5 Years Later: Was Oscar So White?

Five to six years ago people of colour in the entertainment business began to protest that there was not enough representation in the Academy Awards. What sparked this was that for two consecutive years the Academy gave all 20 acting nomination slots to white actors. In the entertainment world, many were expecting at least Will Smith to be nominated for Concussion (2015), but wasn’t. The protest was called #OscarSoWhite, and most of us with lighter skin were feeling skeptical of it. I mean, the awards should be based on who the best actors were and not on skin colour, right? But then something happened after the 2016 Oscars.

13th

, Moonlight, Straight Out of Compton, Birth of a Nation, Fences, I am Not Your Negro, Get Out, Mudbound, If Beale Street Could Talk, BlacKkKlansman, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Dolemite is My Name, Black Panther, Antebellum, The United States vs Billie Holliday, One Night in Miami, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and many others. All having either a cast predominantly made up of persons of colour, a focus on culture or issues pertaining to people of colour, or both. They are all also movies that have received both critical and commercial acclaim. So this means that any of the following has happened:

• Hollywood is forcing it. The argument here is that the movie industry buckled under the pressure of actors of colour. They wanted to be relevant and prove they are not racists and made these movies with these cast members, passing on other scripts and casts.

• BUT: So many directors, producers, actors, and critics have expressed admiration for these films. And before we argue that those very people are Hollywood, the same can be said of regular ol’ movie goers. I’ve seen all but one of the movies listed above, and I can’t say I loved them all, of course. But I can say that collectively they are as good as any other stack of movies that have received Oscar nominations throughout the past decade. I mean, it’s honestly an impressive list of films. You have to wonder: Were these all forced on us by Hollywood, and by coincidence there just happens to be a significant amount of them that are good enough to get the recognition they get? Or… was Oscar really so white? Were the protesters right and are these films the proof?

• It’s just happening naturally. We’ve always had significant movies like this. Consider The Help (2011), Do the Right Thing (1989), Precious (2009), Remember the Titans (2000), The Color Purple (1985), Glory (1989), and many others. They were always movies like this being made, and every decade sees more than the previous. We’ve naturally grown into our diversity. However… again… isn’t this a rather large coincidence that this natural growth seemed to take such a significant jump right after 2016’s #OscarSoWhite? I mean, it’s hard to find any two decades in the past that together can even compete with the last 5 years.

• #OscarSoWhtie was right. You’ve likely guessed that this is how I see it. No, the actors and directors of colour were not asking to be awarded based on their skin colour. They were simply wanting to not be overlooked or counted out because of it. They could see the systemic racism that was happening. This was not intended to take anything away from the white actors and actresses who’d been nomination recipients in the past. They were all deserving. No one is taking anything away from them. But if people are being overlooked because of their colour, even if it’s subconscious, then we’re getting neither a fair nor accurate picture of the achievements from of each year.

I have to admit here that it does feel weird making these arguments. I feel like a privileged white guy “whitesplaining” a movement led by people of colour in an industry I know so little about. And I might just be that. But I can honestly say that I am only trying to share what I have observed as a movie fan and what I sincerely think/feel/believe is happening. As I’ve shared before, trying to understand other people’s perspectives is a strongly held value of mine. We cannot adequately love one another without adequately understanding one another.

Congratulations In the Heat of the Night. This is your week.

And the Oscar goes to…

Best Actress:

Natalie Wood as Maria in West Side Story.

Best Actor: Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs in In the Heat of the Night.

Best Quote: “They call me Mr. Tibbs!” — Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs in In the Heat of the Night.

Just a reminder, I would still love to see any of you take the 2 Movie Challenge. 🙂