to diversify. Coogler’s Black Panther has constantly been in the conversation for numerous Academy Awards. If that would happen, it would be an achievement distinguishing it from Marvel’s other big, critical, popular, commercial hits.
Diversity is not limited to race or gender, either; some below-the-line talent who had historically not been well-represented are getting more invites as a result of these conscious efforts to make the Academy more representative of the film industry at large. A Variety article quoted a location director as being thrilled at the prospect of more people with her job description being invited to sit on American film’s most prestigious board.