Sunday night’s 88th Academy Awards was definitely a night to remember as the incredibly successful “Mad Max: Fury Road” won many of the awards in the technical categories. A win for Latinos and especially Mexican-Americans came when the incredibly versatile and talented director, Alejandro González Iñárritu, once again, won the Academy Award for his directing work in “The Revenant” as well as his collaborator; Mexican cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. Leonardo Dicaprio’s win for the same film after five nominations over the years was probably one of the greatest highlights of the night. However, Chris Rock’s stint as host of the event could’ve been its own show in and of itself. He brought up every point about the lack of diversity and issues within the academy and the industry in general and it was great to witness.
Chris Rock’s opening monologue was quick to cut to the chase and address the overwhelming issue that had been discussed for some time but with more scrutiny when the Oscar nominations were announced in early January. Calling the show the “White People’s Choice Awards” he immediately called out the lack of diversity in the nominations and how detrimental that is for minority communities. Rock was also quick to discuss the controversy surrounding his gig as host. With humor, he called out both sides of the conversation, the industry’s lack of opportunity for black actors but also the more relevant issues at hand for the black community. In light of many prominent black artists boycotting the Oscars, like Will Smith and Spike Lee, Rock questioned why the issue of diversity has stirred more emotion now than ever before, bringing up a very valid point. He questioned why actors were boycotting the awards show now and not, say, in the 1950s and 60s when the lack of opportunity was surely just as prevalent saying; “Black people did not protest. Why? Because we had real things to protest at the time.” In the midst of the civil rights movement when the black community was being subjected to rape and murder in such horrendous ways, something like an award show snub seemed petty.
Although, Rock did not go without saying that opportunity in the industry is absolutely necessary. For an industry that is supposed to be representative of real life, it is far too exclusive of a place. “We want black actors to get the same opportunities as white actors.” It is essential for all groups of people to see themselves represented; it is one step on the path to real equality. Rock continued to the address the issues of racism and lack of access and opportunity within the entertainment world throughout the show. An incredibly hilarious segment of the show was when he presented the Best Picture nominees with parts for black actors. Rock demonstrated the absurdity it is that black actors today have to face so much difficulty in order to get meaningful and complex roles. The first bit shows actress Whoopi Goldberg as a background character in the film “Joy” and she points out the unfairness of a women getting a movie for inventing a mop while “a black girl would have to invent the cure to cancer before they even give her a TV movie.” Rock’s best moment though was when he addressed the dire issues with police brutality saying, “This year in the In Memoriam package, it’s just gonna be black people that were shot by the cops on their way to the movies.” Rock used his platform not only to showcase his ability as a comedian but also to talk about the things that matter and that need to be addressed with more severity in order to make the world a safer and better place.
