Studios, not Oscars, at fault for nominee whiteout
February 24, 2016
Since the announcement of the 2015 Academy Award nominations, Hollywood has been abuzz over the absence of black nominees in the various categories such as best actress, best director and best actor.
While the last two years have had all white Oscar nominations for the various categories, critics must keep in mind that these nominations are based on performance, not skin color.
Shortly after the announcement, many African Americans in the entertainment industry decided to boycott this year’s Oscars.
Many, like director Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith, took to social media to express their outrage.
Smith released a Facebook video stating, “At the Oscars…people of color are always welcomed to give out awards but we are rarely recognized for our artistic accomplishments.”
Could it be that the nonwhite actors and directors in this year’s films have not been on par with other nominees who were chosen? Three films where black actors had leading roles were “Creed,” “Straight Outta Compton,” and “Concussion.”
Having seen these films, I believe that Michael B. Jordan of “Creed,” was the only one who deserved of a nomination as best actor. Jordan’s performance would have garnered a nomination in another year, but this year’s crop was too strong. His snub was not a racial issue, but just a typical situation in which there are too many actors whose performances were superior.
“Straight Outta Compton” was a film focused on its group, not the individuals, and “Concussion,” may have been one of Will Smith’s weakest drama performances as all he did was slap on a Jamaican accent to take on the role.
For the best directors category, there were only two black directors who could have made the cut for their films, Ryan Coogler of “Creed,” and F. Gary Gray for “Straight Outta Compton.” Like the best actors group, the competition was too tough for these directors. Even legendary director Ridley Scott was left out for the much praised “The Martian.”
Unfortunately, there were not enough roles filled with diversity that could have been considered for an Oscar. Nominating an actor or actress, purely on the color of their skin, defeats the purpose of recognizing them for their art.
The problem does not lie with the Academy for its lack of diversity in the nominations, but rather, with the film industry for its lack of roles available to various ethnicities.
This year did not really have a range of films with black actors and directors that really caught the attention of the Oscars like in previous years with movies such as “12 Years a Slave.”
So, if actors and directors want to find a scapegoat for this situation, look toward the movie studios that develop the films, not the Academy, which only views and judges the films.
