Frances McDormand ended her Best Actress acceptance speech at last night’s Academy Awards with two words (see the full speech here):
INCLUSION RIDER.
An “inclusion rider” is a clause in an actor’s contract that requires the cast and crew be diverse in order to retain the actor.
And when she said it, I went:
Because, not only is that kind of a brave thing to say on such a big stage, that’s:
- A creative way for actors to use their juice.
- Encompassing AF
- Pretty dang cool
For actors to know what muscle they have, and then to use it will compel change (even if it’s just Nn the entertainment industry). And, now, they have a tangible example of one way they can stand for inclusion and be FOR others, instead of just against the things they hate.
And, it’s a way to incorporate their values into what they’re doing – Encompassingnessat work… AT WORK. (Go back and look at that gif – I just made that face… cornball)
Plus, that’s just a cool move. So many people talk the talk, but they rarely realize the rhetoric & she didn’t have to roll for the cause like that… as a 60-year-old, Rich, white woman who’s out in Tinseltown making movies and living that life, how much could it possible affect her? She’s got one of the “underrepresented” demographics going on (and probably enough money and creative validation to not have to care)… but she cared.
She cared to speak up.
She cared enough to say something.
And something useful.
That’s hella rad, if you ask me.
Also, I 100% want to BE The Inclusion Rider…
