On Feb. 28, Hollywood's best actors and actresses will all come together to celebrate the best films of 2015 and celebrate each other. Yes, we are getting closer and closer to Oscar night. This year's award show will be the 88th Oscars and it will be hosted by Chris Rock. Now this year will be no different than previous Oscars. Someone will go home a sore loser, D-list celebrities will try to rub elbows with Hollywood's finest and someone is bound to be offended. This year's nominations were announced on Jan. 14 by John Krasinski, Guillermo del Toro, Ang Lee and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs.
Now this year, many people including I have some major issues with the nominations. Don’t get me wrong, I'm glad Leo DiCaprio is nominated for his performance in "The Revenant". Perhaps this is the year that Leo gets to kiss that pretty gold statue. However, my biggest issue is the lack of diversity in the categories. In all of the categories for acting, every single nominee is white. Every single person. It only gets worse.
In the directing category, there are no women nominated. None. This is the second year the Academy has had a lack of diversity in the Oscar nominations. This year contenders like Will Smith for “Concussion”, Idris Elba for “Beast of No Nation”, Michael B. Jordan for “Creed” and Jason Mitchell for “Straight Outta Compton” were all skipped over. “Creed” and “Straight Outta Compton” were not given a Best Picture nominations. The Academy’s lack of diversity has once again ignited anger on social media with the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite trending on Twitter.
Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs even told Dateline, "Of course I am disappointed but this is not to take away the greatness (of the films nominated)." So who exactly votes for the Oscars? Well, it's no surprise that a majority of the voters are men. In a 2012 survey done by the "Los Angeles Times," it was discovered that nearly 94 percent of the voters were Caucasian and nearly 77 percent were male. This is a problem. A major problem. The Academy needs to get to working on that diversity really fast. Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith have already declared that they are going to boycott the show this year due to the lack of diversity. Hopefully next year the nominees will be a diverse bunch of actors and actresses but until then, it's going to be a white Oscar season this year.
Best Actor
Bryan Cranston, "Trumbo"
Matt Damon, "The Martian"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Revenant"
Michael Fassbender, "Steve Jobs"
Eddie Redmayne, "The Danish Girl"
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, "Carol"
Brie Larson, "Room"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Joy"
Charlotte Rampling, "45 Years"
Saoirse Ronan, "Brooklyn"
Best Picture
"The Big Short"
"Bridge of Spies"
"Brooklyn"
"Mad Max: Fury Road"
"The Martian"
"The Revenant"
"Room"
"Spotlight"
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Jennifer Jason Leigh, "The Hateful Eight"
Rooney Mara, "Carol"
Rachel McAdams, "Spotlight"
Alicia Vikander, "The Danish Girl"
Kate Winslet, "Steve Jobs"
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale, "The Big Short"
Tom Hardy, "The Revenant"
Mark Ruffalo, "Spotlight"
Mark Rylance, "Bridge of Spies"
Sylvester Stallone, "Creed"
Best Director
Adam McKay, "The Big Short"
George Miller, "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Alejandro G. Inarritu, "The Revenant"
Lenny Abrahamson, "Room"
Tom McCarthy, "Spotlight"
To see more nominations and learn more about the Oscars, click here. What are your thoughts on the lack of diversity in Hollywood and in the Oscar nominations? Give your opinion in the comments below.
