The #oscarssowhite controversy continues to swirl, and if it hasn’t already, it’s beginning to overshadow the ceremonies next month. Spike Lee, Jada Pinkett Smith, George Clooney, David Oyelowo, and Idris Elba, are some of the high profile names that have spoken out in regards to the issue, while a small chorus is calling for Chris Rock to step down from his hosting duties at the Oscars. And now, two more names have shared there views about the current state of industry.
Will Smith talked with "Good Morning America," and takes a position similar to that of Clooney, that the Academy used to do a better job of highlighting performances by people of color. The actor points out that he’s been nominated twice, and lost to Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker on those occasions. However, this year’s slate of nominees gave him pause.
“…when I see this list and series of nominations that come out — and everybody is fantastic. That’s the complexity of this issue. […] But it feels like it’s going in the wrong direction,” he said.
“I think diversity is the American superpower. That’s why we’re great. So many different people from so many different places adding their ideas, their inspiration and influences to this beautiful American gumbo,” Smith also said. “For me, at it’s best, Hollywood represents and then creates the imagery for that beauty. But for my part, I think I have to protect and fight for the ideals that make our country and Hollywood community great. So when I look at the series of nominations from the Academy, it’s not reflecting that beauty.”
The actor adds he won’t be attending the Oscars this year, which makes a lot of sense considering his wife isn’t going either, but adds, "We have to figure it out. We have to make it right.”
Meanwhile, Marlon Wayans stopped by ESPN‘s "First Take" and took a somewhat less sophisticated view. He pointed out that while he was not pleased to see minorities left out of the Oscar nominees, the show is called the Oscars, "not the Jamals." He also added that the BET Awards don’t nominate white people (though Macklemore won once). Again, his view is a bit more simplistic, but you can see the interviews with both Smith and Wayans (which starts about 3:40) below.
Alright The Playlist/Indiewire, Nitro\’s comment is a perfect example of why you need a better comment system. Without the ability to split their thoughts according to paragraph it just looks as though they\’ve written a large run-on sentence.
Creed & Straight Outta Compton were GREAT films; critics, fans, & the box office agree. Yet they received a total of 2 nominations; both nominations are for the white people involved with the film
Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone (Creed)
Best Original Screenplay: Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff, & Alan Wenkus (Straight Outta Compton)
Despite the fact that both films were about black protagonists who gave great performances and were directed by two great black directors.
Jason Mitchell was phenomenal as Eazy E & deserved IMO to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor but nope didn’t happen.
Michael B Jordan gave a masterful performance as Adonis Creed & should’ve been nominated for Best Actor but once again not happening.
Idris Elba was downright spectacular in Beasts Of No Nation and should’ve been nominated for Best Actor/Best Supporting Actor (he wasn’t really the lead but he kind of was so it’s hard to figure out which category to put him in LOL) but it didn’t happen.
Bencio Del Toro was great in Sicario and he wasn’t nominated. Hispanics and Asians are CRIMINALLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN HOLLYWOOD EVEN MORE SO THAN BLACK PEOPLE; THAT’S VERY TELLING ESPECIALLY SENSE THE BLACK & LATINO/HISPANIC POPULATION WILL BE THE MAJORITY IN AMERICA BY 2050.
The issue is that POC have been marginalized/treated like sh*t in Hollywood since it’s inception; Racism has permeated Hollywood since it’s inception both overtly and covertly. Saying otherwise would be disingenuous.
It’s not about being “owed” anything. It’s about minorities who act in, write, produce & direct GREAT films being nominated for their EFFORTS & HARD WORK just like their white counterparts.
The problem is that the Oscar committee is comprised of a plethora of old white men.
93% of Academy voters are white
76% are male
The average of Academy voters is 63.
Academy Branches:
Producers: 98% white/2% minority
Directors: 98% white/2% minority
Actors: 88% white/12% minority
To say that those stats/facts have no barring on Oscar nominations is vehemently disingenuous.
Now on to the rationalizations and justifications of systemic racial bias (whether conscious or unconscious) in the Academy
“It’s about talent, not race”
That’s the point; talented actors & directors who gave great performances (who happen to be black) got snubbed.
“There just weren’t any good performances by black actors this year.”
Really? MBJ, Jason Mitchell, Idris Elba were all Oscar Worthy, Will was solid in Concussion not Oscar worthy and SLJ was good as always but I didn’t feel he deserved a Oscar nomination either.
“What about the NBA?”
If white players perform on the same level as black players (or better), they are rewarded for their efforts & hard work. Examples: Dirk Nowitzki (MVP, 13x All-Star, Finals MVP, future HOF), Steve Nash (2x MVP, 8x All-Star, Future HOF), Larry Bird (12x All-Star, 2x Finals MVP, 3x MVP, HOF), John Stockton (10x All-Star), I could keep going but you get the point. Also NBA FANS VOTE FOR THE ALL STAR STARTERS; coaches vote for the reserves. A group largely comprised of old white men vote for who gets nominated for an Oscar; big difference.
Black people and the Oscars not so much. Black actors CAN and DO often perform as well as whites (even better at times), yet are still underrepresented. The difference between athletics & acting is that performance in athletics can be measured OBJECTIVELY (speed, skill, etc.); acting CANNOT be measured OBJECTIVELY. It’s completely SUBJECTIVE.
Another problem with the “NBA is overwhelmingly black” argument is that is there are a copious amount of great black actors but not a lot of great white basketball players.
The point of all this is diversity is NEEDED in the Academy. UNCONSCIOUS RACIAL BIAS occurs among any group to correct this systemic bias (which has been going since Hollywood started), MORE people of color need to be on the Oscar committee. If the committee were majority black the problem WOULD BE THE SAME, it wouldn’t reflect the movie going audience or the world population and RACIAL BIAS WOULD STILL BE PRESENT.
Minorities make up 37% of the US population but purchased 46% of movie tickets in the US in 2015. So almost half of all domestic box office dollars come from POC (not counting the global POC and how many tickets they buy) yet the Academy voting committee is overwhelmingly white and white actors have been nominated for every acting award at the Oscars for the last 2 years, and some of you don’t see the problem?
The Oscars aren’t really talent based awards. “Best”, is a completely SUBJECTIVE term; especially when the actors, actresses, & films selected are chosen by a group of old white men who do have prejudices and biases (whether conscious or unconscious) against certain races, cultures, etc. AND favor certain type of films over others. There’s a reason the term “Oscar Bait” exists. Producers know what type of movies these men enjoy. That’s why more inclusion and diversity is needed. Good movies and performances from people of ALL races are not being given their due.
I see a problem with 94% of the selection committee being older white men, with clearly limited views on what constitutes “best”. That I believe, is a direct reflection of the limited scope of a selection committee which lacks diversity
Will Smith (and wife)is a sore looser and playing the "race" card
As someone who isn\’t white, I gotta say I truly don\’t care what the eff Will Smith thinks. The best performers get nominated, not the most diverse.
Funny to hear a sports show talk about diversity when whites make up roughly 25 percent of the NFL.