Times Up at The Oscars
Monday, March 5, 2018 at 10:01AM 
Many celebrities were sporting Time's Up pinsChris here. Last night’s Oscar ceremony was one to rejoice for how it brought the Times Up movement to the forefront of the proceedings. Viewers often forget what a global platform the Oscars are, and it was heartening to see a ceremony that seized the opportunity provided. This Oscar telecast didn’t leave the message for the acceptance speeches and instead integrated Times Up into the show to celebrate the movement alongside the movies themselves.
But it wasn’t merely about acknowledging the shift happening in the entertainment industry (and countless others), the theme was about next steps moving forward. This was best embodied in Frances McDormand’s thrilling and ebullient Best Actress acceptance speech. After having all female nominees across all categories stand for recognition, she ended her speech with “inclusion rider.”
The speech immediately opened a dialogue about the legal term online, with Merriam-Webster saying the term was their most searched online for the evening. An inclusion rider is a contractual demand for 50-50 diversity both behind and in front of the camera - a negotiation that some Times Up leaders like Ashley Judd have already utilized and many, like Frances herself, have only begun to discover the power of. Now I’m no lawyer, but this sounds like a way to implement structural diversity demanded by audiences and industry folks alike and to implement it fast.
While the producers also made a noticeable push to include more diversity in the presenters as well, one of the highlights of an evening packed with montages was the one devoted specifically to Times Up and the push for equal representation onscreen and behind the scenes. Presented by Annabella Sciorra, Salma Hayek-Pinault, and Judd, the moment not only spoke to many of the points in this wide-spanning issue, but also reclaimed the moment from the men who have oppressed without even saying their names.
The sequence also worked in the movies of the moment, from Wonder Woman to Get Out to The Big Sick to Lady Bird.
Another next step that we need to see: jobs and roles for these women who have suffered career-wrecking wrath of their abusers. A way for Hollywood to put their money where their mouth is that has yet to materialize is supporting those who have had career consequences with actual work. Don’t just applaud Judd and colleagues, cast them!
Reader Comments (21)
Thank God for Frances! The rest was inexplicably toned down.
Imagine a female explorer watching the show after being in the Antarctica for a whole year. She just wouldn't believe what happened months before! I mean, people got erased from pictures. Because that happened, right? or was it just a Twitter thing? and can someone explain me that miltary montage?
All of the politics on display is not wonderful. It's not heartening. It's sickening. These people don't truly care, and many of them turned a blind eye for decades.
They're champagne socialists and all they are interested in is their bank balances as they promote 'diversity' from their Hollywood mansions.
Hayek is palpably exploiting all of this for her own career goals, and that Ashley Judd bit was either misjudged or exploitative. I can't decide which.
Frances McDormand's speech was a highlight of an otherwise humdrum evening. Nearly every stab at inclusion rang a bit hollow, Jimmy Kimmel was painfully bad and the military montage was simply bewildering.
Could they have done much better? Yes, of course. But I do loathe attacking people who do seem to at least be trying. Compare that to some of the other industries (politics/government, religion/church, sports, school/education, medicine, technology/Silicon Valley) and how slow/non-existent their progress seem to be at the moment (or ever).
It's an ongoing conversation and the call to action has been made. It's up to us to keep supporting and amplifying marginal voices and making sure those people in power use their influence for good.
It's so long since I saw Claire Bartell.
Oh please, they didn't even stand up and applaud Hayek, Sciorra and Judd. Shameful ceremony. Thank God for Frances.
Ryan T, you are virtue signalling. These people made a mockery of the true plight for diversity (and themselves) last night, and it's reflected in the ratings.
I admit, their "New Voices" montage felt a little too self-congratulatory for something that is far from being fixed. But I also think a lot of people missed its other purpose which was, again, to amplify marginal voices: Yance Ford, Lee Daniels, Dee Rees, Ava DuVernay, Greta Gerwig, Barry Jenkins. Kumail Nanjiani's comment got the biggest reaction which I think was so great. And you may think it's "virtue signalling" or whatever, but again it's a start. Nothing is fixed.
Did anyone else find Emma Stone's snide 'four men and Greta Gerwig comment' jarring? Jordan Peele and GdT probably had to jump through a lot more hoops than Greta Gerwig to get their Oscar nominations, not to mention they cast lots of actors of colour in their role.
Stone's desire for a one-liner betrayed her white feminism. But I wouldn't expect anything less from someone who casually poaches roles from Asian actresses, then pretends to care about feminism.
I agree Emma. As if these men were all the same, and as if two of these men weren't minorities themselves.
And both SoW and Get Out were far more diverse then LadyBird. In terms of both gender and ethnicities.
I wonder if Frances won because they knew she'd give the best speech, since she was simply not the best of the nominees.
I never thought I would see far right trolls on this site. Nathaniel , please remove Toga Lady. Her comments were offensive and really upsetting.
Jane Fonda is such a bad person
Frances McDormand was simply the best of the nominees. And it wasn't even close.
BTW, did anyone see Taraji P. Henson put a curse on Ryan Seacrest?
I hope everything bad happens to that douchebag. Seacrest deserves a special place in Hell for being responsible to the decline of civilization by creating bad reality TV and giving us the fucking Kartrashians.
Far right!, Bette Streep? I work in an institution for helping young women who face physical and sexual abuse on a regular basis. I have done this for 10 years on a daily basis. I have seen some horrific things and unfortunately will continue to. What do YOU do To make you so precious?
Your language and behaviour is counter intuitive to your goal. Your blind devotion to identity politics is undermining greater socio political concerns including real feminist goals. And your knee jerk holier than thou condescension and puritanical intolerance is part of the problem!
Tell me exactly what is far right about any of what I said.
Has anyone else begun to hate reading the comments? How did a great article about Times Up lead to such negatirvity?
I agree with Ryan T- it is a start in a good direction. I will think the awards handled it well and, hopefully, progress will be made each year.
On the subject of inclusion riders - I am all for them, if they do not create more problems than they solve. For example, are there enough qualified camera operators, carpenters, and gaffers to keep production schedules on time and on budget? I saw Hoyt Van Hoytema humping that 70mm IMAX camera across France and into cramped Spitfires during filming of "Dunkirk" - I suspect a man who would have gotten a behind-the-camera job on this shoot would have been passed over to keep Hoyt as the cinematographer on this film had such a rider been in place. I also suspect most of the crafts guilds are still predominately male...what happens when you are ready to build sets and the only way to get enough builders is to hire more men than women? Will we see women hired in payroll-padding positions just to meet the numbers? There were any number of shameless practices of this ilk to fulfill other quota-based attempts at achieving equality in other areas of society; I wish I could say that we are better people now than they were, but I cannot.
Rather than seeing the imposition of hiring numbers, could we instead see these riders focus on hiring women at the novice or journeyman level of these trades and skills to learn them well enough not just earn their cards but, by living the example, show men that they can do the job or learn it as well as a man? That would get you not just enough hands to get the jobs done - it would also help create a larger and more diverse and accepting work force when the men know the women as co-workers rather than the legal equivalent of "scabs".
Just a little thought.
@John
Ya.. McDormand's performance is B+, but her speech is A++!! Althot Saoirse is my pick for winner. I can't deny tt Fran's kickass speech is really the best o the night!
So many things I feel about all this. I have been a huge fan of the oscars since 1964....I've read everything there is to read. In fact, when I saw Moreno walking on stage I thought "that looks like the dress she wore when she won." Here are a few of my thoughts: ratings dropped again. No wonder, we've seen this show at least 2x before w the golden globes and sag awards. AMPAS should be the first awards show of the year..they need to re-structure it all. I've seen Allison Janney accept this award over and over. Enjoyed it the first time, last night it was old and tired. Glad she won, btw. 2. Bring back honorary awards - we have missed so much the last few years - Jerry Lewis, Lauren Bacall, Angela Lansbury. Drop the short subjects / documentaries - put the honorary awards back on. 3. Stop the fucking lectures. I'm a good guy, I have daughters, my friends are good guys. Last year all of Hollywood was kissing Harvey Weinstein's big fat ass. I wasn't. Supposedly Streep had never heard a thing about his disgusting philandering - BS. When I see Ashley Judd blabbing her big mouth - my assumption she's thrilled getting the attention & to be some what relevant again. This is a reason why these award shows are losing their audience. I despise trump, I'm a left winger, pro-women, etc...but I get tired of these exceedingly wealthy and pampered people lecturing me. Especially ones who don't seem particularly smart or educated like Jennifer Lawrence. The film industry is not producing quality movies about minorities or women...or women over 35. That's not my fault. Don't lecture me about it. The film industry should look to tv in terms of finding success re: inclusion. Anyway - I loved the music last night. I loved Eva Marie Saint and Moreno. I think it's kind of sad that some actresses feel it's necessary to ""look amazing" by slicing up their faces. I think it's also a shame Faye Dunaway was tossed aside - partially because she's "difficult" I assume, not playing the game, doing what she felt was right for herself. Brilliant / wonderful compelling actress. Such great screen presence. And now she looks like an odd waxed Barbie doll version of herself. Wish she had let herself get old like Eva Marie Saint....who is still just beautiful. Wish Dunaway had been getting be getting half of Meryl Streep's roles. Peace.
Loved Frances' speech. Disappointed that literally no man who got up on that stage said anything about it, though. Would have been great to hear Roger Deakins give a nod to Rachel Morrison for instance. It took the female songwriter to mention her category's gender divide (albeit because it was positive). Meanwhile the gangs of all-male sound and visual effects teams said not a single word about it neither did Rockwell or Oldman (understandably, he's gotten this far somehow untarnished why spotlight it now).