In light of my previous article concerning Hollywood's disturbing practice of whitewashing, it's both oddly appropriate yet highly unfortunate that the opportunity to follow up on the subject came so soon.

The list of 2016 Oscar nominations was released just a couple days ago, but it's already a point of heated discussion because literally all the nominated actors are white. This has led to scalding remarks and barbed criticism from the general public on Twitter with the trending hashtag "#OscarsSoWhite."

What's disappointing about this whole occurrence is not only that it actually occurred, but the fact that this is not the first time. That's right, the exact same thing happened last year; all-white nominees for actors and #OscarsSoWhite making headlines.

Now once is an incident—a pretty bad one too—but twice is not a coincidence, especially for such a prestigious award, so who's making the calls then? The answer lies with the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences who put forward the Oscar nominations year after year.

Back in 2012, the LA Times conducted an in-depth study about the academy. Their video outlining the statistics regarding the academy's members was a little disheartening to say the least.

(image credit: latimes.com)

As seen in the above picture, academy members are primarily made up of old, white men. This isn't exactly surprising since the life-long membership is extended to those known for their success and accomplishments within the film industry. Seeing that the film industry was never racially diverse to begin with, it's understandable that it would be reflected within the academy too.

This doesn't mean that it's okay to let it slide and that the academy should continue in this manner. It also doesn't mean that the films and actors that were nominated—both this year and last year—don't deserve the chance to win an Oscar. But it does bring into question whether or not a community as homogeneous as the academy is capable of proactively including POC (People of Color) in their discussions and choices. If this year's list of Oscar snubs is anything to go by, it doesn't seem so despite the success of films that have POC in lead roles like Beasts of No Nation, Creed, and Straight Outta Compton.

Snubs like these carry over to those who win the Oscars too. They always have, because if you don't nominate POC in the first place, how will they ever receive any sort of recognition? The handy dandy infographic below shows the damage in full.

(image credit: ibt.com)

We live in a diverse world with just as diverse people, ever-evolving and constantly shifting, But for every two steps forward in the representation of POC on the big screen, there seems to be a step back. If the academy can't keep up with the change, then they themselves will have to change. Hopefully, all-white nominations won't happen a third time next year and make it a pattern.