Last year, the hashtag #OscarssoWhite had the misfortune of trending on Twitter. This year, the tag has made a strong and disappointing comeback, pervading social media along with declarations from black actors and directors to boycott the award show.
Jada Pinkett Smith (Gotham) is one actress who has made her frustration known. After the nominations were announced on January 14, she took to social media to air her grievances, filming a short video in which she talked about the lack of diversity.
“[Maybe] it is time that we recognize…respect and acknowledge ourselves in the way that we are asking others to do…begging for acknowledgement, or even asking diminishes dignity and diminishes power,” Pinkett-Smith commented. Director Spike Lee (Chi-raq) also came forward and said that he will be skipping the ceremony this year.
“To be missed last year is one thing, for that to happen again this year is unforgivable,” actor David Oyelowo—most noted for his role as Martin Luther King Jr in Selma—stated at a gala for Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs. Boone additionally said that she was “heartbroken and frustrated” by the lack of inclusion.
However, not everyone is getting aboard the Pinkett-Smith picket train. Actress Janet Hubert had some strong objections to Pinkett-Smtih’s opinion.
“I find it ironic that somebody who has made their living, and made millions and millions and millions of dollars from the very people that you’re talking about boycotting just because you didn’t get a nomination, just because you didn’t win,” said Hubert in a video response of her own.
Before being notably swapped out with Daphne Maxwell Reid, Hubert starred as Aunt Vivian for three years in the 90s sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with Will Smith.
“Maybe you didn’t deserve the nomination. I didn’t think, frankly, you deserved a Golden Globe nomination with that accent, but you got one,” said Hubert, throwing the shadiest of shade at Smith’s performance in the sports drama Concussion.
In an interview with Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts, Smith defended his wife’s decision, saying that while it may have in some small portion involved the fact that he wasn’t nominated, it is much bigger than that:
“There is a position that we hold in this community, and if we’re not part of the solution, we’re part of the problem…It was her call to action, for herself, and for me and for our family to be a part of the solution.”
In a more radical clap back to Pink-Smith’s boycott, Stacey Dash (Clueless), who often gets flack from the black community for her cringe inducing opinions, responded in a head turning manner.
While on Fox & Friends last week, Dash claimed that we as Americans needed to rid ourselves of the double standard if we wanted to be integrated. According to her, this would include getting rid of the BET network and its infamous award show, the Image Awards and, surprisingly, Black History Month.
Yes, that was a thing that she said, on live television, those were words spoken by a black woman. But, hey, that’s her opinion. On the surface someone might see the logic in what she is saying, but it is appalling that Dash would make such a statement.
The very nature of these things exhibits how blacks had to create networks, guilds and award shows because they wanted to see themselves represented and celebrated after being overlooked for so long, there is nothing inherently racist or mean spirited about that.
At the Oscars winners are determined by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. With the voting Academy being comprised of 94% Caucasian and 77% male, it’s hard to imagine that the cultural bias of that selection’s worldview wouldn’t trickle into the nomination pool.
One thing that film as a medium should do is reflect the world as it exists, showcasing a number of diverse perspectives and talents. The Oscars is for most considered the penultimate of award show fare, so one would think that such a highly-esteemed celebration of film would present an extension of that sentiment.
However, that seems nearly impossible when all of the films considered by the Academy are mostly coming from old white men. Not to put anyone in a box, but it isn’t likely that many of those over 50 year old Caucasian males saw Straight Outta Compton.
Speaking of Compton, rapper and actor Ice Cube, who produced the film, was very lax about his position on the matter, stating that he was more concerned with the praise of his fan base and not major accolades.
“If the industry gives you a trophy or not, pats you on the back or not, it’s nice…You can’t boycott something you never went to,” he joked on the Graham Norton Show while promoting Ride Along 2 with Kevin Hart. While it did not get traction in any major categories, Straight Outta Compton did, in fact, receive a nomination for best original screenplay.
The 88 Academy Awards, which airs February 28, is set to have comedian Chris Rock hosting. According to Entertainment tonight, Oscars producer Reginald Hudlin said that Rock was being thorough, throwing out his original monologue script and writing a new one to include jokes about the diversity controversy.
Apparently, Rock isn’t the only one taking active measures. In response to the questions being raised, the Academy has stated that it plans to examine its membership policy with the goal of doubling the number of women and diverse members.
We’ll have to wait and see if time makes a difference or if #OscarssoWhite will continue its streak next year. And if it is a success, will the effects of diversifying the Academy rub people the wrong way the same way affirmative action seems often to do.
Zhana Johnson
Senior Features Editor