The 88th Oscars are just around the corner and although we’ve known the nominees, presenters and host, Chris Rock, for a while, there has been major controversy over the diversity in Hollywood.
Just this past Friday, February 5, at the NAACP Image Awards Show, a ceremony hosted by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, celebrating and honoring outstanding people of color in film, television, music, and literature, Anthony Anderson speaks out against Hollywood.
Anderson, an actor and comedian known for his sitcom All About the Andersons and Fox’s The Bernie Mac Show, began his performance on stage with a twist of NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton,” where he dressed up as Ice Cube but used different lyrics. He then begins his monologue where he explains, “Hollywood needs to know…what diversity is supposed to look like.” He exclaims, “look at all of these beautiful shades of people in the audience,” to reinforce the #OscarsSoWhite controversy.
This conversation began when filmmaker Spike Lee and actress Pinkett Smith asked for all actors of color to boycott the awards show after nominations, released on January 14, did not reflect any sort of diversity. Both statements were posted on Martin Luther King Junior Day, Monday, January 18. For the second year in a row, there were no minorities nominated in any of the four acting categories.
Spike Lee’s post on Instagram was accompanied alongside a picture of Martin Luther King Junior. Lee asks, “how is it possible for the second consecutive year all 20 contenders under the acting category are white?” The director goes onto explain, “[he] means no disrespect” but “we cannot support [the lack of diversity].” It’s too much of a coincidence to have “forty white actors in two years and no flava at all.” Lee asks, “we can’t act?! WTF!!”
Jada Smith also released a very similar statement claiming she will not be attending or watching the 2016 Academy Awards. Also on Martin Luther King Junior Day she posted online with her statement. This time a video on Facebook, Smith emphasizes how “it is time that people of color recognize how much power, influence, that we have amassed, that we no longer need to ask to be invited anywhere?” Smith has been actively posting on Twitter, reinforcing her views.
Anderson, Lee and Smith are not alone in their thinking. Reverend Al Sharpton also slammed the Academy for overlooking their black actors. Out of all 20 actors nominated, none are people of color. In the nominated films that include non-white cast members, there are only white contributors that have been recognized with nominations; with the key exception of Alejandro González Iñárritu, who's up for Best Director for The Revenant.
Academy president Cheryl Isaacs released a public statement responding to the problem yet also belittling the claims. Isaacs, although disappointed, writes, “this is not to take away the greatness [of the films nominated],” noting the fact “[this past year] has been great in film… across the board.” She does goes on to explain the Academy’s efforts at embracing diversity are moving rather slowly.
The newest question we all seem to be debating is whether or not Chris Rock, the current host, will join the boycott. Perhaps he will back out, but hopefully he sticks with his position and uses the platform to his advantage to educate and address the international audience about the issue.
