More than a third of Americans don’t think the film industry’s decision-makers have done enough to respond to sexual assault and harassment allegations--and fully half say it’s still too soon to tell. Nearly a third say Hollywood doesn’t give enough attention to social campaigns like #MeToo and #oscarsowhite, but in a possible sign of backlash, even more, above four in 10 say the industry has paid too much attention to those movements.
When it comes to looking at the Oscars through the lens of diversity and inclusion, awards this year had a number of “firsts”. We found 44% of Oscars 2018 watchers think awards shows have become more inclusive and diverse in the past 5 years, 42% think it’s remained about the same, and 13% think diversity and inclusion has actually waned.
- For your consideration. On the eve of the industry’s major awards season, more than half of all Americans (53%) say actors’ behaviors outside of their work should count against them when it comes to nominations.
- Stick to the Script? People are nearly split down the middle (47% vs. 51%) when asked whether allegations of misconduct should impact the nominations of actors like Gary Oldman or James Franco. Both actors are facing allegations of misconduct this year, which some attribute to Franco’s Oscar nomination snub. Yet, Oldman is still highly regarded for a “best actor” win, with 32% of people saying he should take home the Oscar, 8 percentage points higher than the next closest contender--Denzel Washington.
- Giving Credit Where Credit is Due. When it comes to who ultimately takes home the golden statuette, 38% of people think that the most deserving performers and filmmakers are not getting their due “props.”
And the Oscar goes to…
- While a majority (70%) of people don’t think it matters if a film makes a political or social statement, 18% say that when it does that film is more deserving of a win. For non-white Americans, more than a quarter (26%) see it as more deserving. If Oscar-watchers had their druthers, these would be the winners:
Best Picture...
- “Get Out”- 18% of people overall selected this film, 19% of women, 28% of young adults age 18-29, and 29% of non-white Oscar-watchers.
Best Lead Actress…
- Frances McDormand in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” gets 27% of support for a win overall and the men agree (30%). A closer call for females with a larger share who would cast their votes for Meryl Streep (27%) instead of McDormand (24%).
Best Lead Actor…
- Gary Oldman in “Darkest Hour” has the greatest share of support overall (32%). Though, for women, there’s nearly a 3-way tie between Gary Oldman (27%), Denzel Washington (26%), and Daniel Kaluuya (25%) for their performances this past year. For the young adult Oscar-watchers (18-29 year-olds), Daniel Kaluuya is, far and away, the best actor (35%).
Read more from TIME on the survey results here.
Examples of question text:
If an Oscar film makes a political or social statement, is it more or less deserving of a win?
How much attention does Hollywood pay to social movements like #metoo and #oscarsowhite?
How much should one's behavior outside of their work be part of the award nomination criteria?
*consumers
