For the second year in a row the Oscars, the major film awards show, has hit major controversy. With an extensive list of well-known motion pictures lining the nominations list, such as The Revenant, Bridge of Spies, The Martian and Mad Max: Fury Road, this year, the Oscars feature an all star cast of nominated actors. However, the controversy of race arises when it is noted that the entire Oscar nominated class features only white actors.
The whole controversy started after Jada Pinkett Smith, wife of actor Will Smith who played Dr. Bennet Omalu in Concussion, posted a video online calling out for the boycott of the Oscars to promote diversity among the nominations in the future. This sparked a wildfire of black actors responding to either the Oscars or to Smith’s message. Actors from Don Cheadle to Lupita Nyong’o directed backlash at the Academy for their record of a lack of diversity. Some other actors such as Whoopi Goldberg and Janet Hubert fought back against this boycott, for its inappropriate purpose. Junior Xavier Simms-Jackson finds the lack of diversity saddening because “there are so many wonderful actors and actresses of different ethnicities and… they should be at least acknowledged for their hard work and dedication,” which is the main argument of many other actors and even Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs who released an official statement that the Academy will “[take] dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership.”
One of the counterpoints of the Oscars boycott is the lack of strong roles for diverse actors in Hollywood. This year, the two most notable movies with diverse actors this year were Straight Outta Compton and The Hateful Eight. Yet, neither of those films had actors that were nominated. Senior Jake Binstock agrees, “…there weren’t any performances worthy of getting nominations… maybe the problem stems back to a lack of diverse roles being written in Hollywood.” The last actress of color to win an Oscar was Lupita Nyong’o, who won best supporting actress in 12 Years a Slave, which also won Best Picture in 2014.
This Oscar season is causing such hot debate that it can be labeled among the most talked about seasons. It seems that everyone, including George Clooney, director Spike Lee to Republican presidential candidate and real estate mogul Donald Trump, is weighing in on the controversy. However, with the Oscars coming up February 28th, it will be very interesting to see how many people attend the show, and what host Chris Rock has to say about all of it.