American dominance of the Oscars is declining

AMERICANS did well at the Academy Awards on Sunday March 7th. Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the Oscar for best director and Sandra Bullock got a statuette as best actress (she had received the less-coveted “Razzie” award as worst actress the night before). But American dominance, though still evident, appears to be waning. In the past decade six of the ten best-director Oscars went to Americans and five of the best-actress Oscars, a decline from the 1970s-90s when Americans won almost everything. This recent bout of globalisation resembles the awards' earliest years. Between 1930 and 1969, only half of the 40 winning directors, and only 55% of the actresses, were American-born.

AP