Here is the problem with the Academy's foreign language film category and why it's a structural bias, not an oversight.

The category has existed since 1947. In that time, it has been won almost exclusively by European films, with occasional wins for films from Japan, Iran, and Latin America. Films from Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia have been nominated rarely and won essentially never.

The structural problem is that Oscar campaigning requires resources — advertising spend, screening events, relationship-building with Academy members. These resources are available to major European distributors and to the American distribution arms of major studios. They are not equally available to films from countries without robust film industries.

Parasite winning Best Picture was a genuine breakthrough but it also required an exceptional film, an A24 campaign, and a decade of Korean cinema building Western audience familiarity. Those conditions don't exist for most national cinemas.

The question is whether a genuinely global film award is possible or whether the Oscars should simply admit they're an American industry award with international ambitions.