When the Academy announced this year’s Oscar nominees, it wasn’t long before critics noted that every nominee in the acting categories was white, only the second time in 20 years. As a result, #OscarsSoWhite began to trend on Twitter, with users uploading both snarky and biting bits on the fact that people of color had, once again, been shut out from key nominations. Most took aim at the Academy over “Selma,” a movie about the Civil Rights movement. How could it be nominated for “Best Picture,” they asked, while its lead actor (David Oyelowoit) and much lauded director (Ava DuVernay) were all but forgotten on the Academy floor?
#OscarsSoWhite We should just call them the “Beckys”. pic.twitter.com/LHTTQRmSQi
— sianpierre (@sianpierre) January 15, 2015
#OscarsSoWhite Their dad wants them to consider law school but they really want to focus on their music right now. — Matt Passet (@MPasset) January 15, 2015
#OscarsSoWhite they let a grand jury decide the nominations
— Kwintin Jiffirsin (@Kwenten75) January 15, 2015
#OscarsSoWhite T.I is gonna defend them. — based kortney ✊ (@fakerapper) January 15, 2015
#OscarsSoWhite it gets off with a warning
— reallynow (@raread) January 15, 2015
#OscarsSoWhite we’ll see a lot of “Je Suis Charlie” buttons on the red carpet, but no #BlackLivesMatter — April (@ReignOfApril) January 15, 2015
The hashtag, which has now been tweeted over 24 MILLION times, started with a tweet sent by attorney/blogger April Reign of ReignOfApril.com
I reached out to April via email, and she peeled back the layers of how and why the Academy, made up of nearly 6,000 voters, came to its decisions. “It’s not the first time that there has been a dearth of diversity in the nominations for the Oscars or other awards, but the awareness of issues regarding the disparate treatment of people of color is more in the forefront right now,” Reign told me via email.
“This would include the killing of Mike Brown and the resulting protests beginning in Ferguson and now nationwide, the stark difference in mainstream media coverage of the atrocities perpetrated by Boko Haram in Nigeria as opposed to the senseless death of the Charlie Hebdo journalists in Paris, and so on.”
But as #OscarsSoWhite picks up more steam across social platforms, are you concerned that the hashtag will make light of the issue its meant to address?
“The hashtag brings awareness to the lack of diversity in film and makes both the viewing public and, importantly, studio executives and Oscar voters, take note of the fact that, in 2015, this should not even be a discussion. Hollywood must tell the stories of everyone, not just of those who look like the people in the boardrooms greenlighting films.”
Lack of diversity in nominations have unfortunately become the norm. Are we beating a dead horse by rallying against an “all white” Oscars? Should we adopt Spike Lee‘s idea and say, “You know what? F*ck ’em.”
For the sake of playing devil’s advocate, what about the critics saying the films featuring/directed by people of color this year aren’t strong enough to be Oscar contenders?
“I put no stock in the argument that movies featuring people of color aren’t “good enough” when compared to majority “white” films. None at all. Films that explore the experiences of people of color are often rich in depth and nuance and history that one might not otherwise see, if for no other reason that less of our stories have been told.”
The underlining issue many have taken with the Academy’s snub is far deeper than ‘Selma’ being snubbed, or Chris Rock’s “Top Five”, being completely shut out.
“If we’re talking about making the Academy more inclusive and changing those stark figures about how the Academy is mainly older white males, that literally cannot happen if more people of color are not nominated. For many actors and actresses, being nominated for an Oscar and/or winning provides opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise. It may be easier to secure their next role. Receiving an Oscar nomination is one of the three ways that one can become an Academy member and vote on future nominees.”
Consider last year’s “12 Years A Slave” Oscar win, if Lupita Nyong’o, then an unrecognizable actress, had not been nominated as Best Supporting Actress for her role as Patsy, I’m doubtful she would have been tapped to bring the story of a young African chess prodigy to life in Mira Nair’s Queen Of Katwe, or produce and star in the film adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel, Americanah. “I hope the Academy President, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, a woman of color, makes significant strides to ensure that Oscar voters are more diverse and representative,” Reign told me.
Because if strides aren’t made to diversify the Academy Awards, where does that leave the future of film for black and minority artists?
