Here are some photos of Michael B. Jordan at the Louis Vuitton Menswear show in Paris yesterday. Look at this young man’s smile. He’s lovely, isn’t he? He’s always thoughtful and professional and hard-working. And despite the fact that he’s shown over the course of four years that he’s just as much of a star as Ryan Gosling or Bradley Cooper, Michael has never been nominated for an Oscar. I still feel strongly about this: Michael gave a heartbreaking, star-making performance in Fruitvale Station, and it still upsets me that the Academy didn’t recognize it. When he reteamed with Ryan Coogler for Creed, once again people raved about his performance, how good he is, how talented and multifaceted as an actor. And once again, MBJ was ignored. This is part of the reason why #OscarsSoWhite is a thing. This is just one example of how the Academy has been ignoring great work from racially diverse artists.
We’re now one week removed from the Oscar nominations announcement, and one of the most interesting things is that the #OscarsSoWhite discussion just keeps getting bigger and bigger. While I personally don’t think that a boycott will do much, I’m glad the boycott conversation is happening because it’s the vehicle by which we’re having this larger conversation about race, representation, diversity and equality in Hollywood. The Hollywood Reporter is using the boycott conversation for the same reason, and in this week’s issue, they’ve got several pieces about #OscarsSoWhite. Here’s a short column by Dawn Hudson, the CEO of the Academy:
There’s not one part of the industry that doesn’t need to be addressed, and it’s been this way for 25 years. The needle has hardly moved. It’s cultural, it’s institutional, it’s our society at large, it’s our education system — all of it — before you get to an industry that’s supposed to reflect this beautiful world. And the industry has been building up over a very long time, starting with white men running the studios who hire other people who look like them. It just hasn’t changed that much, and it won’t until there’s a concerted effort on every single front: talent, the executives in the studios, the people we mentor. If you have a person of color directing a film, there’ll be more people of color on the crew and in the movie. You have to overindex now on every hiring opportunity you have. You have to look at women and people of color every time there’s an opening and really not stop until you’ve worked to find qualified candidates. That’s for directing, crewing up, filling a marketing position, finding interns, hiring your next assistant. If you did that, it would go a long way.
At the Academy, the people we’ve hired in the past four years have been between 45 and 50 percent people of color. Our staff also has worked very closely with the executive committees in all the Academy branches to identify talented artists of color to make sure they’re being considered for membership. That has resulted in every class in the last four years being more diverse than the previous classes. We are stepping up our efforts in every area. You’ve already seen a change in membership and new members. You’ve seen a change in our staff. But I was devastated that the acting nominations were all white. There are a lot of artists of color who have put out really good work in more films than in other years. This feels like an inflection point, almost at a point of crisis. Everyone is talking about this. It’s not going to be overnight — just the pace can go faster. As [Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel] said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”
“Almost at a point of crisis”? Good. I say the conversations should keep happening. Let the pressure keep building and building until the Academy really does feel like there’s a genuine crisis. Because THR also published another story which included interviews with voting Academy members, including actress Penelope Ann Miller. Here’s what she said:
“I voted for a number of black performers, and I was sorry they weren’t nominated. But to imply that this is because all of us are racists is extremely offensive. I don’t want to be lumped into a category of being a racist because I’m certainly not and because I support and benefit from the talent of black people in this business. It was just an incredibly competitive year. I loved Beasts of No Nation, and I loved Idris Elba in it — I just think not enough people saw it, and that’s sometimes what happens. Straight Outta Compton was a great film; I think it just lost some Academy members who are older. There were a lot of omissions of white people that I think were just as disappointing — I’m sure [Spotlight’s] Michael Keaton is bummed, you know? There were an incredible number of films in 2015 that were primarily about white people. Talk to the studios about changing that, not the Academy. There’s only so much we can do. I think when you make race the issue, it can divide people even further, and that’s what I worry about.”
She’s basically saying that sure, she voted for some black people so that means she’s not racist, but of course it’s no big deal that no actors of color were nominated because their performances just weren’t up it. And maybe Michael Keaton is bummed a little bit, but he was still nominated last year, an honor that was not bestowed on David Oyelowo for his extraordinary performance in Selma. And Keaton gave a great performance this year in a film that’s nominated for Best Picture, because of course it is – all of the Best Picture nominees this year are about white people. #KeatonIsBummed is the new #OscarsSoWhite.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
I’m torn on MBJ. His performance in Fruitvale Station had me sobbing in the theater, and he is such a talented actor. But he has also said some…questionable things about women, and apparently dated Kendall Jenner when she was 19 and he was 28.
He still deserved a nom for Fruitvale Station. #MBJRobbed
Last I heard the age of consent is 18. She was legal and a 9 year age difference in Hollywood is nothing.
Doesn’t make it right though. And you know that. Stop making excuses.
he said they never dated and he didn’t know her.
Stop dragging him for shit he DIDN’T do!
He has said some questionable things in the past. But the good thing is that her took responsibility and he’s apologized multiple times and said that he realizes he needs to change his viewpoints on certain things and also think before he speaks. As for the Kendall Jenner thing, he said that they never dated and he didn’t even know her at the time that the picture was taken, they just happened to be exiting the same restaurant at the same time with a group of people.
And yes, let’s get #MBJrobbed trending. He really was.
Exactly. He made a couple missteps and took responsibility and he’s so clearly a thoughtful, intelligent, talented guy.
Can’t we forgive him? I can.
He was phenomenal on The Wire and blew me away in Fruitvale. Can’t wait to see Creed.
Kitten, I forgave him too. I could tell he was genuinely sorry in all the interviews he gave afterwards. He said that he’s learning and growing and hoping we’ll be patient with him. Also, Creed will blow your mind. It’s the best movie I’ve seen in good while. And I’m a tough critic lol.
Thanks for the clarification on the Kendall Jenner thing. I was giving him major side-eye for that. As for the rest, we’ll see. But! I cannot deny he is a phenomenal actor and I go see movies he is in just for him.
Yes – anyone who is willing to admit their mistakes, think about them, and most importantly learn from them is good in my book.
MBJ is hot, hot, hot!!!!!! Love him.
I’m with you on the MBJ love. First noticed him in Parenthood, as Alex.
I can’t throw shade on the age thing. When I was 19, my boyfriend was 32. He wasn’t creepy or pervy. And while it didn’t last, because we were indeed in very different places in our lives – 21 years later we are still friends.
MBJ gave the most brilliant performance I ever saw in Fruitvale, he should have WON THE OSCAR! And let’s not even get started on his work on the Wire, Friday Nights light or heck All My Children. He is brilliant actor one of the best working actors currently!
What he said about women wasn’t super PC, but it wasn’t inexcusably offensive. He also apologized and realized why it was offensive. Also 9 years age difference, you never dated someone 9 years older then you? Hardly worth codemning him for any of this.
Wow I just read his GQ interview and he is very dismissive about women. There is a definite and shocking undercurrent of misogyny. I’m glad he wasn’t nominated just for that. He hurls the word females around like they are nothing and like he has no respect for women. I’ve gone right off him now!
Forever salty about Michael not getting a nom
+1
Also salty about Idris Elba
This. Also adding Benecio Del Toro as well. I just watched Sicario on VOD and he was amazing in that film! Emily Blunt got robbed of a nomination too.
Emily Blunt was amazing in that movie. Guess the voters were racist against whites in this one. It would infuriate me if they start voting for POC simply because this Oscar so white nonsense.
Wow, way to miss the point completely me too.
@Me Too- Don’t try it. Talking about an individual being snubbed and the constant ignoring of PoC in great roles/films are two entirely different things.
So, try not to hurt yourself with that reach.
“So, try not to hurt yourself with that reach.”
LOL…..I’m so stealing that one.
I think there’s nothing that infuriates me more than people refusing to see their own privilege. To all the people saying the various POC performers and films aren’t Oscar worthy or mediocre are being willfully ignorant. Ton of the Best Pictures nominees were mediocre. Plenty of the performers were mediocre (off the top of my head Rachel McAdams, Tom Hardy, Mark Ruffalo). Why are actors of color not allowed to be awarded for mediocrity?
Twice as good to get half as much.
+1
couldn’t have said it better! Oscar nominations are just 50% repetition of people who were once great in a film and happen to be white, so they get to be nominated every year even with mediocre performances.
Part of the Oscars failing IMO is that they have become an award that is given for a collective body of work, and not always for a specific performance. How many times has one person gotten the award for a role that wasn’t their best, but they have done so many great things previously that it seems like they are “due”? This harms minority talents, because if they aren’t given equal opportunities over the course of their career, they don’t get that build up of being seen as long overdue for an award.
Her comment made me gnash my teeth. [ETA: the following is quoting Penelope Ann Miller in the excerpt above]. “straight outta compton lost some academy members who are older.” Right, let’s blame the age thing instead of the race thing! ‘white actors who deserved it were overlooked, too!” Right, but they weren’t ALL overlooked as a cohort, were they? “I voted for black actors so I am not racist.” This isn’t about you; it’s about the academy as a whole and it’s disingenuous to hold a position of power within this group but say it isn’t your fault when something bad happens. When you’re accused of belonging to a group that is prejudiced, it is the least helpful thing to do to say “but I’m not racist! That’s so hurtful to ME to say that” and refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of the issues raised. Take some form of responsibility. She could step down or make noise about the issue pushing for change, anything but handwave the issue as unimportant. The more heat the academy gets, the more motivated to change the higher-ups will be. I think the only thing they can do is attempt to rebuild the academy so it isn’t primarily older white male voters. How they’d go about this, I couldn’t tell you, but anything less will mean they will probably pander to POC next year and then forget about the issue. Sad.
They should cancel all subscriptions and begin anew, stop OScars for a year if they have to
Because privilege is internalised. I’ve fallen for white privilege quite a few times myself and I do try to check myself but it’s not easily done. And some people do not even recognise this as a thing.
WORD.
And it’s not only for the Oscars. It’s in every field of career. It’s rampant.
The problem is there’s only a few slots and a lot of people who are deserving. If minorities get few film roles, chances are high they won’t get those few nominations that are available. What needs to change is that more minorities need to get more roles. The higher the numbers the greater the likelihood of a nomination.
Also why the focus only on black actors? The Economist did a study looking at Oscar winners over the years and they found that black actors make up about 10% of wins while making up 13% of the population. So black actors are underrepresented based on their proportion of the population but not by that much. It’s actually Latinos and Asians who are heavily underrepresented at the Oscars but that seems to get overlooked by almost everyone.
Say it again. I don’t think the people defending #OscarsSoWhite heard you. They seem to be under the impression these performances and films weren’t nearly as good as their white counterparts.
Michael & Ryan Coogler were robbed. Again.
AGREED. I could cry in frustration because both movies deserved noms for Ryan and MBJ
I think it goes beyond the fact that POC aren’t nominated. Storytelling from minority cultures are considered ‘foreign films’, and not worthy of equal consideration. There is very little representation of minority points of view in hollywood, representation of the cultural intricacies (there are a few major themes – slavery, gang culture and Madea which would be like retelling Adam Sandler, Trailer Park boys and every war hero movie over again). There is very little access for the black, latino, and other North American minority talent to represent unique narratives through film and have them recognized in theatres and at award shows, which then leads to lack of nominations.
That’s a really great smile on him. If the Academy is feeling pressure then the noise is getting to them……GOOD! Chris Rock should host and basically shred the Academy with jokes. It’s causing an uproar and people are being forced to talk about it. Sorry to those who are bothered because I love this.
#SorryNotSorry 😀
I adore MBJ, but he wasn’t a lock for a nomination. He didn’t get nominated by a lot of the earlier awards like Golden Globes, etc.
I adore MBJ as well, I think he is a talent…but neither he nor Ryan Coogler or Creed as a movie were racking up nominations prior to the Oscars…I am not surprised they were not nominated. Not saying that Michael was not deserving because to me if Matt Damon got a nomination for The Martian, Michael certainly could have gotten one for Creed.
However, Idris Elba and Beasts of No Nation were racking up nods prior to the Oscars, to me that is the bigger snub.
Thats not a great point. Charlotte Rampling was ignored at the GG and all the other major awards, still got nominated for an oscar.
By the way the director of beast of no nation is asian american, cary fukunaga one of the most talented young directors working in america, certainly nobody could accuse his work of not having artistic merit. I suspect he isn’t nominated because the subject matters he tends to deal in, doesnt appeal to the academies over 60-white-male majority of voters.
RAmpling and Hardy were nominated nowhere lol.
Charlotte is an outlier and not the norm. The Oscar noms are usually fairly predictable. I think it is a valid point because people don’t usually get nominated for Oscars without a lot of other award support leading up to it. If you are critiquing the Oscars as an organization, and most other organizations award something and then they don’t, it says more about the Oscars specifically, the way in which they buck the trends. I tend to think along the lines of Viola Davis, where the nominations are a reflection of a lack of opportunities overall in the film industry.
I think Cary’s lack of a nomination has a lot to do with format. His film was on Netflix, and I think a lot of older Oscar voters have issues with accepting the legitimacy of new technology. I really think this is the Oscar’s loss, and they need to get with it or be deemed irrelevant.
The conversation about the lack of nominations has been revolving around a few nominations that weren’t given: MBJ, Ryan Coogler, Idris, Will Smith, and those working on Straight Out of Compton.
This is my reaction:
1. The real tragedy is that the list of those that should have been more strongly considered is so small! It reflects that there are an overall lack of films being made with minority talent, if the overlooked pool is so small.
2. Where are the other minority contenders? Not just from the black community, but Latinos, Asian, Pacific Islander? The fact that there aren’t any contenders in these groups to be “robbed” shows how very limited the film industry is in its casting choices.
3. Where are the women? As with point #2, I find it incredibly sad that there aren’t any minority women in acting or supporting roles that we can say were overlooked. I just don’t believe that there were no Latina, black or Asian women whose talents were worthy of recognition in 2015. I don’t think they are being given the opportunities that they (and we as audience members) deserve.
Is Hardy an outlier too? Is the argument that the white actors are outliers and the poc are not noms because of some unfortunate format issues etc (which apparently GG and other awards had no problems with?)
Cary Fukunaga has an excellent back catalogue, just like MBJ he delivers work of high quality consistently. He could easily have been nominated before. Certainly i think in years to come he will be considered a more important director then someone like Ben Affleck, who hasn’t got his artistic and technical flair.
Same thing could be said for MBJ who is just a sensitive and brilliant actor as Redmayne or take your pick of most of the popular actors today.
Whatsmore Oscars isn’t always about the performance at hand very often. This year Leo will probably win because everyone feels hes owed one. There are countless examples of that.
Agree on the wider diversity issue, its misleading to only talk about black people. Thats why i brought up someone like Cary.
I would say Hardy is as well, because he hasn’t been nominated frequently this award season. People WERE surprised with Hardy’s nomination for that very reason. Do you disagree that typically, the Oscar noms are predictable because there are usually a small handful of front runners that become clear as award season progresses?
Yes, the GG are more progressive in the formats they support. They had a majority in some categories of “untraditional formats” (shows from Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc.). But they also award TV, so that forces their hand a bit. The Oscars and its committee members have a relationship with theater distribution lobby groups, and I think that is why their support for untraditional formats hasn’t caught up as quickly.
But I am not saying that the poc nominations being withheld is solely because of their lack of front runner status or because of formats. IMO it is an institutional problem in the film industry where there is a lack of opportunity for poc. With MBJ specifically, I have been a huge fan of his since FNL and think he has such unique talents. However, with this specific award season, I am not surprised that he wasn’t nominated because of how the entire award season played out.
“This year Leo will probably win because everyone feels hes owed one.”
Yes, I so agree with this. As I wrote in another comment thread above, “Part of the Oscars failing IMO is that they have become an award that is given for a collective body of work, and not always for a specific performance. How many times has one person gotten the award for a role that wasn’t their best, but they have done so many great things previously that it seems like they are “due”? This harms minority talents, because if they aren’t given equal opportunities over the course of their career, they don’t get that build up of being seen as long overdue for an award.”
Thank you Tiffany for being eloquent with your explanation, you said what I was thinking but so much better.
mom2two, thank you so much for your kind words! I always feel inadequate when discussing such complex and important topics, as the words never seem to accurately convey my thoughts. Thanks for your support. 🙂
He definitely was not a lock for a nomination. However, the Golden Globes winners have little relevance to the Oscars winners. I believe the Baftas tend to be a good indicator though.
I do think the GG’s have relevance to the Oscar nominees. They have more slots to fill because they divide the categories into comedy and drama, so typically they nominate most of the actors that end up with Oscar nominations…plus additional nominations that are more unexpected.
I used GGs as an off hand reference, though. He hasn’t been consistently nominated by a majority of the big awards this season, so that’s why his lack of a nomination didn’t surprise me. I also didn’t see a big “for your consideration” push for his specific performance. I don’t think that reflects his talents, but it does reflect the mindset of the voters/critics in the film industry about this particular performance. Many times I don’t agree with their taste! 😉
Golden Globes are bought and paid for their blatant bribes of the 90 member foreign press association where they get wined and dined. They are meaningless.
jojo
And FIFA friends and lovers.
It’s a shame it’s getting lost in the convo that we also need to highlight asian, hispanic, native american, etc, etc. performers from many different backgrounds. Not saying you should nominate them that way, but give them a fair look.
This is the reason I don’t support the boycut – they only mention African American and not other etnicities like Asian, Latin, Native American, Aboriginals etc who are heard even less than black people.
But do you support those races you mention in their own efforts at getting representation of are you simply using them as a scapegoat for why you don’t support blacks?
Pop quiz. What ethnicity was recently given a block of shows on television in an outreach program trying to address one of the other minorities not given representation on TV?
I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for you to be able to answer that question Maya. Because I notice whenever people say “I don’t support this movement because they don’t mention other races” they have a funny habit of not actually listening to those other races when they DO fight for themselves and try to achieve something.
I don’t get this idea among other poc that black people are supposed to be the spokesperson for every single race even though anti black racism is still present in other poc communities and there is a lack of support from them and an eagerness to jump on black protests because we aren’t fighting for them. If other poc want their voices heard they should start with not trying to silence the black community just because we happen to be hypervisible which itself isn’t a privilege and get the ball rolling with their own protests. The focus should be unity for poc not withdrawing support entirely because black people don’t fight your battles for you.
Their efforts benefit everyone.
@Maya
You do realise that BONN was directed by an Asian American and people have been standing up for him as well as Benico del Toro ?? Why dont YOU bring to our attention some other Non-black POC whose great work was overlooked this year rather than going down that road ?
Anyhoo no surprises here your comments as a POC about Black people have always been consistent
@Miss Grace Jones: aren’t black people expecting other etnicities and even whites to fight for them?
So why should we not expect blacks to fight for us?
“aren’t black people expecting other etnicities and even whites to fight for them?”
@Maya
No we are not looking to other ethnicities or whites to fight for us. We don’t need White saviours. Black people have ALWAYS stood up and fought for ourselves. We fight even when we are tear-gased, our children are shot while in the safety of churches, our homes and families blown up, we are denied the right to live in specific communities and our men hanged. We go out and fight. And whatever rights we gain through the sweat and blood, every other minority group benefits from.
People like you who say you won’t stand up for discrimination against Black people because of 101 reasons will NEVER stand up for discrimination against us or any other group that is not yours. Donald Trump has spent years saying racist thing about President Obama, how many Latinos came out to protest him until he said something about THEIR community?
But many Black people were quick to jump all over him for his racism against Latinos. Miss me with with your excuses. We do not need people like you at all as allies. We will fight if it’s only 500 of us left.
That is true. In reality, those groups actually have worse showings in terms of nominations than black people! No Native American has won an Oscar. Among Asians, there are two wins in best supporting, no wins for actress and only 2 wins for best actor. Latinos don’t fair much better. So yes, there does need to be an effort to raise diversity in all areas – you can’t promote black people over everyone else. Luckily, I don’t see anybody doing that – most people are promoting full diversity. I feel bad for Latinos especially, since filmmakers have a bad habit of casting Spanish actors (who are white) to fill roles written for Latinos – like when they nominated Javier Barden for playing a Cuban man. Latinos are also the easiest group to whitewash – like giving Jennifer Connelly an Oscar for playing a woman from El Salvador.
Any progress minority groups make in these situations benefit ALL minority groups. I’m not black, but I’m another shade of brown, and any gains and efforts I see from one group in the end benefits all groups.
I’m so tired of this argument. Actors of other ethnicities discussed #oscarssowhite and the lack of diversity, maybe it’s YOU who don’t pay attention to them. Margaret Cho and Gina Rodriguez at the top of my head. Discrediting this new, powerful discussion on diversity with this excuse isn’t helping other minorities, trust me.
How many leading roles do you see in films that represent those cultural groups? I don’t see many and perhaps this is what actors should be discussing, but people like Jada are all about the African American issue, not about the wider issue, like why aren’t there lead roles for Hispanics, Asians, Italians, etc. Why are roles so white bread? This is the root of the problem, not what people are nominating for Oscar awards. So if there is a glut of films featuring white actors in lead roles in one year, then it is more likely that they will be getting the nominations that year. Not because people who nominate are card carrying racists, but because the sample size is huge. A film like Beasts of No Nation is not going to have the audience that other mainstream films have (with white lead actors). Also, the behind the scenes promotion of films as well. Perhaps Neflix should have gotten behind that film and Elba would have gotten a nomination, but who knows? I don’t think Elba is as good an actor as Forest Whitaker, who won the Best Actor Oscar for The Last King of Scotland in 2006 If Hollywood was so racist, then why did he win the Oscar that year hmmm?
Incidentally, the Last King of Scotland was a limited release, but it received huge critical acclaim before Netflix was a thought, so this supports the theory that yes, perhaps the selection of actors this were not that great, Elba included.
Dumb and nonsensical. Say, is the movement called OscarsNotBlack or OscarsSoWhite? Because one excludes other people of color and the other does not. Idiots.
This guy is a great actor. I have come to realize that the academy does not nominate great performances. Kate Winslet’s nomination this year just proves it. The best thing that could happen would be for the current members to be out. Period.
The Oscars are rigged beyond belief and many of the people voting for them actually haven’t seen the movies in question. This is why you have to campaign for an Oscar as opposed to letting the work speak for itself. So I’m torn between not caring at all because it’s a bunch of old, out of touch white guys voting for whoever and whatever they fancy based on completely arbitrary criteria, and recognizing that while the Oscars themselves don’t matter, it is a reflection of the discrimination still active in America.
That’s my major beef as well. Recent articles citing Academy members admitting, if not bragging, about the fact that didn’t bother watching a majority of the films is why I’m pissed off, especially since they get many opportunities and they see them for fcuking free.
Last night, I looked at wiki to see the list of Best Picture winners. The list comprised of all of the Best Pictures nominees, with the winning film highlighted. It was amazing to me the variety of genres represented- musicals, westerns, comedies, adventure. And yes, back then, the studio heads were the ones who chose the nominated films which screamed SELF-INTEREST, but the list was pretty impressive.
No, I’m not suggesting that studio heads take that responsibility over again, but some things have to change, in order to up the quality of nominees. How about reviewing and voting for possible contenders quarterly instead of waiting until ‘awards season’.
I am personally not a fan of the man but I still cannot believe people saw Creed and decided that Yeah Sly needs to be nominated or WB saw his performance and decided they needed to push Johny Depp for Oscars.
Creed is released in France 2/3 week ago and there were the minimum of promotion ( just Stalone’s some interviews) .
All the articles about the movies of the months are about Steve Jobs and The Revenant
My guess is that WB never believed in Creed’s success
WB has been horrible this year. They did not understand what their Oscar movies were. They did not back Creed or Mad Max properly.
I think a boycott is the wrong idea, they should do the exact opposite: Every actor, actress, writer, director, producer, etc of colour should attend to show the Oscars how many talented poc there really is!
Nice idea, but they weren’t invited.
Oh, they are offended?!
Nothing like talking about lack of diversity to get already privileged white people to make it all about themselves.
Omg this plus 1000! The gall of that sort of defensive, narcissistic reaction.
Last night I couldn’t sleep so I was flipping around and found “White Nights” from 1985. In case anyone doesn’t know it, it stars the amazingly beautiful and talented Gregory Hines (RIP) and the the awesomeness 11 pirouetting Mikhail Baryshnikov. It’s a great film, with both of them giving excellent performances and stunning dance sequences. Two actors and dancers who are very different made a great film in 1985 together. No muss, no fuss. Fast forward to 2016, and we have actors of all colors going to work together and giving us great movies. What I’m saying is, it’s not the players on the stage. It’s the old system that is concerned with one thing-money, money, money. Oh, and” throw in Scarlet, or Jlaw if a broad gotta be in the film. If they need a slave or a criminal or an athlete, call Jamie or maybe that new kid, Michael. He is nice looking.audiences won’t mind him.” UGH!!!!!! This is their mindset, though. I know it’s more complex than that little scenario, but it’s close. I guess what I’m trying to say is, when I go to work , I know my colleagues/friends are getting the same money and assignments as I do. And we are good together. Why can’t Hollywood grasp that concept, and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!! They want to be thought of as some liberal, artistic, free community, but they are so far from that it’s scary. Time to clean house.
Man that is a great smile.
As to the topic of this post: GOOD.
I think what a lot of people who many not be POC don’t recognize about racial justice and change is we didn’t get to where we are NOW as a country by everyone coming together, singing songs, and saying, “Let’s give minorites equal respect as whites!”
It happened while the US was kicking and screaming, fighting it. Armed guards had to escort black students into schools and as a result the South is still salty about government. No, really, when you hear folks argue about state rights it’s because from the time of slavery to the time of desegregation many states did NOT want to change and fought against it till the federal government had to step in and physically FORCE them.
So this little tizzy currently happening in the academy doesn’t shock me at all. It HAS to get ugly, they HAVE to feel the heat of their decisions and actually commit to their jobs for once.
*standing O and cosign*
Well said.
Yep yep. It’s like these voters are once again making it about themselves yet again.
Eternal Side Eye woke up this morning and decided to deliver a WORD!!
Like I said up top, I love the irritability this is giving those in power. Please stay pressed.
I was listening to a podcast from This American Life from August regarding modern day school segregation. It focused on the district of Normandy in St. Louis, and illustrated how the school was unaccredited for 15 years (!!!), meanwhile during that time majority black students were being given a second class education, but it was just allowed to continue. When the school was finally determined to be so horrible that it was failing in its purpose, the students were allowed to be bused 30 miles away to go to a school that was accredited. They had a recording of the parent meeting at the new school, and goodness it broke my heart. The parents at the majority white school were screaming about how the Normandy school failed not because of the administrators, teachers, or facilities, but because of the (black) students and how they didn’t want “those people” coming in and ruining their school system. This took place in recent years, but it really sounded like it could have been a recording from decades ago. It broken my heart.
Heart-breaking is the word for it. I’m embarrassed to admit that prior to listening that episode of TAL, I had no idea how dire the segregation issue was in public schools.
I won’t name names but someone who recently commented here about how PoC don’t pursue STEM should listen to that episode and maybe she’d realize that it’s not a question of choice for a lot of these kids. They simply do not have access to a quality education. These children cannot be blamed for being herded like cattle into an awful school system and it’s f*cking appalling when you see how the system is essentially rigged for these kids to fail.
Also, that meeting that you referred to made me so ashamed to be of the same race as those parents. I just could NOT handle it.
Sad but true.
In stories like that I always think about the horrors of a generation. If one generation faces abuse, ignorance, racism, and poor education what positive qualities do they have to pass onto the next generation? We have families that have had the proverbial inherited limp because one generation was cheated and given less simply because they were not white and as a result they had nothing but that ignorance and hopelessness to pass onto their kids.
It happens in so many nations and it’s shocking how you can literally see the remains of the scars of this mistreatment in parts of the world to this day. Australia’s lost generation always breaks my heart. People saying all they’ve learned from their families is there is no justice for them.
Kitten, it was so hard to listen to the recording of that meeting. Thinking of the teen who was so excited to get a chance to go to a good school so she could LEARN, only to hear those harsh words and assumptions, it is unjust. The imbalance of our educational system is so shameful, and it has such an impact on our young people. I can’t believe the reporter that followed the advanced student through a day at school, who had teachers just not show up to class. Who was given elementary worksheets in his “AP” class that was “taught” by a teacher who wasn’t credited to teach AP classes. How does this happen?
Eternal Side Eye, you are so correct that these abuses have such profound and long lasting impacts. They affect not only the people who are the direct recipients of inequality, but future generations.
Some of us want to kick and scream with you.
Damn, give me MBJ any day!
I freely admit that I am not much of a movie goer these days…I’ll blame it on having a young child and not getting out much and completely ignore the fact that I’m a homebody.
I only say this as my reasoning for not knowing much about the movies/actors that(who) were nominated vs the ones which were deserving and not nominated. Would any of my CB friends mind educating me?
The legitimate snub in my opinion was Idris Elba for Beast of No Nation. Many people believe Michael B. Jordan should have been nominated for his role in Creed. Also, many people believed Straight Outta Compton should have received a nom for Best Picture. It did receive a nom for Original Screenplay but apparently the writers are white?
That thinking, while reasonable, only works on the basis if you thought the academy was actually voting from a completely artistic(not political, not cynical, not ignorant, not uninformed, not petty) place. They aren’t. They are a block of voters who’re mainly white, male, and over 55. Many admit anonymously they haven’t even screen half of the movies, they just vote for which ones they “know”-sorta like how people vote in elections, not in an informed manner. I think the sheer fact the voting block is so overwhelmingly homogenous, and from a certain demographic, is why they don’t branch out more and give other movies about different people and places and ideas more consideration. It also explains why the only “black” movies they seem to pay attention to are the ones that make them feel less uncomfortable, ala “The Help” where basically it’s an easy pill to swallow message about race.
Instead of addressing the issue, it is always- well *I’m* not racist, and how dare you imply that, it is so offensive to me, Poor Me!!
Same as those shitty “men’s rights” activists.
The message is- I didn’t rape her- so fuck all of you. You should have more respect for ME.
Old white men are holding on so tight, they don’t want to share power and glory that have been exclusively theirs for some time.
It seems like a perfect storm for DeCaprio and that dreadful movie to win awards.
White men grunting.
Could anything be less interesting?
Like many of you, I’m appalled.
Yes, there is nuance, and there are details and everyone is different.
But this is bullshit.
#OscarsSoWhite – why bother to watch?
signed, middle aged white woman
Nice how many Oscar voters hear the criticism and their reaction is ” I’m going to make this about me.” Jesus.
How did stallone get a nom and not MBJ? MBJ is clearly the more talented actor.
Being white does wonders for one’s “merit”
He’s the nostalgia nomination of the year. There’s always one and this year he was the most worthy contender. Hopefully Rylance wins the Oscar. Idris should have been in there too, but honestly Bale rather than Stallone should have been the one to make up the space. I don’t even know how he got nominated this year. I’d put Benecio in over Ruffalo too, but that one doesn’t bother me quite so much.
Why Cranston and Fassbender are nominated over MBJ is the big question. I can only imagine the voters stopped paying attention 2-3 months ago when there was still hype for their films. WB did an awful job of promoting Creed, which didn’t help. It’s like they didn’t realise it could be an Oscar contender until it had already picked up quite a few awards.
There wouldn’t even have been a movie if not for Stallone. He created Rocky 40 years ago and obviously that character is part of film history. The movie wouldn’t have gotten any attention if not for the Rocky connection.
Well Michael Caine said something about the OscarsoWhite thing and that is you can’t vote for an actor just because he is black. I don’t agree with the boycott because its insulting to the nominees and people Jada, Will, Spike Lee are basically saying they don’t deserve to be nominated because they are white. So its racist towards whites.
You know, black people are capable of being racist too.
Can you imagine if a white person threatened to boycott an award ceremony saying they don’t wish to attend since there are no white contenders? You can’t have it both ways.
Thanks for the chuckle.
But can you actually imagine a major award show with no white contenders?
Now if THAT happened, I might actually watch the Oscars for once.
It would be cool if instead of boycotting, everyone who is fighting for more diversity did something symbolic to stand together. Like they all wear the same color, or an armband. That would be more powerful, because it would get broadcast into american houses and be talked about on the red carpet. Who are you wearing? i’m wearing my armband in solidarity for diversity. BOOM.
Well I was thinking all the people who want to support but had too much money put into campaigns behind them to back out should.
You know, if they care and are not too busy thinking PoC don’t deserve consideration year after year because white people are just better actors…
I don’t think he gave a better performance than all the other five nominated actors.
I think that’s highly debatable. My love for Bryan Cranston is clouding my judgement, but I’m not sure his performance was better than M.B. Jordan’s or Idris Elba’s performance. I’m also not a fan of Fassbender as Steve Jobs. I haven’t seen The Danish girl, but I understand it underwhelms.
I expected Creed to be nominated somewhere, because Ryan Coogler wrung an Oscar (winning probably) worthy performance out of Stallone. I didn’t expect him in the director category, which had a wealth of choices this year, but I did expect him in original script. I think it was a very strong year, but they still managed to pick some really mediocre nominees and those spots could have gone to more worthy nominees. Really, Kate Winslet? Her nomination alone proves this is not done on merit.
I think his performance was equal to Cranston’s, Fassbender’s and Redmayne’s. He should have had an edge then since his was the better and much more successful film.
He didn’t deserve a win, not this year (Leo really is fantastic in The Revenant and Damon pretty much ticked all the same boxes as MBJ in his performance, plus had to carry a whole film), but he should have got a nomination.
I posted this in the Charlotte Rampling thread, but I will post this here again, because somehow the cause for diversity is getting lost in divisions:
Instead of having a united front in which we should all be demanding the representation of all minorities every year (and in this year’s case the blatant racism towards black actors), we are all fighting each other.
This site which is usually a very reasonable place in which people can actually respectfully debate, has been full of hatred in the last couple of days because a lot of us have been behaving super intolerant, making fun of others opinions, making sarcastic comments, etc. Check the angry arguments and they have become white vs black, black vs other minorities, white and black vs minorities, white and minorities vs black, black and minorites vs. white, etc.
In a way I feel this is keeping the coversation in a shallow level “this or that was snubbed”, and by keeping it there, it won’t let us go to the real problem which is within the mentality of the society and the privilege and status quo of certain groups of power.
What crisis? The one where a large group of white people feel scandalized because they heard some PoC might think they’re racist?
I’m sure they were terribly affected by that. It totally shows.
Something about the phrase “people of color” irks me. I think because it reminds me of the phrase “colored people,” which is used by the same people who talk about “orientals.” Can’t we just say nonwhite? Or non-caucasian? As in, we need more people who aren’t caucasian. Whats wrong with that? Just my 2 cents. I’m white. ..er, uncolored.
I kind of agree with you, to be honest. I’m white as well, so it’s obviously not for me to dictate how non-white persons would choose to refer to themselves, but something about it is…bothersome. It makes it sound as though all non-white people are a monolith.
I don’t like the abiguity of the word. It’s not even clear who are poc or not, because it would depend to each appreciation of the other’s skin colour. I’m a light brown skin Mexican and it’s tricky for us because in no way I’m white but I’m not black either. I would define myself as poc, but according to some people I’m not.
You’d be a potentially white-passing PoC then (‘potentially’ because I can’t physically see what you look like).
And frankly, @ Holmes @ Saks, above, I feel the same way about the term “white” and it’s connotations. Technically there is no “white” people and they’re not monolithic either but seeing as they’ve been self-definined as ‘uncoloured’ as you put it, and everyone else is frequently considered interchangeably ‘Other’, hence the term People Of Colour in juxtaposition. Tbh, I like it.
@ Leah
I’ve definitely been side-eyeing the lack of Cary consideration in all the awards this year, particularly after his Emmy win. Same snub as Idris and Attah, tbh. Or are they waiting for his work to have an all white cast to be relevant because that was my takeaway from the Oscar noms this year.
The fact that someone like Penelope Ann Miller is eligible to vote is the problem. Lousy actress who overwhelmingly acted in crappy films, and only two good ones in her entire career. What about her resume suggests she knows quality when she sees it?
Sorry but creed, while a good watch, was not an Oscar movie. Sly was nominated for past performance, if creed was his first big film he would not have been nominated. Straight outta Compton also has no business being nominated and I am a huge fan of nwa and their members.
The only omission that really support s the Oscars being racist is idris elba.
So should we say that more whites should be put in the nba all star game and start #NBAtoodark? Or should we just accept that nba is majority black and understand that because of that there will be less whites in the all star game?
What happened to the America where “you dont like it? Well life sucks. You wanna change it? Go work hard and stop crying” that said the worst part of the crying is most of it is coming from and perpetrated by well off whites.