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The truth is everyone is pointing the finger at each other. While some say that the minorities are overreacting and wanting hand outs, others can see the unfairness and are fighting for the equal rights deserved. Most of the controversy however is a fight over African-american recognition and not so much the recognition of all minorities. We hear about these powerful black leaders in the movie industry fighting but where are the representatives for the Asian, Native American or Middle Eastern cast and crews? Dave Schilling of "Vice" magazine explained that we have tried to allow more minority recognition with new award shows like the BET Awards or the GLAAD Awards but they just don't have the same prestige as the Oscars so it is a controversy and you don't hear any whites complaining about the lack of nominations at the BET Awards. He goes on to say that we need to make minority categories for the Oscars. However if that happens and one minority is not accounted for then once again it is unfair and this would include: homosexuals, transvestites, disabilities and race. So there is no easy solution. But then he looks at the movies that had potential for last years nominations that would be considered "black" movies and the list consists of a lot of movies whose performances do not compare to those of Oscar worthy films. So maybe the problem lies within the industry.
Julie Hinds of the Detroit Free Press has some other ideas as to where the problem truly lies. She uses statistics to prove her point that we need more diversity in the Academy of Motion-Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy is made up of over 6,000 members. 94% of the members are white and 77% are male with the median age in the 60's. With statements from members telling the press that they voted for a black film or actor to almost clear their conscience or something. These are the kind of statements racist people make to help themselves believe they are not racist. It's justification.
Honestly, I see some points they made that are valid. Will Smith did great in Concussion and Jason Mitchell blew me away in Straight Outta Compton. Both of those movies portrayed a minority struggling to overcome a world in which the majority race was dominating. Their films were about or had undertones about this exact controversy and yet the nominations given to Straight Outta Compton went to the white screenwriter. I can see the problem within the conflict. I can see why it would arise without appearing detrimental but we live in a diverse world where change is welcome. So why not shake up the Academy and get less old white guys and more fresh outlooks.
Articles Discussed:
https://www.vice.com/read/maybe-its-time-for-black-people-to-have-their-own-academy-awards-165
http://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/movies/julie-hinds/2016/01/23/and-oscar-goes-no-actors-color-2016/79116340/
One point I wanted to make about your argument with Concussion: it only received a 56/100 critic score on IMBD. I didn't see the movie because of this, even though I am a huge Will Smith fan. The movie hasn't even made it's 35 million dollar budget yet. This is not to take away from your opinions about Will Smith's performance in the movie, but from the outside looking in, because I haven't seen the movie, was his performance Oscar-worthy with the "bad" movie numbers? As we have discussed in class, I do believe there is a racial bias within the Academy. Will Smith could have won an Oscar in some of his other performances, such as The Pursuit of Happyness, which would even be a stretch. It is disappointing that this is the case, but Will Smith has not yet had a standout movie, he has just been a good actor in some good movies; nothing phenomenal. Straight Outta Compton blew me away as well, you made a good point there. I agree that the Academy needs some fresh new society minds. Good post overall, Daxton!
ReplyDeleteI like the title straight outta nominations pretty clever considering the nominations and lack of diversity. Following up on your intro on whether it is all of the things that you listed I would have to agree that there are many factors as to why there wasn't any nominations for the case of a minority. As you said that concussion which I argue is the only minority role that was Oscar worthy hasn't even made back their initial budget so yes poor performance plays a role in the lack of Oscar nominations on this years ballot. I agree with you on the point to where you say the problem could likely lie within the industry itself and the people who select the nominees. Maybe a younger panel would bring more diversity to something like this that is a very interesting idea. I don't think the idea of adding minority categories will help I feel as if it would hurt the situation when you add separate categories.
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