Nicholas Thornton
MC Contributor/Staff Writer
The recent uproar over what some call the “White-out In Hollywood” when no blacks were nominated for the 2016 Academy Awards, has fueled a discussion on the struggle for African-Americans in the film industry.
Some decided to boycott the 88th Academy Awards when the Oscars revealed their list for the top four categories, Best Actor and Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, only white actors and actresses were selected for these positions.
Jaylen Moore, a freshman computer engineering major from West Memphis, Ark., believes the boycott was justified.
“I believe anything dealing with race; black people always end up having to fight! Keep fighting for it until you get the change that you want,” said Moore.
Winning the coveted Oscar at the Academy Awards ceremony symbolizes great cinematic achievements in the movie industry. Some believe that Academy’s failure to even nominate blacks is an affront to the many talented African-American actors and actresses and the movies they appeared in during the awards cycle. Movies like Will Smith’s “Concussion”, Michael B. Jordan’s “Creed”, and Ice Cube’s “Straight Outta Compton”, were just a few of the movies some felt deserved recognition.
Danielle Hunt, a junior biology major from Jackson, Miss. believes the lack of black nominees should be addressed.
“I don’t think that’s right! There needs to be variety within the Oscars. BET has white nominees,” said Hunt.
Some believe that African-Americans not credited in Hollywood for positive roles but win for negative portrayals. Denzel Washington was finally recognized for his accomplishments and won an Oscar for Best Actor when he played a crooked cop in the film “Training Day.” However with other award shows such as The Golden Globes, Tony Awards, and the Emmy awards show African-Americans are represented and awarded for their skills in talents in a movies that showcase a more positive light within the African-American community.
“You have to look at the judges. They are older white people. You can’t expect them to critique movies like Straight Outta Compton and Concussion in the same view,” said Alexis Hunt, a freshman elementary education major from Forest, Miss.
La Curtis Powell, a freshman criminal justice major from Jackson, Miss., agrees with Hunt.
“It’s wrong. The committee is all white. The only time blacks are nominated is if they are playing roles as slaves or whores,” said Powell.
The Academy judge’s decision has sparked uproar with the general public and many in the film industry like Jada Pinkett- Smith and Spike Lee.
“Talent is everywhere but opportunity isn’t,” said Idris Elba to ABC News Nightline. Many thought Elba deserved an Oscar nomination for his role in “Beast of No Nation”.
George Clooney also expressed his thoughts saying to Nightline, “I think African-Americans have a real fair point that the industry isn’t representing them well enough.”
Stacey Dash also gave her view on blacks in Hollywood sparking another controversy and repudiation from the black community.
“If we don’t want segregation, then we need to get rid of channels like BET, and the BET Awards and the Image Awards, where you’re only awarded if you’re black,” she explained. “If it were the other way around, we would be up in arms. It’s a double standard,” said Dash, a Fox News contributor.
On Jan. 21, in a unanimous vote, the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences approved a sweeping series of substantive changes designed to make the Academy’s membership, its governing bodies, and its voting members significantly more diverse. The Board’s goal is to commit to doubling the number of women and diverse members of the Academy by 2020, according to www.oscars.org.
“The Academy is going to lead and not wait for the industry to catch up,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. “These new measures regarding governance and voting will have an immediate impact and begin the process of significantly changing our membership composition.”
The following MC301 Introduction to News Reporting students contributed to the story written by Nicholas Thornton: Kendra Brown, Ashli Coggins, Kennedy Jones, Xavier Manning, and Moses Everette
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