When the 2016 Academy Awards nominations were released back in January, something familiar happened. For the second year in a row, there were no people of color nominated in the acting categories. Also, the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, reemerged with a vengeance. Started in 2015 by April Reign (@ReignOfApril), the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite was born out of frustration but soon flourished into a full movement. The hashtag has sparked discussion and led many to call for a boycott the ceremony. Tonight while the Oscars are being telecast, April is hosting a Twitter live-tweet of the film THE WOOD. But more importantly, the hashtag has forced the Academy to look at it’s membership and put in place efforts to become more inclusive of women and people of color. #OscarsSoWhite is a perfect example of the power f social media and hashtag activism.
Hashtag activism is the use of Twitter hashtags as a form of internet activism to bring awareness to social and political causes. The term was first used in a 2011 op-ed piece in The Guardian. Back then writer Eric Augenbraun stated that:
“The advent of "hashtag activism" has been greeted with breathless claims about the birth of a new form of technology-based social movement. While such technologies can be extremely useful tools, they do not represent alternatives to the exhausting, age-old work of meeting people where they are, hearing their concerns, reaching common ground, building trust and convincing them that it is in their interests to act politically to change their circumstances. There are no shortcuts here; or to put it another way, it's not the protests that matter, but what happens in the time in between.” – The Guardian
In the nearly five years since the term was coined, hashtag activism as gone beyond the hypothetical and taken shape in the actual, the in between, as a powerful and impactful outlet for political, social, and cultural change.
In a recent interview, April Reign discussed the evolution of #OscarsSoWhite and the impact of social media: “A common refrain is it’s just Twitter, but I take issue with that. We’re on Twitter and we’re seeing change occur in stalwart organizations like the Academy. This isn’t the first time. We’ve seen people gain and lose jobs because of Twitter. It changes offline behavior and I believe that will continue. It can be life-changing” (Dukes, 2016).
While many like to dismiss social media and hashtag activism as frivolous and without significant merit, I disagree. Leveraging social media hashtags as a means of creating a social movement off line is an excellent strategy. And one that can engender major change.
Augenbraum, E. (2011, September 29). Occupy Wall Street and the limits of spontaneous street protest [Editorial]. The Guardian. Retrieved February 28, 2016, from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/sep/29/occupy-wall-street-protest
Dukes, Stephanie (2016, February 25). #OscarsSoWhite and the Power of Digital Activism. Vannguard Communications. Retrieved February 28, 2016, from
https://www.vancomm.com/2016/02/25/oscarssowhite-and-the-power-of-digital-activism/?platform=hootsuite
