I had planned to talk about the white-out at the Oscars closer to the awards ceremony. But the national conversation about the all white nominations, is still bubbling hot with intense exchanges on social media, and ongoing discussions around the water cooler and in newspapers and on TV. On Saturday Night Live, a satiric Oscar skit ended with an announcement that the winners were “all the white guys.” But this year’s real nominations are no joke with an especially ironic twist—African American actors O’Shea Jackson of Straight Outta Compton, and Michael B Jordan of Creed, were overlooked for nominations, yet Compton’s white screenwriters, and Creed’s white supporting actor, Sylvester Stallone, both got nominations. Indeed, the inners will be all the white guys.
Talent is not the issue. Critics and industry professionals have pointed to a dozen Oscar worthy performances by African-American actors who were shut out. The wholesale snub so angered actress Jada Pinkett Smith that she’s asked black actors and supporters to boycott the ceremony. She and her husband Will Smith won’t be going and so far only the two of them are committed to staying away. Director Spike Lee –an honorary Oscar awardee--says he’s not officially boycotting, but will nevertheless bypass the Oscars to attend a Knicks game.
The year I attended the Oscar ceremony as a nominee I didn’t see many people of color. And yes, even back then the ones I did see were either presenters or the famous seat fillers. I’m heartened that A-listers like Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney, and Lupita Nyong’o have spoken out about the lack of diversity. So is April Reign who in 2014 created the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. Reign says this embarrassing repeat of last year’s exclusion has brought needed widespread attention.
Fixing it isn’t easy, but The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization of Oscar voters, says it will through changes to its policies and leadership. Last week the Academy finalized a plan to add three new under-50 board members who will be of color, to limit the lifetime memberships of the 6300 current members, and to add women and minorities to decision making committees. The goal-- to expand the numbers of both younger and non white members significantly by 2020. Meanwhile, 3 civil rights organizations want to meet with industry heads, and are calling for a “tune-out” of the Oscars. Plus, the cover of Variety magazine features a white Oscar statue with the words “Shame on Us.”
I predict the conversation about Hollywood and race will get more intense as the ceremony –a little over 4 weeks away--gets closer. And I anticipate the Oscar telecast will draw its highest ratings in years, maybe because of a quirk of fate. African-American Reginald Hudlin is producing the ceremony—a first--while African-American comedian Chris Rock returns for his second time as host.
Rock has kept mum about #OscarsSoWhite, but confirmed he’s rewriting his material to reflect what’s happening now. Maybe he’ll include actor Don Cheadle’s pointed tweet. Cheadle channeled the ongoing frustration of many black entertainment professionals in this short message, “Yo Chris. Come check me out at the Oscars this year. They got me parking cars on G level.”
