The time of the year that is everyone’s favorite time to argue, where traditional thoughts are tested: the Oscars.
With film, this is the best documentation of society— especially the American one.
Over the years, this ceremony has become the most prestigious in the movie-making industry. Across the nearly nine decades of the Oscars, just like every other system birthed in the United States, women and minorities have not only been underrepresented, but also misrepresented.
The 2016 Academy Awards had no minorities nominated for any of the most popular awards besides Mexican director Alejandro G. Iñárritu for best director with “The Revenant.” From the smaller categories, “Straight Outta Compton” was nominated for best screenplay.
There are several reasons why the Oscars seem so exclusive to white people.
Imagine being a minority in the year that the Oscars started: 1929. The social construct in 1929 was more rigid and exclusive. The opportunity to excel in society was pigeon-holed away from people of color. Minorities’ ways of life were to merely survive.
Whether it was to get jobs, homes, excel in society or even walk on the same street as a white man, creating films about what they knew life to be, let alone have it be considered for an award, seemed to not be an option. That, along with the way the Oscar voters are composed, made it almost impossible to be seen.
Most Oscar voters, even now, are old, white men. This particular demographic has a history of being racist. However, there’s also a psychological aspect.
When we consume art, we are more susceptible to appreciate and be attracted to things that represent us and diminish things we think are vile.
It doesn’t always boil down to race, however. Since there are more white people in the film industry than black, the white people are set to produce more movies. However, this doesn’t explain why the opportunities are supplemented to one group.
In 88 years, black people have been nominated a total of 134 times across all categories, not including this year. About 95% of Oscar nominations went to white professionals in the film industry in the 20 century.
Of those nominations, black people have won only 32 times, and 18 have been movies or roles that portray stereotypical black archetypes or black biopics like Ray, Glory, Gone With the Wind and 12 Years a Slave.
After the 2016 Academy Awards, probably the most anti-inclusive award ceremony in a “post racial America,” this year’s list of nominees seems to be the complete opposite, with people of color being nominated in some of the most prestigious categories.
Is this more of an opportunity to do some damage control? Or is it a sincere change of heart for how the viewing and perception of black films are taken?
Even in the face of skepticism, the craftsmanship from black people in the film industry has made a notable step. With all of the films, actors and people behind the scenes, Viola Davis and Denzel Washington for Fences, Barry Jenkins who directed Moonlight, or Kimberly Steward who produced Manchester by the Sea, all contributed to the progression of representation.
The quality of black direction, cinematography, acting, producing, writing and music has certainly risen this year.
The journey for representation among the elites and powers was taken with great stride. The next step is for the nominations to turn into meaningful wins that will continue to help the goal be reached and create more opportunities for other oppressed groups.
Opinion columnist Dana Jones is a print journalism junior and can be reached at [email protected]
12 Years a Slave was an award given on the come. Some voters admitted to never even watchiing the movie, yet they voted for it.
I’m not saying that Blacks actors do not deserve the award, but if they act like they run Democrat run cities, then winning only 5% of the Oscars may be normal for garnering the most coveted award.
Now I loved, Hidden Figures … I walked out of the theatre proud of what those women, who happened to be Black, did for the Space Program and for the Country. I happened to watch the movie in Conroe with some friends, in a room full of white people. And at the end of the movie something happened that raised the hair on my arms. That room full of white folk, stood up and clapped. They clapped for these very intelligent Black Women, who despite the attitudes at the time in Virginia, they were able to put all that behind them and do something that their White counterparts found hard to do.
I applauded NASA’s willingness to remove barriers for Blacks that made their work life’s on the Federal campus easier, and allowed NASA to get the computing women job’s done in making the right computations for the early space missions.
Disney did an excellent job in leaving out overt racism, and it wouldn’t have added to the story anyway.
Hacksaw Ridge I saw also, but I hope that the Academy chooses Hidden Figures.