Racism or Acting?

            The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has recently been called out by numerous actors, celebrities, and citizens as being racist for not nominating any white actors in any of the four acting categories for a second year in a row. Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, have made it clear that they will not be attending this year’s Academy Awards because of the discrimination towards minorities in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Viola Davis, a black actress who has been nominated for two Oscars in the last 7 years, stated that the focus should be on acting as a craft and that there will always be opportunity for those who are talented. There have been many more mixed opinions on this issue over the last couple of weeks from people in Hollywood of several ethnicities.

            Personally, I do not think that the Oscars are racist because only white actors and actresses were nominated in the last two years. Again, the focus should be on acting, not on the color of one’s skin. ‘12 Years A Slave’ was nominated for 9 awards just two years ago and won three of those, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Lupita Nyong’o, a young, black actress. Last year, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, a Mexican filmmaker, won Best Director for Birdman, and he is nominated for it again this year for The Revenant (with a likely chance of winning). I could continue listing more names of similar situations, but I feel that people of color are in no way excluded from the Academy Awards.

            However, it is important to note that members of the Academy are historically and predominantly white. Although I do not think that the nominations mean that the Oscars are racist, there may be a need to create more roles for actors of color. The Academy should also work on diversifying their membership, which the president of the Academy, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, has made known to the public. These are important strides for the Academy to make in order to create a more level playing field.

            This issue could be analyzed further, but to specify, I suppose I should say that I do not think the Oscars intentionally try to exclude any minority or ethnicity, as people of minorities have created some of the best and most creative movies. 

Written by: Chris Abele