The Oscars itself are an extremely coveted and world-renowned event; they take place every year and celebrate the best of the best of every facet within the film industry. Although today, this award ceremony is regarded with the utmost respect and high esteem, it originated from very humble beginnings.
The first ever ceremony took place at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California on January 11, 1927. Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM was looking to create an organization that would not only improve the film industry’s image but also act in a way to appease labor disputes. In his efforts, he made a point to meet with several influential members of MGM studios and suggested the idea of having an exclusive club that would host an annual banquet. This banquet would be open to those involved in all facets of the industry including: actors, directors, writers, technicians and producers selected by an official group of professionals, later known as The Academy. The Academy would then decide who was the best in each of the established categories and thus, the Oscars were born.
Today more than ever, it’s commonplace to see people that are incredibly invested with celebrities. This is part in parcel to the fact that we live in a world where social media has completely taken over and we are exposed to celebrities while they go about their lives. We are able to follow their interests and truly see how they are as people. This idea is both good and bad; on one end we feel as if we are actually friends with them and, on the other hand, we are that much more invested in their success, which in turn makes these award ceremonies that much more successful.
This year, the 88th annual Oscars ceremony will be held on February 28th, 2016 at the Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood and Highland Center. The ceremony will be hosted by Chris Rock and aired live through ABC. Although there is a lot of excitement that is anticipated to go into this esteemed event, it seems as if this year controversy is casting a shadow over it all. There is much dispute over the lack of diversity among the nominees, which is clear to see since there are only white nominees for all of the categories.
It has been brought to light that the problem doesn’t lie with the number of minorities eligible to be nominated, but that there are just major issues with the system as a whole. No one really knows who The Academy actually consists of and there aren’t many opportunities for minorities to be cast in big time movies, and when they are it’s very far and few in between. So even though there really is a lack of diversity for the past two Oscars, a huge component has to do with the industry and what types of movies are being produced and who is being cast within these roles.
After the list of nominees was released, Jada Pinkett Smith, a notable actress and wife of Will Smith, was especially outraged. She expressed that she was frustrated with the fact that this is the second consecutive year where there were twenty white nominees for best actor even though there was a number of African American actors hopeful for nominations. These individuals included Idris Elba, who starred in “Beasts of No Nation’s”, Michael B. Jordan in “Creed” as well as the cast of “Straight Outta Compton.” Pinkett-Smith has made it known that she and her husband will not be attending the awards ceremony or even watch it on television. Several other prominent actors such as Viola Davis, Whoopi Goldberg, Spike Lee and Steve Harvey have spoken out on the events taking place. Davis herself made a point to state that the problem isn’t with the Oscars alone but with the system’s entirety. She then goes on to explain that this is, in fact, the second year in a row that minorities have not been nominated for an award, but then goes on to toy with the idea that this is because there is not much of an array of choice for the member’s of The Academy to choose from, which is an incredibly crucial and interesting point. Even though there are movies that are released with minorities within them, it doesn’t even come close or compare to the amount of movies that have white individuals in them. If people want change, it’s going to have to happen from the immediate source.
Amidst all of the controversy, Chris Rock, a prominent African-American comedian is holding his ground and still plans to host the event. The African-American Hollywood community seems to be split in half on the matter. People like Steve Harvey support him standing his ground while others aren’t so keen on the matter. Academy President, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, a black woman has expressed her disappointment with the Oscar nominations but doesn’t want that to cloud the success that film has had as a whole this past year.
Unfortunately, the nominations are already in and not much can be done in this exact moment with regard to adding more diversity. This being said, it really is an eye-opening experience for everyone involved. We are given the opportunity to reflect and acknowledge how their decisions impact others. If any change wants to be made it has to start from within, and that means that the industry needs to be more cognizant of what types of movies they are producing and who they are casting those roles. Once there is more opportunity and as people become more aware, there is so much potential that can come from all of this. People just have to be willing to look to themselves as well as looking to better the world around them.
