Oscars' Diversity Dilemma: A Mathematical Solution to Parity in Voting
[Commentary] Each year, the Motion Picture Association of America publishes the Theatrical Market Statistics report. In it, they slice and dice domestic and international movie attendance in every way imaginable. Using that report as a baseline, each voter's ballot could be assigned an appropriate weight so that the total weighted votes would mirror the gender and racial breakdown of the domestic film audience. The outcome of this proposed system would be balloting that matches the makeup of the moviegoing public and that would accomplish two goals — bring fairness with respect to diversity to the Oscar nominations while also making the Academy Awards more relevant for the viewers. I know that the basis for democracy is one man, one vote, but just as congressional districts have been gerrymandered, weighted balloting is a form of Hollywood redistricting.
[McLaughlin, a producer and actor, is an instructor at Los Angeles Film School]