LOS ANGELES, October 5 — The Academy Awards, first held on May 16, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, began as an industry-focused ceremony to honor cinematic achievements and mediate labor disputes in early Hollywood. Over its 95-year history, the Oscars have transformed from a private dinner for 270 attendees into a globally televised event watched by hundreds of millions, reflecting broader societal shifts in values, representation, and cultural power.
The ceremony’s evolution mirrors Hollywood’s response to pressure for greater inclusion, beginning with Hattie McDaniel’s historic win in 1940 as the first Black actor to receive an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in ‘Gone with the Wind’ — a moment segregated by the hotel’s policy that barred her from attending the main banquet. It took another 24 years for a second Black actor, Sidney Poitier, to win Best Actor in 1964 for ‘Lilies of the Field,’ marking a slow but significant shift.
The 1970s and 1980s saw incremental progress, including Marlon Brando’s 1973 refusal of his Best Actor award for ‘The Godfather’ in protest of Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans, facilitated by Sacheen Littlefeather. The 1990s brought increased recognition of international cinema, with Roberto Benigni’s 1999 win for ‘Life is Beautiful’ highlighting foreign-language film’s growing influence. The 2000s introduced structural changes: the Academy expanded its membership in 2012 to diversify its voting base, which was then 94% white and 76% male, according to a 2012 Los Angeles Times study.
The #OscarsSoWhite campaign in 2015 and 2016, sparked by two consecutive years of all-white acting nominees, prompted the Academy to pledge doubling the number of women and underrepresented minorities among its members by 2020. By 2020, the Academy reported achieving this goal, with membership becoming 45% women and 36% from underrepresented ethnic/racial groups.
The 92nd Academy Awards in 2020 marked a turning point when Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Parasite’ became the first non-English language film to win Best Picture, a milestone underscoring global storytelling’s ascendancy. The 93rd Oscars in 2021 saw Chloe Zhao become the first woman of color and only the second woman ever to win Best Director for ‘Nomadland,’ while Yuh-jung Youn made history as the first Korean actor to win an Oscar.
The 94th Awards in 2022 continued this trajectory, with Troy Kotsur becoming the first deaf male actor to win an Oscar for ‘CODA,’ and Ariana DeBose winning Best Supporting Actress for ‘West Side Story,’ affirming LGBTQ+ and Afro-Latina representation.
The 95th Academy Awards in 2023 featured Michelle Yeoh’s historic win as the first Asian woman to win Best Actress for ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ a film that also won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay — a sweep celebrated as a triumph for Asian-led storytelling and intergenerational immigrant narratives.
Throughout its history, the Oscars have served not only as an arbiter of artistic excellence but also as a public forum where Hollywood’s values are contested, negotiated, and displayed, making the ceremony a lasting cultural barometer of diversity, equity, and inclusion in American entertainment. As the ceremony continues to evolve, the next chapter will likely test how well the Academy sustains its commitments amid ongoing industry and cultural scrutiny.
