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As the Oscars night took place on Sunday, March 10, 2024, the 96th Academy Awards has been facing backlash for its DEI standards. It all started when X account End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) shared a post with screenshots reportedly showing a DEI checklist for nomination criteria for the Best Picture category.
DEI refers to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and it describes a set of standards put in place to promote the participation of different underrepresented groups and individuals.
Per the Oscars website, for a film to be eligible in the Best Picture category, it must meet two of four DEI stands set up—representation on-screen (actors, plot), off-screen (director, set designer, make-up artists), training programs (hiring interns, training programs), and marketing.
The new rule faced criticism from the conservative side of the internet, with one netizen noting that "DEI will make the Oscars DIE."
"The woke movement continues on": Oscars 2024 DEI rules spark a wave of anti-woke backlash
As news of Oscars 2024 DEI rules, which determine eligibility to be nominated in the Best Film category, went viral, netizens were quick to slam the awards under @EndWokenss's X post. Many called it a means of destroying "individual merit", while others commented that the ceremony itself was irrelevant.
Meanwhile, as per a March 8 article by the New York Times, several executives within the industry have said these standards change little about how they make movies because they are easily met.
Oscars 2024 certainly has been more diverse. As per the article, seven of the twenty acting nominees were from underrepresented groups. Best Picture Category this year included narrative films with diverse casts like Barbie, American Fiction, Oppenheimer, and Past Lives.
