Korean movie 'Parasite' wins six Oscar nominations, Awkwafina snubbed

Parasite' by Bong Joon -ho

The six Oscar nominations for the South Korean movie Parasite will not be enough to hide the lack of diversity among the Academy Award nominees.
Of the four acting categories with 20 nominations, there was only one actor of color, Cynthia Erivo in Harriet, a film about Harriet Tubman.

It was widely expected that Awkwafina, who had just won a Golden Globe, for her performance in The Farewell, would be among the nominees. Also giving a Oscar-worthy performance last year was Jennifer Lopez, for her role in Hustlers.

The snub of the two actresses gave resurgence of #OscarsSoWhite, which went viral on social media two years ago when all the acting nominees were white.

Jojo Rabbit, directed, written and produced by New Zealander Taika Waititi, was also nominated for best picture.

Largely though, Parasite almost had to carry the diversity flag by itslef.

The dark comedy -- a metaphor for class inequality -- also nabbed nominations for best director, best picture, best original screenplay, film editing, production design, and international feature film.

Again, with all those nominations speaking to the quality and originality of the film, none of it's excellent cast earned a nomination for acting.

Parasite's Bong Joon-Ho became the first Korean director to get an Oscar nomination for best director and his movie is the first movie from South Korea to get a best picture nomination.

Besides actors of color, the Oscars snubbed an entire gender in the directing category which consisted of all men.

The directing nominations left out Greta Gerwig, who helmed the successful Little Women remake, The Farewell's Lulu Wang and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood director Marielle Heller, among other notable entries.

Ironically, making the nominee announcements Monday morning were John Cho and Issa Ray to perhaps to show how serious the academy is about inclusion.

In other categories:

Best song: "Into The Unknown" from Frozen II, with Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, a Filipino American.

St. Louis Superman snagged a nomination In the short documentary category. The film was directed by Smriti Mundhra and Sami Kha, tells the story of black rapper and activist Bruce Franks, who was inspired to run for office by the unrest in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014. 

In the same category, another entry from South Korea In the Absence by Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam was nominated. Its about the aftermath of the ferry sinking where 300 passengers lost their lives.

Maori director Taika Waititi earned a nomination for his screenplay adaptation for Jojo Rabbit, about a Nazi summer camp for children.

In the best animated short category, Dcera (Daughter) by Takikistan director Daria Kashceeva as did Sister by Siqi Song.

The 92nd Oscars will be Sunday, Feb. 9, in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.