The Academy Awards are recognized as iconic. They are one of, if not the the most, prestigious film award ceremonies in the world. Alongside the Cannes Film Festival and the BAFTAs, it is considered a major powerhouse in the international film industry, and calls recognition to the best of the best in and out of Hollywood.
So, why is it then that another year has come, and our nominees are so overwhelmingly white?
Last year the hashtag #OscarSoWhite trended up a storm on Twitter, and this year it has reemerged. Paired with an outcry by this year’s host Chris Rock, we see outrage amongst cinephiles and activists alike. Like Chris Rock, Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs has made her dismay clear about the lack of diversity in the nominees, despite the largely colorful and fantastic year we’ve had for film. You'd think with her not only being the third female president of the prestigious group, but also the first African American to hold this office, that this would suggest a change in the largely whitewashed system, but this is not the case.
As noted by the Los Angeles Times, there are over 6,000 voters in the Academy, with the majority of them being white, male and over the age of 63. The members are an anonymous roster, and of course, with a mirroring of last years major nominees, the large question continues to be shouted, “Is the Academy Racist?”
Last year, like this year, we had 20 nominees for best actors, all of them white, except for Best Director winner and nominee Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, who was last year nominated for "Birdman" and this year for "The Revenant." Whilst there were other winners of color last year (such as John Legend and Common for best song), there are barely even any nominated this year, and this is an overall issue that is highly contrasted by the big wins for the cast and crew of "12 Years a Slave" in 2014.
Last year, diversity wins for one of the “Big Five” awards road heavily on the historical drama Selma, an outstanding critical success, which only received two nominations (Best Picture and Song) and one win (the latter). This year, there are absolutely no chances for such a win, as "Creed," "Straight Outta Compton," "Chi-raq" and "Beasts of No Nation" were snubbed. This is especially problematic due to "Creed" and "Straight Outta Compton’s" financial success, as well as the vast acclaim Michael B. Jordan ("Creed") and Idris Elba ("Beasts of No Nation") and Will Smith ("Concussion") have received for their performances this past year.
One of the largest "F-U"s that seem to come into play this Oscar term is not only the lack of diversity in the nominees, but who is getting nominated for what. In very much an adding of insult to injury, "Straight Outta Compton's" only nomination is for best screenplay, the nominated being partially composed of two Caucasian males. Similarly, "Creed's" big nomination comes in the form of Best Supporting Actor, a recognition that is gifted to Sylvester Stallone, another white male. This isn't to discredit their work, but it does display a large outrage and issue within the voting and nominating culture that surrounds the Academy Awards, continuing to stigmatize the group as racist. Variety's Tim Gray sums up quite well the issue at hand regarding the nominees:
"Several Oscar categories traditionally offer a mix of gender, race and sexual orientation among nominees, including documentaries, shorts, feature-animation, costume design, hair/makeup and editing. That’s true this year too. But in many of the artisan races, it’s an almost all-male list (e.g., cinematography, sound editing, sound mixing)."
The issues surrounding this debate largely concern who is deserving of what, especially when many of the films nominated are perhaps critically acclaimed, gaining high reviews by critics and commentators (such as Rotten Tomatoes and writers for the New York Times), but not so often reflecting the success in the box office. As Box Office Mojo reports, within the top 10 domestic grosses for 2015 go to films such as "Stars Wars: The Force Awakens" and "Furious 7," which all include actors of color, as well as phenomenal performances across the board.
This being noted, it's hard to forget that at the beginning of last year there was a consistent trending topic of #BoycottStarWars due to John Boyega being announced as one of the film's stars, as if this takes away a win for Caucasian culture, which of course it doesn't -- as reflected by the two-year-running controversy shrouding the Academy Awards. Overall, this displays that success has a duality, one being critical acclaim that comes with award seasons, and that with box office and fan success. Of course, the People's Choice Awards and the Golden Globes (which is among the top award ceremonies for film in the world as well) generate more of a positive and diverse recognition for talents across artisans and acting alike, but the issue of the Academy being the face of Hollywood is a large and continuing problem.
As stated by Cheryl Boone Isaacs, there is a plan to help generate more diversity amongst the voting committee, but this could take years if it works at all. The controversy is, of course, not an issue of race alone, but stems to what deserves an accolade, and just seems like a growing list of concerns.
In recent years, the viewing for the Academy Awards has dropped considerably, which perhaps just goes to show that perhaps audiences are sick of disappointment and the lack of representation, if not the Awards themselves becoming obsolete. One can only hope that the Academy will right itself and offer more recognition to a diverse group of artists, but we also should not ignore the wonderful films that have been produced this year, in and out of the award shows. That being said, I will be continuing to watch the awards, but also support the films that lack the notoriety they deserve.
