Sasha Stone of Awards Daily wrote this very passionate piece about racism and the Oscars. I never share opinion pieces with readers but I was very taken by the truth that was said in the piece. Here’s an excerpt and please give it a quick read:
It’s really hard, isn’t it, to defend, spend time on, invest any emotion on an institution that could continually, and repeatedly, up to and including this year, make such ridiculous choices when the better films are staring them right in the face. Blame the public too, blame the critics especially, and blame our human experience, which seems to like narratives separate. For all of our liberal talk, Hollywood has still not figured this whole racism thing out.
Two decades ago, racism played itself out uncomfortably at the Oscars, when a young filmmaker and upstart named Spike Lee, one of the best filmmakers working in and outside of Hollywood, released Do the Right Thing. It was by far one of the best, if not the best film of that year. However, Oscar, in all of his progressive glory, decided to nominate Do the Right Thing for only supporting actor for Danny Aiello, and screenplay for Lee. The Best Picture nominees that year were instead:
Driving Miss Daisy (9 nominations, won 4, director NOT nominated)
Born on the Fourth of July (8 nominations, won 2)
Dead Poets Society (4 nominations, won 1)
Field of Dreams (3 nominations, won 0)
My Left Foot (5 nominations, won 2)But that year, unlike this year, people were willing to talk about it, get mad about it, even say something publicly about it.
In a year where the theme seemed to be ‘silence,’ an shadow was cast over films thought brought to life very significant and important issues that still face us today. “The Help” is an obvious choice but there was gender discrimination in “The Iron Lady,” men who hate women in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” animal cruelty at its worst in “Project Nim,” and the discrimination of homosexuality in “Beginners,” “Weekend,” and you can even make an argument in “J. Edgar,” although poorly done.
Oscar can run away from these issues as we’ve seen in the past (“Crash” over “Brokeback Mountain”), and where Ms. Stone takes her argument, it seems it’s not entirely Oscar’s fault. Precursors such as the Independent Spirit Awards or ICS can embrace the differences that separate us, but these aren’t friendly films that make it the DVD shelves of middle America. Critics can embrace the culture of the films at first glance but often times won’t stand by it by year’s end. I can only hope that progression has been made in our changing times where homosexuals and lesbians are able to marry and have children and ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is a horrible memory of the past.
This bridges its way into the way we, or AMPAS rather views films and its performers. Andy Serkis’ work in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” was one of the most unique and wonderful turns seen this year. A commitment that can nearly go unmatched. He’s done this before in “King Kong” where fans and critics were championing his work. Oscar does not see that way. Will there be something that changes their minds in the future? I’d argue if the performance of “Gollum” in “The Lord of the Rings” didn’t do it, we’re in for a long road. Motion capture is a controversial topic as some members of the animated film branch have said “Tintin is NOT animation.” I knew this which led to an omission off my Animated Feature predictions. Oscar thought like Oscar does. No “Tintin” nominated. Some can argue, it just wasn’t in the top five best of the year. How many have seen “Chico & Rita” and “A Cat in Paris?” We don’t know. We’ll know soon enough.
Is there still a strong prejudice at the core of the Academy after all this time? Only recently were we able to get a women her directing Oscar. Kathryn Bigelow took on a male-driven genre and made it even more authentic than most war films have been for a while. “The Hurt Locker” was a superb piece of cinema that showcased a very familiar war in a time where it’s still going on. A dirty, vulgar, and sweaty Terrence Howard received a nomination for “Hustle and Flow” over big names Russell Crowe (“Cinderella Man”), Jeff Daniels (“The Squid and the Whale”), and Ralph Fiennes (“The Constant Gardener”). The film received a nomination from the Screen Actors Guild for Best Cast Ensemble. Was that telling that some felt a Best Picture nomination was deserved? Who knows? Was it worthy? I argue it may have been. It introduced us to talents of Taraji P. Henson and Taryn Manning as prostitutes with a heart of gold. Both went ignored by AMPAS but you can’t satisfy everyone.
This is for general discussion and I don’t mean to piggy back or step on Sasha Stone’s shoes, her great piece got me thinking. Let us know what you are thinking!
Comment and discuss.
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UBourgeois
January 27, 2012 at 5:12 pm
I’m always very hesitant to throw around accusations of racism, and that still applies with the Academy. On a whim a few days ago, I found that from 2000-2009, of the 200 nominees for acting Oscars, 22 were black, making up 11% of the nominee pool, and of the 40 winners, 7 were black, making up 18%. While those numbers seem low, when you take into account that 12% of the population of the United States is black, the numbers seem more proprotionate. However, it is important to note that the proportion of Hispanic actors nominated is nowhere near the proprotion of Hispanics in the United States, which is perhaps something to note.
The director field, admittedly, is where disparity is quite noticable: I have been told (I have yet to check, but I think it may be accurate) that the first Best Picture-nominated film directed by an African-American was Precious, which was in the race only just in 2009. Now, whether this means that the Academy intentionally avoids black directors, or that there are simply many more prominent white directors in hollywood, is up to debate.
However, I am totally unsympathetic to claims that the Academy made a homophobic choice in 2005 by not awarding Brokeback Mountain, simply because I feel it was not the best film of the year. Neither was Crash, granted – that honor goes to Good Night and Good Luck, I think, Capote would also have been acceptable – but I don’t feel any great injustice was committed by that decision.
UBourgeois(Quote) (Reply)
Thomas
January 28, 2012 at 1:04 am
I’m with you on Good Night and Good Luck.
I also like the number crunching you’ve attempted to reason this all out with; but I guess looking at a racial distribution of the population of ONLY the US and saying the nominees correlate to that does’t really “work” in the case of nominees coming from all over the world (lots of non-American British and Australians namely). It’s a try; but …
I had one other problem with the author’s critique: Uhm … it make the case that the wonderful, wonderful, wonderful Viola Davis would never be able to play Thatcher or Ms. Monroe; but she’s discounting the same fact that neither Streep nor Wiliams would be able to play the well-written character of Aibileen Clark. I don’t talk about my disability because I don’t see it as such; but I have lost 2 (yes 2) legs to bone cancer and I know that if I were an actor I could never win a role of a star athlete or … well … anybody who walks really good and/or well. It just happens. As long as Davis wins and excels in roles she “can” embody, I hope she contines to get them because she is a true talent. But there are some things (namely those “things” we have no control over) we cannot cry about.
Thomas(Quote) (Reply)
stuartvee
January 27, 2012 at 7:21 pm
although i agree with some of this article, I have for a long time felt that stone has become more angry blowhard than passionate and giddy about movies. Her site has become her precious and it’s consumed her completely to the point of losing her sanity!
stuartvee(Quote) (Reply)
koook160
January 28, 2012 at 2:03 am
Agreed 100%. Sasha Stone has the ego the size of Texas.
koook160(Quote) (Reply)
curtisjdunn
January 27, 2012 at 8:06 pm
I am so sick of this discussion really. I know there is a little bit of it, but come on. You even cited Crash winning over Brokeback Mountain, but Crash is all about racism and has some very strong characters that are minorities. I would rather just comment on the politics of all of it, the way films are campaigned, &c. No female director was truly that big of a frontrunner any year, with the exception of Bigelow (and before her Coppolla, but LIT was not the best directed film of the year.) Hm, maybe I’m ignorant, &c., but I hardly see racism, but instead just simple politics. Heck, a French silent film is the frontrunner this year (and in 2007 all four actors to win were not American.) I think the Oscars are actually becoming more and more progressive if anything.
curtisjdunn(Quote) (Reply)
William
January 28, 2012 at 4:35 am
A bunch of Frenchmen and various other white Europeans is not progressive. You’re a moron if you think nominating The Artist is combating racism.
William(Quote) (Reply)
Jeremy DC
January 27, 2012 at 8:41 pm
When it comes to race, Hollywood seems to pat themselves on the back as if they are so progressive but I don’t really see it that way. There are very few films that have a predominantly black cast where the film doesn’t involve them fighting racism. It’s like Hollywood always thinks a black man’s life is centered on overcoming “the man”. It always ends up going back to the way white people have affected minorities and there aren’t a variety of stories for African Americans.
Jeremy DC(Quote) (Reply)
Mikael
January 28, 2012 at 4:31 am
I we were to think about AMPAS and black actresses… Sure only Halle Berry won a Best Actress Oscar (in a very controversial year – when Denzel Washington and Sidney Poitier were also recognized by the Academy), but I just can´t think of other black actresses who were ABSURDLY STOLEN of their Oscars… Should Dorothy Dandrige “Carmen Jones” have won the award over Grace Kelly “Country Girl” or Judy Garland “A Star is Born”? Not by 10 miles. Was Cicely Tyson a victim of racism for not winning an Oscar for “Sounder”? Hardly. How about Diana Ross – losing in that same category for “Lady Sings the Blues” to Liza Minnelli for “Cabaret”? Unfair? Not in my book. did Diahan Carroll “Claudine” deserve it more than Ellen Burstyn for “Alice Doesn´t Live here Anymore” or Gena Rowlands for “A Woman Under the Influence”? I don´t think so. Did Angela Bassett “What´s Love got to do with it” deserve it more than Holly Hunter for “The Piano”? Not in my opinion; maybe she´d be a close second that year. Did Gaborey Sidibe do a better acting job than Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep in 2010? Probably not. Maybe Whoopi Goldberg could be the exception for the controversial “The Color Purple” – a deserving performance that did get overlooked so that Geraldine Page wouldn´t die without an Oscar… And it seemed to work out (the Academy managed to spread their wealth) and every actress nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1985 ended up with at least one Oscar – Whoopi included, 5 years later.
UBourgeois has a VERY GOOD POINT when he mentions the statistics… The Academy doesn´t look racist at all, I would say. 3 black actors winning for Best Actor in a period of 6 years? 3 black actresses winning acting awards in a span of 8 years? And yet, the Academy is racist? I don´t buy that.
Viola Davis is an incredible actress. I agree with that. She´s raw, deep and intense… But she is NOT the most deserving actress to win a Best Actress Oscar this year. She may win, but if she does, I´d guess that was the case because the Academy would be ‘trying so hard’ to show everyone that they´re not racist. Give Octavia Spencer the award! She is deserving enough!!!
I agree with Jeremy DC about the lack of variety of good roles for african american actors… But to say that the Academy is racist with its actors at this point? A much better argument, as mentioned by UBourgeois, is the one about hispanics… Why are they simply NEVER recognized? Sure the occasional hispanic actress is nominated – Norma Aleandro “Gaby, a True Story” and Adriana Barraza “Babel” – both for supporting actress in roles as servants; Catalina Sandino Moreno as an illeagal immigrant in “Maria Full of Grace” and Fernanda Montenegro – not hispanic, but brazilian – where nominated for Best Actress.I guess the exceptions would be Hollywood super stars Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz (the sole female winner)…
That said, in favor of the Academy… From 2001-2011, there were 7 black actors winning Oscars, 3 hispanics, 1 french, 1 south african, and six actors playing gay/ bisexual characters… Hardly racist to me. Should the Academy become a philanthropic institution with an obligation to honor diversity/ minorities every year?
Mikael(Quote) (Reply)
Thomas
January 28, 2012 at 10:32 am
I’m going to agree with you Mikael. The Academy seems to get the brunt of the racism charges in Hollywood because people believe people of other races aren’t well represented come nomination time. I make a list every year of the Top 10 in each category and I never make sure I include anybody of any race … I pick the best performances. The Academy does this too (the miss a few) but the lack of nominations is NOT the fault of the Academy … I’d place that blame on the lack of quality work available to actors. We can point fingers at several people for that; but NOT the Academy as they don’t write and/or produce films.
Each year ONE performance is awarded an Oscar in each of the four acting categories. One! Only one person walks away with it! Actors of EVERY race go without every year — as there is ONLY one winner.
Adding to your hispanics is Javier Bardem and this years nominee of Bichir. Asians have only two recent nominations that I can think of — Ken Watanabe and Rinko Kikuchi.
Funny that the year I would have picked either Kikuchi or Barraza to win the trophy went to Jennifer Hudson (what a diverse year!).
I loathe the entire “just because” aspect of the Oscars. They try to “right” some “wrongs” from years past and it just makes more mistakes and errors that’ll they never be able to remedy.
Thomas(Quote) (Reply)
UBourgeois
January 28, 2012 at 3:12 pm
Does Javier Bardem count as “hispanic?” It just may be that I don’t understand the implications of the term, but he’s from Spain. He just plays Latin Americans frequently.
UBourgeois(Quote) (Reply)
Thomas
January 29, 2012 at 5:34 am
As does Penelope right? I guess I am not overly-versed on using the terms properly or not.
They are both latino/a … yes. Is that how I should say it from now on?
Thomas(Quote) (Reply)
craig146
January 28, 2012 at 8:22 am
it seems odd that you’d post an article citing the academy’s “racism” for, as far as i can tell, not recognizing The Help more. when in fact, there are quite a few articles from critics and scholars critizing the movie itself for potential racism through it’s continued representation of a “mammy” archetype. I happen to think The Help nuances and humanizing that role signicficantly, but the arguments of a “white perspective/savior” still resonate. I recently read a piece wondering about the ironyof Hattie McDaniel winning and oscar for playing a white woman’s maid, and Davis and Spencer being nominated over 70 years later for playing essentially the same character, but with slightly more dignity and personality.
for my money, the performances merit nomination, but the film does not. it is an average film, designed to fulfill narrow purposes, and motivated largely by white guilt (sincere though it certainly may be). i enjoyed it, but do not find it to be a great film or a masterpiece by any means, and i suspect the Academy does did not recognize it more for similar reasons. Do the Right Thing is a different situation entirely.
craig146(Quote) (Reply)
craig146
January 28, 2012 at 8:42 am
just to clarify my point, Stone claims that no one is willing to get vocal or angry about racism in this year’s oscar race, which is simply untrue. many people have gotten vocal about it, just not in favor of the film she is apparently championing. whether those accusations are justified seems very difficult to say, objectively speaking one way or another. but to reduce it to a numbers game of wins and nominations denies the significance or greatness of the performances and films in question.
craig146(Quote) (Reply)
Omad75
January 28, 2012 at 11:09 pm
I didn’t read the article because I came over to this site to get away from Sasha Stone’s massive ego.
Omad75(Quote) (Reply)