gender and the Academy Awards

Some things to consider as we head into the Oscars:

via slashfilm: "According to a new report, 94% of Oscar voters are Caucasian and 77% are male. They have a median age of 62, with just 14% of voters under 50."

There's this doozy of a quote, too: "...there are those like former academy president Frank Pierson, who sees the statistics as a non-issue. 'I don’t see any reason why the academy should represent the entire American population. That’s what the People’s Choice Awards are for,' he said. “We represent the professional filmmakers, and if that doesn’t reflect the general population, so be it.'"


And here's a thought-provoking video that applies the Bechdel Test, a gauge of gender bias, to the list of Best Picture nominees. It's lengthy and I find the host's lack of qualification of what makes a "good" film a bit problematic, but as a general index the Bechdel Test is quite useful.