One of the major things going on in Hollywood, and that has been going on for a long time, is “whitewashing”. Now, the part that I would like to focus on is the Academy Awards because that is the one that causes the most controversy when it comes to racially diverse groups. According to a study, done by the sociologicalcinema.com, the most recent Academy Awards was the fifth time when it just had white nominees, which to me is really disappointing since David Oyelowo who played as Martin Luther King Jr. in “Selma” was robbed of a nomination. Including in this study is that 99% of women who have won the “Best Actress” category have been white. That goes the same with men with the “Best Actor” category with 91% of white men. I think this goes back with the Academy members, who are all old and white. To me, that is a glowing sign of some significant racism for not appreciating and honoring the work of non-white actors. And since that this is the FIFTH time this has happened, I mean- come on, something has to be done. You might say “Calm down, it’s just an awards ceremony”, and yeah that is sort of true- but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to see people get nominated honestly for their work. For example, in the “Best Actress” category, between the years 1954 to present day, only eleven African American actresses have been nominated and Halle Berry was the only one in that list to have actually won. Here’s an idea: Instead of nominating Meryl Streep (even though I love Meryl Streep) for the possible 20th time, nominate someone who hasn’t been looked at because of their race. It’s not just with African Americans, but also with other groups of race that have been overlooked with their performances. And most people would think to boycott the movies directly because of the roles that have been whitewashed, or start petitions against the film and the studios. But, personally, I don’t think that’s what is going to do the trick. What should be done is something harder and higher. What I think that should be done is not against the studios- but the Academy Awards itself. Studios make movies so that, not only to bring in money, but so that the Academy can see and recognize them and give them a nomination for any category. When I see other award ceremonies or film festivals from around the world, is held very differently than the way American Hollywood does it. For example, the way the Cannes Film Festival does is that they “diversify” the jury of many different nationalities and races to make it- equal and fair. And as I saw some of the past winners of that film festival, it is way more diverse than how the Academy Awards has it currently. So, what I am proposing is that the Academy Awards no longer has their white old members to make the decisions, but diversify the Academy by broadening its horizons. By doing it this way, there won’t be any more controversy with another “White Oscars” by having only white nominees. By doing this, it will be equal and fair and not so one-sided.
References
Andrist, Lester. (2015) What Is Whitewashing and Why Does it Matter?
http://www.thesociologicalcinema.com/blog/what-is-whitewashing
References
Andrist, Lester. (2015) What Is Whitewashing and Why Does it Matter?
http://www.thesociologicalcinema.com/blog/what-is-whitewashing