00:00Ah, the Oscars. An elegant time for Hollywood's elite to be recognized for
00:04their talent, art, and technical merit in the American film industry. As the oldest
00:09award ceremony, the Oscars have awarded some of the top names in the media
00:13industry. Hollywood hitters like Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, and Meryl
00:17Streep have all walked away with golden statuettes, standing ovations, and
00:22accolades for their participation in the industry's best films. However, the lack
00:26of diversity in nominations and wins caused for some major backlash towards
00:30the Academy. In 2015, a black woman named April Rain created the hashtag
00:35OscarsSoWhite to shed light on the absence of inclusion in the 2015
00:39nominations. Her original tweet, OscarsSoWhiteTheyAskToTouchMyHair, was
00:44meant to mock the Academy. Little did she know a movement was created to fight for
00:48fair representation and recognition of people of color in film. It's sad to think
00:53about how many people of color have been shut out from gaining the same
00:56amount of accolades as their white counterparts. And trust, this isn't just a
01:00black issue. A comprehensive study from USC's Media Diversity and Social Change
01:04Initiative found that in the 100 top films of 2016, Latinos were represented by
01:09just 3% of speaking parts. And what's worse, no actor of Asian descent has taken
01:14home an Academy Award since 1985. Overall, Asian actors have earned just 1% of
01:20Oscar nominations. Today, I'm hitting the New York City streets to test people's
01:24knowledge on people of color actors and actresses in regards to the Oscars. It was a series of
01:28multiple choice questions. I'll be giving some fun history lessons so we can really
01:33deep dive into why we needed hashtag OscarsSoWhite.
01:36Name one Asian actor or actress that is not Jackie Chan or Jet Li.
01:43Like the guy from Walking Dead?
01:46Wendy Lu? Lucy Lu?
01:48I don't know them by name, but I can like think of them in my head.
01:53What movie did Denzel Washington win his first Oscar for? Was it A, Training Day, B, Glory, or C, Remember
02:01the Titans?
02:02Training Day.
02:02You sure?
02:04Sure, pretty sure.
02:05Was it Glory?
02:06Oh my god, you're so good! It was Glory!
02:09Oh wow, okay, oh excuse me, oh wow.
02:14Can you name one Hispanic actor or actress other than Penelope Cruz?
02:20Sofia Vergara, Salma Hayek.
02:23Nah, nah, I don't know none of this.
02:25No?
02:27Sofia.
02:29Sofia Vergara.
02:31Everyone has names Sofia Vergara.
02:32It's getting to be crazy!
02:34Why was the OscarsSoWhite hashtag created?
02:37A, because white presenters were trying to talk, act, and sound like people of color.
02:41B, because not enough people of color in movies were being recognized.
02:44Or, because all of the actors and actresses were white one year.
02:48Uh, B.
02:49Everybody was white and nobody was recognizing actors of color.
02:53Yeah, more recognition for people of color.
02:55Do you hear that Oscars?
02:57It's very important!
02:59Which rap group won an Oscar?
03:02Was it A, Outkast, B, The Fugees, or C, 3-6 Mafia?
03:08Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
03:10I would say The Fugees.
03:12Uh, rap music.
03:14Um, the first one?
03:16Um, 3-6 Mafia.
03:18You're right, it was 3-6 Mafia!
03:20How many Oscars has Samuel L. Jackson won?
03:24Is it A, 1, B, 2, or C, 3?
03:283.
03:29I never heard Samuel L. Jackson got an Oscar, but...
03:33You know why?
03:34I don't know.
03:35Cause he never got an Oscar!
03:37It's a trick question!
03:38Oh my god!
03:39Yeah!
03:40I knew it also!
03:41But Samuel L. Jackson, you're gonna get an Oscar maybe in the future.
03:44I hope so.
03:45How do you spell famous actress Lupita Nyong'o's last name?
03:50Ooh, no.
03:53Now you're gonna try.
03:54A-N-Y-O-N-G-A?
03:58N-Y-O-N-G-O?
04:03Man, you got it right!
04:05You're the only person who got it right!
04:07In 2016, he was named one of the highest paid actors.
04:11Was it A, The Rock Diesel, B, Dwayne Johnson, C, Mark Wahlberg?
04:20Dwayne Johnson.
04:21Mark Wahlberg.
04:22Dwayne Johnson.
04:23I wanna say Dwayne Johnson.
04:25It's Dwayne, The Rock Johnson.
04:26What was Jackie Chan's shining moment at the Oscars?
04:30A, that he presented his Rush Hour co-star Chris Tucker with his Oscar
04:33and gave a heartwarming speech about two people of color who are actors
04:36and leading high-grossing films.
04:38Was it B, nothing because the Oscars haven't recognized his talent at all?
04:42Or C, after 56 years and 200 films, he received an honorary Oscar?
04:47Probably it's C because he took many, many movies.
04:51So I think his answer is C.
04:53C?
04:54You're right, it's C!
04:55He got an honorary Oscar!
04:56Can you name a movie that came out in 2017 that featured a strong black cast?
05:02Cut.
05:03Cancer.
05:04I said in 2017.
05:06Oh.
05:06Oh.
05:07Yeah.
05:08Um, Greatest Showman, I believe, has won.
05:13I did not catch any with more black cast.
05:16You ever hear of a movie called Girl's Trip?
05:19No.
05:20Girl's Trip.
05:21Thank you, someone who watched Girl's Trip!
05:24How many African American actors and actresses have received an Oscar?
05:29Is it A, 23, B, 57, or C, 34?
05:3550.
05:35And I know it's not that many.
05:3752 sounds like a lot.
05:3823 sounds like maybe a little too little.
05:41But I'm hoping it's 34.
05:4223 seems too little, considering it's like 80 something.
05:4657 unfortunately seems too high.
05:49So I'm going to pick the middle ground.
05:50Yeah.
05:50I know it's definitely low.
05:5223.
05:54Why do you think it's 23?
05:55Because I have very little hope.
05:5723.
05:58You're right.
05:59It's 34.
06:00Yeah.
06:00You know, I wish it was 50.
06:02But it's 34.
06:0334?
06:04Oh, wow.
06:05It's really sad.
06:06It should be a lot more.
06:07And I know they gave out probably a million Oscars in between that time.
06:10Okay.
06:11Do you know what happens, Al?
06:12No.
06:12You won an Oscar.
06:16I would like to thank my family.
06:22I'd like to thank.
06:24I want to thank my mom.
06:26She paid me these trips, so thank you, mom.
06:29Bye.
06:30With this year's nominations, we're definitely making some progress.
06:34Get Out's Jordan Peele became the first black filmmaker ever to be nominated for directing,
06:39writing, and producing in the same year.
06:41Mary J. Blige is the first black woman to earn multiple Oscar nominations in a single year.
06:46And Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water just scored 13 Oscar nominations,
06:51including Best Director and Best Picture.
06:53We can only hope that this year's Oscars and future award shows highlight more people of color.
06:59But in the meantime, it's important that we educate ourselves by continuing the conversation
07:04surrounding diversity and inclusion.
07:06It starts with us.
