Ever since the nominations for the 88th annual Academy Awards were released, there have been many complaints about the lack of minority nominations, mainly African American. While this has been a complaint for many recent years, this year the outrage has hit its peak.
Numerous actors are saying they will be boycotting the awards. Jada Pinkett Smith and Director Spike Lee were among the first people to express their outrage and refuse to attend the show. It wasn’t long before Snoop Dogg, Michael Moore and Will Smith joined them. Others stars of all ethnicities have said that they are/did consider it, but these are the only entertainers who have committed to boycotting.
On top of these actors complaining about the nominations, many took to Twitter to voice this complaint. Using the hashtag “oscarsowhite,” thousands of people have voiced their complaint against the lack of minority nominations.
Also, many are criticizing Chris Rock, who is set to host. Many are saying that he should quit as host, in response to the lack of minority nominations. Others are saying that Rock should use the hosting job as a way to make a statement. The show is live, after all, so anything he says will be heard by the millions of people watching.
There’s no doubt that the Academy did ignore the many movies written/directed by minorities many minority actors. “Straight Outta Compton” was directed by the black F. Gary Gray and featuring a large cast consisting of mostly young, black unknown actors, but received only a nomination for Best Original Screenplay, which was written by two caucasian men. “Creed” was written and directed by Ryan Coogler and starred a Michael B. Jordan, both black man, but the only nominee was the white Sylvester Stallone, who played a minor role in the film. These are just a few examples of the racism in the Oscar nominations this year.
But why is everyone so surprised?
This is how the Academy Awards has been since the beginning. The first time a African-American was nominated (and won) for an Academy Award was in 1939, over 10 years after the Oscars began. It wouldn’t be until 10 years later that another person of color would be nominated. It was not until the 1980s that African-American nominations began being more common. The discrimination in the Oscar nominations (and wins) has always been clear. So why is everyone acting so surprised that there is something unusual?
There are many ways that the Academy can change their racist tendencies. One is to change the people voting for the Academy. Currently, the Oscar nomination voters are largely favored to one demographic. Out of the 6,028 voters, 94 percent of them are white, 76 percent are men, and have an average age of 63. This causes a large slanting in what movies and which performers get nominated for the Academy Awards. If the Academy includes more minorities, then more minorities are likely to get nominated.