Racism and the Oscars thread

[CJohn]

Just now, Rey said:

Lmfao, not in that case.

 

I see your point, but your wording is all off, sis.

 

I know they should do that. I've said it a MILLION times that it's because the films and roles are simply not there for people of color.

Ok, so my english is shit when I try to write something more complex  

 

But I see you got my point, which is good. 

[Claire of Themyscira]

4 minutes ago, CJohn said:

Ok, so my English is shit when I try to write something more complex.  

 

But I see you got my point, which is good. 

Lol, I hope it's that.

 

I did, which is why I only quoted specifically that part of your post. Pay attenshun, sis.

 

Not you ready to go toe to toe with Miss New York.

 

Edited January 22, 2016 by Rey

[AJG]

11 minutes ago, grim22 said:

 

 

 

One thing I respect about Shonda Rhimes (the creator of the show Viola won the emmy for) is that she always manages to have diverse casts on her shows. Each show is popular as hell all around the world yet the movie industry refuse to acknowledge this and change

[AJG]

15 minutes ago, CJohn said:

You have got to be kidding me... What did Spike Lee said? 

 

He didn't call for a boycott. He just doesn't want to go. He's wants to watch the NBA instead (cant blame him. Oscars are boring)

[Jayhawk the Hutt]

1 minute ago, filmlover said:

Shonda is only a producer on How to Get Away with Murder. I can see how it can be difficult to mistake for one of her actual shows, though.

Don't producers (especially one as powerful as her) get a major say in casting though? Especially since she was involved in the creation of the show.

[filmlover]

3 minutes ago, Jayhawk said:

Don't producers (especially one as powerful as her) get a major say in casting though? Especially since she was involved in the creation of the show.

Maybe but she doesn't have as much creative power (ie writing) as she does on her own shows. But then even on her own shows, the only times she pops in for major contributions is for episodes when something huge goes down.

[CJohn]

1 hour ago, AJG said:

 

He didn't call for a boycott. He just doesn't want to go. He's wants to watch the NBA instead (cant blame him. Oscars are boring)

Lmao. Someone ban Smith's stupid wife from Earth plz.

[grey ghost]

There was just way more Oscar bait with whites than there were with blacks.

 

When you blame the Academy when they had little to choose from you miss the real problem (lack of juicy roles for minorities) and look like you're crying for a quota system which would only hurt the credibility of any black actor in the future who won purely on merit.

 

 

Edited January 22, 2016 by grey ghost

[misafeco]

Again:

23 hours ago, misafeco said:

10% of all acting nominees in the 21th century were black.

15% of all acting winners in the 21th century were black.

12.6% of the US population are black.

 

Where is the problem?

Black people are the most nominated minority and still i never hear any Asian or Hispanic actor complaining about being snubbed because of their color. This is not only disrespectful to the 20 acting nominees who gave fantastic performances, it's nonsense. Where was Will Smith in 2004 when 25% of the nominees and 50% of the winners were black? Or in 2013 when a movie with a mostly black cast won BP? Maybe next year the same thing will happen.

[grim22]

The Academy announces some changes

 

Quote

In a unanimous vote Thursday night (1/21), the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences approved a sweeping series of substantive changes designed to make the Academy’s membership, its governing bodies, and its voting members significantly more diverse.  The Board’s goal is to commit to doubling the number of women and diverse members of the Academy by 2020.

“The Academy is going to lead and not wait for the industry to catch up,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. “These new measures regarding governance and voting will have an immediate impact and begin the process of significantly changing our membership composition.”

Beginning later this year, each new member’s voting status will last 10 years, and will be renewed if that new member has been active in motion pictures during that decade.  In addition, members will receive lifetime voting rights after three ten-year terms; or if they have won or been nominated for an Academy Award.  We will apply these same standards retroactively to current members.  In other words, if a current member has not been active in the last 10 years they can still qualify by meeting the other criteria.  Those who do not qualify for active status will be moved to emeritus status.  Emeritus members do not pay dues but enjoy all the privileges of membership, except voting.  This will not affect voting for this year’s Oscars.

At the same time, the Academy will supplement the traditional process in which current members sponsor new members by launching an ambitious, global campaign to identify and recruit qualified new members who represent greater diversity.  

In order to immediately increase diversity on the Board of Governors, the Academy will establish three new governor seats that will be nominated by the President for three-year terms and confirmed by the Board.

The Academy will also take immediate action to increase diversity by adding new members who are not Governors to its executive and board committees where key decisions about membership and governance are made. This will allow new members an opportunity to become more active in Academy decision-making and help the organization identify and nurture future leaders.

Along with Boone Isaacs, the Board’s Membership and Administration Committee, chaired by Academy Governor Phil Robinson, led the efforts to enact these initiatives.

 

[Biph Shmata]

Oscar screwed up with those 2 empty BP slots if Compton and or Creed were up for BP then the dearth of non-white nominees in the acting categories wouldn't be a big deal. 

[ladyevenstar22]

we all know the media is like a tornado whipping up vapid air within itself !

the whole thing is a pot of bs sould to the twitter attention span crowd who huff puff and drop from exhaustion all in the span of 140 characters that's when they're not living among the cesspool of online comments on dubious gossipy entertainment sites like E! ,

 

original aunt viv from fresh prince gave jada a smackdown that had me lmao , some people brush it off as her being bitter from will not helping her back in the day but under that you can tell there's a lot of true , ain't no actor innocent or precious like gisele in enchanted !

 

frankly given option i would have chosen SOC over CREED to get in even if i hate rap the movie was well done , i haven't seen concussion or beasts of no nation yet but are they saying those 4 movies were it for black options ? make 10 20 quality dramas and odds are 2 or 3 will get in ! they play their odds like i do the lottery !

 

its like giving a bad rap /bitching about this exclusive party the cool kids are giving because you weren't invited but deep down you're dying to ...and if you were invited you'd jump on that invit faster than a flee on a dog's hair so you can be part of the cool kids so really what method do you think is actually going to work for you ? force your way into a party so you can be ignored? or give such a performance you cannot be ignored no matter how hard they try and you're deem cool enough to join the party but all of that doesn't happened at the oscars , the oscars is like that back room where  a select few from the party go chill out because they're too cool for the cool party ! 

 

cue my facepalm comment after such great prose :

its leo and inarrutu party okay leave them aloooonneee ....leo has waited absurdedly long for a white actor  and he's churned quite a few oscar nominated roles , now see them shower inarrutu to show diversityyyyy ( is my bias showing, lol i didn't even know that dude was mexican until recently  neither that he directed amores perros a delicious raw movie)

Edited January 22, 2016 by ladyevenstar22

[DAR]

I'll be the first two say the opportunities for all minorities should be better in Hollywood.  However one of the biggest movies of last year was headlined by a largely unknown all African American cast.   When's the last time if ever an all Latino or Asian cast headlined a 160m+ film.  Hell the only Asian actors I can point out(and this is sad) is the cast of Fresh Off the Boat. 

[Cmasterclay]

I don't think the people saying that this was a bad year for POC in acting roles are racist, but they certainly don't have very good taste. Spare me those bullshit argument, every one of those actors are better than someone like Redmayne. Jordan, Thompson, Mitchell, Jackson, Del Toro, Oscar Isaac, the lead in Tangerine, Attah, Elba, Will Smith, hell, even Jada Pinkett Smith? And yea yea, I know that's opinion, and of course we're supposed to respect everyone's opinion, but someone could have the opinion that Adam Sandler in the Cobbler deserves Best Actor, and that Fantastic Four deserves Best Picture. They aren't wrong! But those opinions are pretty dumb! I agree that this is a systemic issue that goes farrrr beyond Oscars. But let me tell you: as someone who grew up in the acting community, around actors who were mostly POC, you see clearly that it's discouraging for aspiring actors, my friends, to see the industry fail time and time again to award people of color, to acknowledge their importance, and to give them the roles needed to become great. Yea, do all for the love of the art and all, but acting is a fucking JOB, and being great and receiving acknowledgment for it means something, just like any other job.  Why the fuck become an actor if the industry is going to cast you in only race-typical roles, pay you less, AND fail to award you when you do well? It furthers a cycle of racial issues that contributes to a system of oppression. And I know someone is going to argue: it's just movies, it doesn't even matter! It does matter. Movies are our most important cultural artifacts. They aren't just a bunch of pretty lights and color on a screen. They tell people how to think about their roles. And seeing actors of color in great roles at the forefront of big movies plays a CRUCIAL role in helping to normalize race relations and move our culture forward. 

 

Also, important to note, our country is 37 percent POC. So you're telling me that ALL of the best performances, and all of the best stories, in our most important cultural artifact, only represent one facet of our very diverse society? That doesn't make any sense. Why are we only seeing stories about either A. white people or B. black people in the most race typical way possible?

[Claire of Themyscira]

So, I'm gonna go back on my word and get back into this thread because I'm seeing bullshit.

 

It's so upsetting to me, especially as a Hispanic/Latino/Mexican, whatever your whack ass wants to call me, but it's SO upsetting when people start to be like, "Why does no one complain about Asian or Latinos? Why is it only Blacks?"

 

One, it's super fucking disrespectful because you are literally doing and perpetuating what the racists want, is for minorities or people of color to NOT stand together in solidarity.

Two, it's thanks to the effort of many Black people that they are able to get so many of these issues to even be noticed and talked about, and that's that.

 

No, no, "Oh, but why aren't any of them doing anything for other minorities?" Honestly, while I myself do my best to get the issues of other minorities to the forefront, it's not their job to do ours.

 

It's our own, and I do believe more people need to start talking about this, not just Black people because much won't be done.

 

Three, it annoys me to DEATH when I see someone say, "But 12 Years A Slave won! Lupita won! (So and so) was nominated! Gina won a Globe!" Etc. These are just a few though.

 

Like, shut the hell up. One win every now and then doesn't mean Hollywood and the industry isn't racist, etc.

 

Third, I can see why the Oscars are being targeted in this sense. Sure, you all say these awards aren't the industry, but these awards do have some effect on the industry. The whole "Oscar-bait" exists because of this. Like, this award show does have some say. You can't tell me people seeing minorities getting recognized in a high profile awards show is not a good thing.

 

Like...

 

And finally, the reason the acting awards are mentioned or singled out is because other than Best Picture, they are the most talked about, etc. Like, I would be so happy to see my fellow Mexican, Inarritu walk away with yet another if it weren't for people calling him a douche, obnoxious, pretentious. Like, we can't win, can we?

 

[Cmasterclay]

Great post, Claire. This whole "no one cares about the Latinos or Asians" argument is just strawman argument for people who can't create coherent retorts, given that almost everyone boycotting has specifically cited dudes like Del Toro and Isaac as some of the biggest snubs (and that isn't even speaking on the terrible lack of any roles for Asians, who can't get any attention for movies that don't involve Crouching Tigers or Hidden Dragons.) Also, I'm glad someone acknowledges that the Oscars DO matter- It's the most watched non-football program of the year, and they're the pinnacle of achievement in the industry. It's like saying the Super Bowl doesn't matter, or winning a big trial doesn't matter, or something like that (bad analogy, I know). It's an achievement based industry. If the Oscars were just some frivolous thing that didn't matter, we wouldn't have a 100 page Oscar thread every year, or an entire year of speculation, or 40 million viewers, or awards cited in movie trailers. And yea, the big awards matter. I DO absolutely think there should be more technical opportunites for POC, but in football, people care more about the MVP than the best offensive linemen and kickers. It's just human natures. Those are the awards people care about, and thus they matter more when it comes to contributing more to a culltural shift. 

[baumer]

4 hours ago, AJG said:

 

 

From what I gather she believes that the oscar boycott is "racist against whites". If she thinks that a boycott calling for Hollywood to give chances on ethnically diverse actors and filmmakers is 'racist against whites' then I don't know what it. 

 

That's not what she said.  Read the article.  

[CJohn]

53 minutes ago, Biph Shmata said:

Oscar screwed up with those 2 empty BP slots if Compton and or Creed were up for BP then the dearth of non-white nominees in the acting categories wouldn't be a big deal. 

Last year Selma was nominated for BP and everyone still complained.

[Cmasterclay]

2 minutes ago, CJohn said:

Last year Selma was nominated for BP and everyone still complained.

Yea, because Selma was fucking spectacular, and it got nothing in any acting or tech category or in Director, while shit shows like Theory of Everything and Imitation Game, the ultimate in uber white Oscar baiting, got nominated for stuff most people think they didn't deserve. Yea, Selma got ONE token nomination. Whoope. 

 

Also, why are you so quick to dismiss this shit, like it's some kind of annoying joke? I have no problem with people disagreeing with my opinion for logically argued reasons, because I can see the complicated, multifaceted nature of this debate, but the "Oh boo hoo black people are such whiners I'm sick of PC crap" argument holds zero weight in actual discussion. 

[DAR]

21 minutes ago, Cmasterclay said:

Also, important to note, our country is 37 percent POC. So you're telling me that ALL of the best performances, and all of the best stories, in our most important cultural artifact, only represent one facet of our very diverse society? That doesn't make any sense. Why are we only seeing stories about either A. white people or B. black people in the most race typical way possible?

Some of the biggest films last year were headlined by some of the most diverse casts we've seen in major blockbusters.  That will have a far more lasting cultural relevance than getting bent out of shape over some silly awards show.