This year's bumper crop of Academy Award nominees has a notable--and controversial--distinction.
Their race.
Out of the twenty acting nominees, there's only one that isn't Caucasian (Javier Bardem for the film Biutiful is the lone exception.)
And, for the first time in a long time, there isn't a single African-American actor nominated, and it's already become a huge issue in the media.
The last time I remember there being a firestorm over African-American actors not being recognized was in 1995, when Al Sharpton took the Academy to task for not having a more diverse list of nominees.
What I didn't understand was why Sharpton was blaming the Academy, and not Hollywood itself. There weren't any stellar performances given by an African-American that year that went overlooked. It was just that African-American actors weren't being given the same quality of roles as the Caucasian actors were. This was a much bigger problem than who shows up on a nomination roster, and yet, people just wanted to make it an "Oscar issue."
The same can be said for this year. Which African-American actor or actress got snubbed? Some might say Halle Berry for her performance in Frankie and Alice, but having finally seen the movie, I can tell you that it's only a few steps above a Lifetime movie-of-the-week, and Berry's performance in it is so clearly one meant to garner awards, that it could almost be considered an act of desperation more than a film role.
Berry already has an Oscar for Monster's Ball. She received it the same year Denzel Washington won a second Oscar for Training Day. I remember feeling so moved watching the two of them stand together accepting their awards, because for so long, African-American actors weren't "invited to the party." Since there, actors like Forrest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson have taken home the statuette, and still have trouble finding the same caliber of work that won them their awards.
Last year, I wrote a piece for Open Salon about Gabourey Sidibe, the lead actress from Precious, criticizing those who said she was going to be a superstar. I wasn't against that happening, but knowing Hollywood--a place where Megan Fox continues to get roles despite a reputation for being hard to work with and more than a few box office bombs under her belt--what were the odds that an overweight, African-American girl was going to be fielding offer after offer? I got called a racist for pointing out that Hollywood was racist. I'm still not sure how that works, but it's really neither here nor there. The point is that the Oscars have no trouble with diversity. They seek to award the best of the best. Yes, there's politicizing. Yes, there's campaigning. But if you look at the list of nominees, you really are looking at the cream of the crop in terms of this year's performances in film albeit with a few great actors being absent.
If you're looking for racism, don't look at the list of nominees, look at the upcoming big releases for 2011 and who's starring in them.
Now that's a list we should be worried about.
Their race.
Out of the twenty acting nominees, there's only one that isn't Caucasian (Javier Bardem for the film Biutiful is the lone exception.)
And, for the first time in a long time, there isn't a single African-American actor nominated, and it's already become a huge issue in the media.
The last time I remember there being a firestorm over African-American actors not being recognized was in 1995, when Al Sharpton took the Academy to task for not having a more diverse list of nominees.
What I didn't understand was why Sharpton was blaming the Academy, and not Hollywood itself. There weren't any stellar performances given by an African-American that year that went overlooked. It was just that African-American actors weren't being given the same quality of roles as the Caucasian actors were. This was a much bigger problem than who shows up on a nomination roster, and yet, people just wanted to make it an "Oscar issue."
The same can be said for this year. Which African-American actor or actress got snubbed? Some might say Halle Berry for her performance in Frankie and Alice, but having finally seen the movie, I can tell you that it's only a few steps above a Lifetime movie-of-the-week, and Berry's performance in it is so clearly one meant to garner awards, that it could almost be considered an act of desperation more than a film role.
Berry already has an Oscar for Monster's Ball. She received it the same year Denzel Washington won a second Oscar for Training Day. I remember feeling so moved watching the two of them stand together accepting their awards, because for so long, African-American actors weren't "invited to the party." Since there, actors like Forrest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson have taken home the statuette, and still have trouble finding the same caliber of work that won them their awards.
Last year, I wrote a piece for Open Salon about Gabourey Sidibe, the lead actress from Precious, criticizing those who said she was going to be a superstar. I wasn't against that happening, but knowing Hollywood--a place where Megan Fox continues to get roles despite a reputation for being hard to work with and more than a few box office bombs under her belt--what were the odds that an overweight, African-American girl was going to be fielding offer after offer? I got called a racist for pointing out that Hollywood was racist. I'm still not sure how that works, but it's really neither here nor there. The point is that the Oscars have no trouble with diversity. They seek to award the best of the best. Yes, there's politicizing. Yes, there's campaigning. But if you look at the list of nominees, you really are looking at the cream of the crop in terms of this year's performances in film albeit with a few great actors being absent.
If you're looking for racism, don't look at the list of nominees, look at the upcoming big releases for 2011 and who's starring in them.
Now that's a list we should be worried about.
Comments
Post a Comment