LAST year, there were concerns over the obvious exclusion of blacks in the acting category of the Academy Awards, otherwise called the Oscar. But there appears to be some determination on the part of the predominantly white organisers to yield to pressure. This year, criticism has grown into boycott threats by notable black celebrities, including Lupita Nyong’o who won a Supporting Actress’ diadem in 2014 for her role in the 2013 film, 12 Years a Slave.
For about the third time in nearly two decades, the acting nominations went to a group made up entirely of white actors and actresses.
Last year, one of the notable snubs was David Oyelowo, who received praises for his turn as the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma. In 2011, the 20 nominees also were entirely white. Before that time, one had to go back to 1998 for an all-white acting group.
“I am disappointed by the lack of inclusion in this year’s Academy Awards nominations. It has me thinking about unconscious prejudice and what merits prestige in our culture. The Awards should not dictate the terms of art in our modern society, but rather be a diverse reflection of the best of what our art has to offer today,” said Lupita, giving support to other celebrities who have expressed similar disappointment.
“I stand with my peers who are calling for change in expanding the stories that are told and recognition of the people who tell them,” she said, sharing a quote by novelist James Baldwin: “Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
As the show comes up on February 28, one of the celebrities who will not be attending is Oscar-winning actor, George Clooney, who has accused the Academy Awards of “moving in the wrong direction.”
This is just as actress Jada Pinkett Smith had canvassed in a video message on Facebook that people of colour should disregard the awards.
Interestingly, film director, Spike Lee, who was awarded an honorary Oscar in November, is among those boycotting the ceremony, saying on Instagram that he “cannot support” the “lily white” Oscars.
This controversy continues at a time when Hollywood is fielding criticism for not doing enough to promote diversity in filmmaking. Only last year, Sony Pictures co-chairman, Amy Pascal and producer Scott Rudin, apologised for leaked emails that appeared to be racially insensitive.
There are concerns over this trend, which many described as having the racism undertone. Recall that Gene Seymour, a film critic who has written about music, movies and culture for The New York Times, Newsday, Entertainment Weekly and The Washington Post, was among those who believed that the Selma Oscar snub was about race, considering the difference between Oscar support for 12 Years a Slave and Selma. According to Seymour, while the former is about blacks as victims; the latter is about strong blacks as agents of their own salvation.
But how quickly can the intervention from Academy president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, help the current situation? She had addressed the organisation’s diversity issue late Monday, saying, “I’d like to acknowledge the wonderful work of this year’s nominees… While we celebrate their extraordinary achievements, I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important conversation and it’s time for big changes.”
According to Isaacs, “the Academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership. In the coming days and weeks, we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond. As many of you know, we have implemented changes to diversify our membership in the last four years. But the change is not coming as fast as we would like. We need to do more and better and more quickly.
“In the ’60s and ’70s, it was about recruiting younger members to stay vital and relevant. In 2016, the mandate is inclusion in all of its facets: gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. We recognise the very real concerns of our community, and I so appreciate all of you who have reached out to me in our effort to move forward together.”
Though the Academy doesn’t reveal a breakdown of its membership, a 2012 report by the Los Angeles Times found that of the nearly 6,000 members, 94 percent are white, 77 percent are male and 86 percent are age 50 or older.
I believe that Africa is where these black Hollywood guys belong and perhaps until they find that path of discovery, they might just continue to groan in exile. Donald Trump is a very good example of the changing times. This might just be the gods making them go mad just for the Godly to get their thinking right.
Could Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA)’s rebranding into an award scheme for black people be some sort of divine expansion, just so the blacks in Hollywood could find some room. This sounds like a joke, but the fact is that God does not shout when he speaks to man.
Who says that Africa cannot be the envy of the world if our long lost brothers return to base?
AMAA, at the wake of its 11th edition unveiled a series of business and social initiatives which was not only to advance African filmmakers, but evolve a strategic synergy of black creatives all over the world.
The objective which underscored why the nomination gala took place in Los Angeles, home to leading studios in world cinema, was also to engender co-productions and other forms of partnerships, through interactions between African filmmakers and their Hollywood counterparts.
I recall how AMAA founder, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, mesmerised the gathering with her eloquent speech about the vision of a united Africa, sharing the thoughts of icons like Mariam Makeba and other visionary African leaders, on the need to achieve one world for the blacks.
“I don’t want to be apologetic about who I am as a creative. I don’t want you to describe me as a black filmmaker. We have to rewrite our history by ourselves. I don’t want to know if you are black American, I don’t want to know if you are African American, I don’t want to know if you are African Caribbean, I just want you to realise one thing, check your DNA, you are black and we are just one,” she said, spurring the crowd into more applause.
What more is there to say? Racism will continue in the world, and ironically, black people are their own real enemies. Imagine a synergy between AMAA and BET Awards. Don’t just think it, believe it.
