Hegemony at the Oscars

With the Oscars coming up, there have been more and more articles about the nominees, favorites and underdogs, and pre-Oscar parties. I came across this article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/25/selena-gomez-gwyneth-paltrow-women-pre-oscar-party_n_1301103.html) about the Women in Film’s pre-Oscar party, where female Oscar nominees and filmmakers gathered to celebrate before Sunday’s Academy Awards. Of the 200 Oscar nominees, only 45 are women; consistently, women make up about 25% of the group of nominees. This led me to think about how hegemony was infused throughout the entirety of the Oscars; why is it that despite the presence of a strong and talented group of actresses, the industry is dominated by men? Could this have been a result of the initial, all-male actors in the entertainment industry, and that ideology has carried over even today? Or maybe it’s because of the male-dominated lead roles in films, which showcase talented male actors and suppress potentially Oscar-worthy performances from supporting roles played by women? Maybe it’s the 94% white, 77% male group that comprises the Academy, with a median age of 62, says a L.A. Times study conducted this month. 33% of members are previous Academy Award winners or nominees. It can easily be speculated how this majority’s bias influences Oscar nominations and decisions. Some or a combination of any of these factors could explain why the film industry, and the entertainment industry in general, is dominated by men. This masculine hegemony, as described by R.W. Connell, is established by the correspondence between “cultural ideal and institutional power” (Connell 77).

Also something to think about: why even have a Women in Film pre-Oscar party? I’m pretty sure there isn’t a Men in Film organization that’s hosting a pre-Oscar party. Making this distinction, of separating men and women, seems to be furthering the divide between the sexes. And as Gwyneth Paltrow, co-host of the party, is quoted in the article: “’We’re smarter than men and better than men’”.  And so the divide continues to widen.