#oscarboycott

Okay, so the biggest topic of discussion in the Film industry that’s causing controversy across all Media Outlets. Are the Oscars Racist? The Oscars 2016 marks the second year running where no Black actors have been nominated for an award. In light of this, public figures and largely stars from within the industry have called for a boycott or have shown reticence towards this years’ awards ceremony. Figures include:

Spike Lee

Will Smith

Jada Pinkett Smith

George Clooney

David Oyelowo

Lupita Nyong’o

Mark Ruffalo

Al Sharpton

50 Cent

Tyrese Gibson

Snoop Dogg

If one is to generalise the argument being made, then it can be summarised that because there are no nominees for Black actors (I stress Black actors as this is something I will come back to later), the Oscars are racist. When looked upon at face value, this does appear to be the case and it does seem unfair. However, I cannot help but feel that the argument starts and ends at this assumption. If we are to examine the facts in full detail, then we may begin to come to form other ideas as to why there is a so-called “lack of diversity” for the nominations. As such, I will be heading each of my debates as I go forward with my argument as to why the Oscars aren’t necessarily racist. Here are the arguments which are going to be made.

The Nominees Are Chosen Based On Their Performance and The Nominee Selection Process Has Always Been A Matter of Opinion

The Films From Which The Nominees Are Drawn From Are From Highly Successful Hollywood Films

The Issue Does Not Solely Lie With The Oscars

Do The Oscars Really Represent A Lack of Diversity Or Just A Lack of Black Actors

1. The Nominees Are Chosen Based On Their Performance and The Nominee Selection Process Has Always Been A Matter of Opinion: 

“Regular awards are presented for outstanding individual or collective film achievements in a wide variety of categories.” Taken from the official Oscars’ website, the nominee criteria is decided upon performance. When all is said and done, the nominee selection has always been decided upon as a matter of opinion. Often we hear audiences in their masses protest year after year that their nominee didn’t win and they’ll list off reasons why their favourite should have won and it goes on and on. Clearly, the nominees have been chosen based on that of a collective opinion. The supposed difference this year however, is that it is a racially charged decision. I can’t help but feel that the notion of the voters being racially prejudice is flawed. Not only is it impossible to ascertain a persons’ true opinion, but I can’t see why, after so many years of having nominees consisting of multiple ethnicities, that the past two years would suddenly indicate that the voting board for the academy is racist. If that were the case, why have we not seen said racial prejudice in the past decade? The primary issue is that the opinion of the voting body is not justified. Yes the award nomination is meant to be an indication that whoever has been nominated has outstanding talent, but there is never an explicit reasoning. The Academy never release written statements on their choices and because of this, there is a recognised ambiguity of why nominations have been awarded, resulting in the fact that because their are only white actor nominations this year, the opinion is that the nominations are racist. Unfortunately, we live in a World that is full of racism and prejudice and thusly no-ones opinion is trusted and many cannot accept the fact that the lack of Black actor nominations could simply be that the board did not feel that their were truly outstanding Black performances this year. It has to be, in the mindset of most, that the lack of nominations for Black actors is racist.

2. The Films From Which The Nominees Are Drawn From Are From Highly Successful Hollywood Films:

If we are to comment on the lack of diversity, then another key aspect to consider is what the Oscars are for. Primarily, it is to praise successful Hollywood films. Why is this? Because it’s what the majority of the audience watching the Oscar’s will recognise and will have seen over the this year. It is often why most of the nominees are for American figures in the industry, because these awards are mostly for American films. If we were to call for awards that promoted true recognition of global cultural achievements in film-making, then an entirely new awards ceremony needs to be created, because as far as we can tell, the Oscars are for the popular films which American audiences saw and will want to win awards. Let’s be honest, the average film viewer will not have cared for films like “Son of Saul” as it wouldn’t have had a large release. The films nominated are those which were not only commercially successful, but ones that were the most talked about in the Media. If we are to be cynical of the Oscars, then we can basically assume that categories like Foreign Language Film and Short Film are there so that a claim can be made for diversity. The point is, the films nominated and the figures associated with these films are but a handful of the creative talent that exists. But then this poses a question. Were Black actors not part of this handful? Well...

3. The Issue Does Not Solely Lie With The Oscars:

...not really. If we are to look at these popular films, what ethnic group do the majority of the actors belong too? White Americans. So, I now pose a second question. Who casted these actors in these roles, was it the Academy? No, it wasn’t. A third question. These films which have focuses on white characters, who were they commissioned by, was it the academy? Again, no. Pretentiousness from my part aside, my point is, that the Academy do not decide on the films that are made and who is cast in them. If we are to look at films made this year and in particular, those which have Black actors in leads and in supporting roles, then we can only really comment on the following four films that had an impact this year: 1. Straight Outta Compton 2. Concussion 3. Beasts of No Nation 4. Creed. Okay, so we have four films that could have been nominated for Black actors. So why have they not been nominated? Well, it is again a result of opinion and in particular the standard of acting amongst other factors. 

Straight Outta Compton is largely comprised of up-and-coming actors. It is very hard to often justify the nomination of new talent when they are competing with more established actors, some who have been in the profession for decades. Not only this, but often (as a flawed mindset of the Academy) films which focus on music rather than involve it directly into the musical form, tend to suffer. The circumstance here is worsened as in particular R&B (which is seen as a “young persons” music) is often not taken as seriously as other films which involve it directly into a musical film (8 Mile) and as a result of this, a film like Straight Outta Compton unfortunately holds far less of a prestige in comparison to films from other genres and which focus on quote “more serious” topics. 

Concussion. Will Smith is known for so many roles and is a well established actor. One of cinemas greatest? No. In his career he has been nominated for two Oscar’s, neither of which he has won. The generally held opinion (myself included) is that his performances are often lacking, usually in emotional depth, which is why he was only ever been nominated for two Oscars prior, when he exceeded expectations. Because of this, it is to myself and many others that his lack of a nomination, is of no surprise.

Beasts of No Nation. Idris Elba, whilst recognised for his talent, has never really starred in many prestigious roles, his most successful blockbuster roles being a minor character within the Marvel Universe and a crew member from the no so loved Ridley Scott movie Promtheus.. Not only this, but Beasts of No Nation was a film made by Netflix. Whilst it is true, they have made some outstanding content, Netflix, in terms of film-making, is incredibly new and as a result of this, it too has little in terms of prestige and recognition. It will be a long time before Netflix films (should they continue to be made) are recognised by the Oscars.

Finally Creed. Yeah...another Rocky film...brilliant. Whilst I undeniably have a bias against the Rocky films, so too does the Academy. Whilst “Rocky” did win 3 Oscars, the subsequent sequels, not only failed to garner more than 1 nomination, but also received more negativity. So 10 years after the previous Rocky, we have another one, another Rocky film in a long line of movies that have lost recognition with a well-established Academy. Honestly, the nomination for Stallone is quite simply out of sympathy and in my opinion, the last powerful role I saw Michael B. Jordan in was Fruitvale Station (which if you haven’t seen it, is a great movie.)

My point here is that the focus of “racism” is being channeled to the wrong place. There are many contributing factors and other reasons why the nominations may not have been awarded. The real issue at hand is the lack of opportunities and films in commission which require Black actors which unfortunately means we are missing out on talents like; Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Laurence Fishburne, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jeffrey Wright (I would mention female actors too if they’d be brave enough like Tarantino and create outstanding leads for Black women like Pam Grier.)

4. Do The Oscars Really Represent A Lack of Diversity Or Just A Lack of Black Actors:

So when reviewing the arguement, the primary issue is that there are no Black actor nominations. But does this mean the Oscars aren’t diverse? The classification of diversity being used is simply related to skin colour and thus most people are viewing this debate from a Black vs White standpoint. Personally, I don’t see this as a Black vs White debate or that the lack of Black actor nominations means a lack of diversity. A lack of diversity within the Oscars would be only nominating American talent and by American talent, I mean people born in America, skin pigmentation has nothing to do with it. Saying the Oscars are #OscasrSoWhite implies that because people of different nationalities have a similar skin pigmentation, that they’re the same or that this is not diverse (which in itself could be seen as racist to simply clump people of similar skin pigmentation together.) I can understand the arguement to an extent that having nominees of White or similar skin pigmentation implies inferiority upon Black actors, but that only applies on how you view race. Myself, I feel that an issue of diversity should be looked upon if there were only American nominations, this would include if there were Black actor nominations who are American.

Moving on, in terms of Oscar nominations for individuals, here is a list of the nominations and their corresponding nationality (Note: I am only including nominations for individuals so awards for the films themselves won’t be shown, neither will a collaborative nomination such as Original Song. Also if anybody knows the nationality of the names marked unknown, please let me know.):

Male Actor In A Lead Role:

Bryan Cranston: American

Matt Damon: American

Leonardo DiCaprio: American

Michael Fassbender: German

Eddie Redmayne: British

Female Actor In A Lead Role:

Cate Blanchett: Australian

Brie Larson: American

Jennifer Lawrence: American

Charlotte Rampling: British

Saoirse Ronan: American

Male Actor In A Supporting Role:

Christian Bale: British

Tom Hardy: British

Mark Ruffalo: American

Mark Rylance: British

Sylvester Stallone: American

Female Actor In A Supporting Role:

Jennifer Jason Leigh: American

Rooney Mara: American

Rachel McAdams: Canadian

Alicia Vikander: Swedish

Kate Winslet: British

Cinematography:

Ed Lachman: American

Robert Richardson: American

John Seale: Australian

Emmanuel Lubezki: Mexican

Roger Deakins: British

Costume Design:

Sandy Powell: British

Sandy Powell: British

Paco Delgado: Spanish

Jenny Beavan: British

Jacqueline West: Unknown

Directing:

Adam McKay: American

George Miller: Australian

Alejandro G. Iñárritu: Mexican

Lenny Abrahamson: Irish

Tom McCarthy: American

Film Editing: 

Hank Corwin: American

Margaret Sixel: South African

Stephen Mirrione: American

Tom McArdle: American

Maryann Brandon: American & Mary Jo Markey: American

Makeup & Hairstyling:

Lesley Vanderwalt: Australian & Elka Wardega: Australian & Damian Martin: Australian

Love Larson: Swedish & Eva von Bahr: Swedish

Siân Grigg: British & Duncan Jarman: Unknown & Robert Pandini: Canadian

Music (Original Score):

Thomas Newman: American

Carter Burwell: American

Ennio Morricone: Italian

Jóhann Jóhannsson: Icelander

John Williams: American

Production Design:

Adam Stockhausen: American & Rena DeAngelo: Unknown & Bernhard Henrich: Unknown

Eve Stewart: British & Michael Standish: British

Colin Gibson: Australian & Lisa Thompson: Australian

Arthur Max: American & Celia Bobak: Unknown

Jack Fisk: American & Hamish Purdy: Canadian

Sound Editing:

Mark Mangini: American & David White: Australian

Oliver Tarney: British

Martin Hernandez: Mexican & Lon Bender: American

Alan Robert Murray: Unknown

Matthew Wood: American & David Acord: American

Sound Mixing:

Andy Nelson: British & Gary Rydstrom: American & Drew Kunin: Unknown

Chris Jenkins: American & Gregg Rudloff: American & Ben Osmo: Australian

Paul Massey: British & Mark Taylor: British & Mac Ruth: American

Jon Taylor: American & Frank A. Montaño: American & Randy Thom: Unknown & Chris Duesterdiek: Canadian

Andy Nelson: British & Christopher Scarabosio: Unknown & Stuart Wilson: Unknown

Visual Effects:

Andrew Whitehurst: British & Paul Norris: Unknown & Mark Ardington: British & Sara Bennett: British

Andrew Jackson: Australian & Tom Wood: British & Dan Oliver: Australian & Andy Williams: Unknown

Roger Guyett: Unknown & Patrick Tubach: Unknown & Neal Scanlan: Unknown & Chris Corbould: British

Richard Stammers: Unknown & Anders Langlands: Unknown & Chris Lawrence: Unknown &  Steven Warner: Unknown

Rich McBride: Unknown &  Matthew Shumway: Unknown & Jason Smith: Unknown & Cameron Waldbauer: Canadian

Writing (Adapted Screenplay):

Charles Randolph: American & Adam McKay: American

Nick Hornby: British

Phyllis Nagy: American

Drew Goddard: American

Emma Donoghue: Irish

Writing (Original Screenplay):

Matt Charman: British & Joel Coen: American & Ethan Coen: American

Alex Garland: British

Pete Docter: American & Meg LeFauve: American & Josh Cooley: American & Ronnie del Carmen: Filipino

Josh Singer: American & Tom McCarthy: American

Jonathan Herman: American & Andrea Berloff: American & S. Leigh Savidge: American & Alan Wenkus: American

If we are to tally the talents nominated (excluding those marked as unknown) then we find that out of the total 106 nominees:

American: 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 5, 3, 3, 5, 6, 4, 11, = 51

British: 1, 1, 3, 1, 1, 3, 1, 2, 1, 4, 4, 1, 2, =25

Australian: 1, 1, 1, 3, 2, 1, 2, =11

Canadian: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, =5

Mexican: 1, 1, 1, =3

Swedish: 1, 2, =3

Irish: 1, 1, =2

Filipino: 1, =1

German: 1, =1

Icelander: 1, =1

Italian: 1, =1

South African: 1, =1

Spanish: 1, =1

Total: 106

From this, we can see that American nominations don’t even contribute to half of the nominations awarded to individuals. This is important in recognising that this notion of racism may be being taken out of proportion as one would think that a racist Academy would try to ensure that as many Americans were nominated as possible, something that is evidently not true. Thus we come back to the argument of whether or not this is simply an issue of skin colour, which again, goes under the assumption that one follows a Black vs White mindset and considers similar skin pigmentation's the same, disregarding nationality.

When all is said and done, who really cares? The Oscar’s are an opinion driven way of glorifying already successful figures within the film industry. Sure it’s nice for them to get gratification and if we like them it’s nice to see them win. But at the end of the day, I can’t help but feel that this boycott is being focused on the wrong area within the industry. The real issue lies with diversifying film as a whole and creating opportunities for other ethnic groups to star in Hollywood epics. Hopefully 2016 will provide us with some fantastic roles (preferably from some of the actors I want to see again), but for now, we will have to accept that the industry slipped into a trend of films centered predominately around White people and that if this happens again, then an effort needs to be promote diversity, rather than this silly boycott of a superfluous awards ceremony. 

Thankyou for reading this argument, I would quickly like to make clear if it wasn’t apparent already that I am in no way shape or form a racist of any kind. I just feel that this argument against the Oscars is being made on a base assumption of “racism” when all of the other factors have not been taken into consideration and that it is a shame that we don’t trust others to simply have an opinion without linking it to racial discrimination. I’m not saying that racism doesn’t exist and I’m not trying to kiss ass for the Oscars, I just want to try and broaden this “Oscar racism boycott” opinion held by many. For a simple version of what I’ve just said, watch this video:

Jada Pinkett Smith, Spike Lee and the Woes of White Acceptance

* A draft of this piece was posted without my knowledge yesterday evening. My apologies. Actress Jada Pinkett-Smith and director Spike Lee made headlines this week in announcing their boycott against the 2016 Oscars (Academy Awards). The boycott is said to be in response to the lack of diversity in Oscar nominees. While I appreciate Smith and Lee’s efforts to bring awareness to the issue of black…