Hollywood Blackout: The Battle for Inclusion at the Oscars (HC) (2025)

Are the Oscars (still) so white? Is it even possible to decolonize the film industry? Why is Hollywood's race problem everyone's problem?

Ignoring the systemic racial inequalities in film is losing the industry $10 billion a year. Yet, parity, diversity, and inclusion are fundamental issues that the Oscar Awards are only just beginning to address.

In this book, award-winning writer, broadcaster, model, and fashion designer, Ben Arogundade, provides a manual for deconstructing everything you thought you knew about Hollywood - documenting the stories and struggles of black artists within the movie industry that have so far been left out of the canon.

The chapters are structured chronologically around different Oscar winners, from Hattie McDaniel to Halle Berry. Each section is rich with exhaustive research from critics, activists, and academics, as well as interviews with stars and those within the film industry, to demonstrate sociological and historical influences on black artists, highlight positive progress, and make you realize that certain attitudes still remain.

Hollywood Blackout is a much-needed provocation to look more critically at the accepted narratives within film, and examine how the industry both reflects and influences societal views on race.