Boycotting the Oscars is Useless
I’m not an actor, filmmaker, director, screenwriter or anyone of any substance that has anything to do with film or television. But if I were, and I got invited to go to the Oscars I would go. I mean it is a giant party of people celebrating themselves and you get to hang out with all the cool people in Hollywood, dressed up in fancy clothes and have fun? Why wouldn’t you go? Boycotting a giant stroke party doesn’t change the diversity issue in Hollywood. I would go and represent what I believe to be the disparity. Stare it right in the face -- for all the world to see. That’s a lot easier to do when you’re the only one of few in the room (you should see some of my school pictures from a couple of suburban schools I attended -- I did not suffer from a case of Where’s Waldo).
A proper boycott - that would take a lot more effort. That would require a collective effort that continued past this one event.The bus boycotts in Alabama -- that made a difference. Why? But they drew attention to the problem, a very real and dangerous problem. It affected the business of Montgomery since black people were the primary users of buses. It went on for 13 months and forced a Supreme Court Ruling that actually changed how things were. It was brave, it was bold it was a collective effort. That’s a boycott.
Let’s be clear. The lack of diversity at this level of Hollywood is a problem -- but this not Alabama in the 50s. This is not people risking arrest or death. This problem actually falls far down the list of things we should be up in arms about these days. Still, it is something to discuss and worthy of making efforts to change because there’s no reason it shouldn’t change. In fact there’s no reason this should even exist at this point in the industry’s history. None. But it does. It’s one of the places in America where you would assume diversity isn’t a problem. But it very much is. And it’s a big conversation point. Ironically, this issue has been around way longer than Jada Pinkett Smith. So ... let’s discuss.
I’m not arguing that there isn’t a diversity issue in Hollywood and the film industry particularly when it comes to the executive and Academy level. I’m not arguing that the Academy of Motion Picture Sciences is unbalanced, and egregiously white but there’s a lot more to this. It’s not simply an issue of black vs. white. Think about this for a minute. Isn’t it absurdly presumptuous to say that if the Academy were more diverse we would have a more diverse selection of nominees? Does one expect minority board members to favor films that would be more diverse just because they’re minorities and those are the films they’re supposed like? That’s an equally racist presumption as saying #oscarsSoWhite because the board is mostly white. It’s like saying “Hey, you’re a woman, you should love Nicholas Sparks movies.”
There’s no guarantee that if half of the board were black, Hispanic and Asian that the films and individuals nominated this year would be any different. Maybe a diverse board would still like the same films, music and individuals that have been nominated. Maybe because those really are good films, actors and songs.
And now that the Academy has announced sweeping changes to address this diversity problem we’ll hopefully see two things:
1. What exactly the Hollywood version of sweeping changes is.
2. And if this change actually makes a difference in what the 2017 Oscars and beyond look like.
Maybe these “changes” will also shine a light on if the films, music and individuals up for consideration this year were the only selections being nominated or were there other choices? And if there were other choices, why were they ignored (the movie-going audience certainly didn’t ignore them). The answers to those questions then opens up the proverbial can of worms on what’s right and wrong about the industry. So bottom line here --
It’s not just the Oscars.
Sure you could not go and blather on about the whiteness of the Oscars and not seek white validation but this fight -- this fight belongs before the votes. Before the actual event. You want to change the Oscar process then you have to change a lot more than adding some more flavour to their cream soup. You have to change an entire system.
Granted, we’ve come a long way from back-face Al Jolson, black savages, lazy dirty Mexicans, minorities as servants and criminals, broken English Asians and Native Americans, terrorist Arabs, overly gay characters, and all the other film stereotypes that persisted through the century of this business. Problems still remain, challenges still remain, and yes even some stereotypes still make their way onto screens (unintentional or not). Add all those up and what you end up with is an imbalance across the board in Hollywood from script to film and everything in between. Not enough strong female roles, not enough black actors, not enough minority writers, directors and so on. But ask yourself this -- is that really the case or is the issue that not enough effort is being put into expanding diversity like President Obama said? Is there not enough work being done so that people and projects that should be recognized get the acclaim they deserve? If certain films get acclaim why is there not enough acclaim? What is it that’s falling apart? Why does this process always seem to skew predominantly white? Certainly the basic criteria for a film to be nominated is not that challenging or prohibitive to diverse films:
Over 40 minutes in length
Must be publicly screened for paid admission in Los Angeles County (with the name of a particular theater where it screened included)
And must screen for a qualifying run of at least seven straight days
There are 6028 voting members of the Academy. A better presumption than assuming diversity would make a difference is assuming with that many voters, an accounting firm crunching numbers from their votes, and countless films to choose from we wouldn’t have an #oscarsSoWhite. Right?
We all know an Oscar-winning film is not always a box-office smash. In fact it’s often the opposite. Case and point -- two of the top box office films from 2015 (Star Wars:The Force Awakens and Straight Outta Compton) are wonderfully diverse, enjoyable films with good stories and quality performances. So why are neither of them nominated in the top categories (not just technical, effects, or soundtracks)? They both meet the minimum requirements and then some plus both achieved critical acclaim in droves.
Where is the divide between everyone but the Academy being in total agreement that a movie is Oscar-worthy and the actual Oscar voters saying, “Nah, it’s all right but not enough for a statue?”
Why does this keep happening? Are we to go on the notion that there are thousands of racist academy members who could give a rat’s ass about movies like Selma and Straight Outta Compton and don’t consider people like Idris Elba good enough because he’s -- black???? These same members who have spent their lives in an industry where they were witness to this imbalance and now part of the problem -- Perpetuating the inequity? Next you’ll tell me B.O.B is right at the earth being flat.
Are you ready for one of the funniest ironies of this process? You need to be working in the film industry and also need two sponsors to be considered to be an academy member but ... wait for it -- Academy Award winners are automatically considered to be part of the academy -- no sponsors needed. And who wins most of the awards? Mostly white people. See how this goes? It’s a vicious absurd circle of a frustratingly incomprehensible process.
Putting all that aside --
Boycotting the Oscars doesn’t change that. Not one bit. Until we find out where it all falls apart and how we can take steps to change it -- those Oscar nominees will continue to be imbalanced and those winners, all white, will continue getting that automatic entry into a predominantly white voting board. And we will continue to assume that’s the main problem. It’s the racist conspiracy of the white voting board. You want that to be true if you’re pissed enough. But it’s not.
And still -- That has nothing to do with the Oscar ceremony.
Social media, being our 21st century court of public opinion, certainly helps garner attention and initiate conversation but there’s a lot of work to be done. And sweeping change is relative. Just because the Academy deems it so doesn’t mean it’s going to happen or that it will happen in the next year or two. Remember this is the same Hollywood that just 30 years ago thought it was okay to take a white guy and make him brown with an Indian accent in Short Circuit. A film industry that trumpeted it’s arrival into the world of “talkies” in 1927 a white guy in black face.
Back to the Oscars. If everyone didn’t go forcing the event to be cancelled -- That would be something. If everyone who won gave their Oscar to people who they thought should have been nominated and all of those people were minorities. That would be something. Hearken back to the oft-replayed Marlon Brando moment in 1973 when he rejected his Godfather award and had a Native American actress make a statement about the treatment of her people in films. Certainly it was a banner moment in Hollywood but how soon after that did the depiction of Native Americans in film change? The first actual positive portrayal of Native Americans in films after that moment? -- that most people can recall? 1990 -- Dances with Wolves. Do the math. And by the way, the star of the film was still a white guy.
Let’s be fair. The people nominated this year are just as deserving of an Oscar as the people who weren’t even up for consideration and equally talented in some cases. And there’s no reason they shouldn’t be happy and celebrate this honor. It’s a fairly nice achievement. That’s not the problem. The problem is, the selection of nominees. Why isn’t broader, more interesting, less ... white. This isn’t a world where we don’t have an industry of diverse, ethnically mixed, creative people making quality, award worthy work year after year. Something is terribly wrong when at the end of every year, we end up with something that’s not even remotely representative of this reality.
How do we fix it an industry where a movie a about in influential rap group directed by a black filmmaker and starring a mostly black cast gets gets that Oscar level of acclaim -- AND IT’S NOT THE EXCEPTION. When does this diversity become -- the norm? When do we stop making a big deal after nominations are announced tha a black actor/actress or director is nominated and it’s the first time since ... ? It is a big deal, now -- but it shouldn’t have to be. They and many others should be nominated more often The film industry is chock full of talented people of all races and nationalities. And a lot of them make damn fine work. So what gives?
And the question remains -- How does not going to a fancy party change that? It doesn’t.
The truth is like I said before, unless everyone doesn’t go, then the show, like all shows of this kind, will go on. Someone else will sit in your seat and have a grand old time, despite the sea of white nominees. The diversity of the ceremony will change when the diversity of the nominees changes. It’s that simple. Nominate a potpourri of selections -- you’ll get a potpourri of attendees. Or invite a more diverse crowd regardless of who gets nominated.
Let’s be real. When people talk about the Godfather, Star Wars, Boyz in the Hood, Alien, Goodfellas, E.T., The Color Purple, or even Happy Gilmore they could care less if it won an Oscar. And when they talk about those films years later, they still could care less. Because it’s not about that. When you go back and look at the AFI top 100 list, you’re not looking for Oscar films. You’re looking for movies that connected with you regardless -- and sometimes they may not make the cut. But the true reward for the people who make movies is a film that’s good through and through, stands the test of time or is something that connects with the viewer. That’s better than any award they’ll ever get.
The Oscars is a celebrated annual televised event that is also a gloriously opulent party of people thanking each other for the work they did. It will continue to be this way -- until we change who gets invited to the party and maybe even change the theme.
What needs to change -- is the who, what and why of the celebration. Find balance where it doesn’t exist and you’ll see a different lineup of contenders based on criteria that provides more opportunity to be at that party. So even if they don’t end up with a golden statue in their hand, at least they had a chance to compete for one. Don’t fight the reward. Fight the way the rewards are chosen, fight the way the process gets us to the same result every year with few exceptions and fight to give rewards to the one who should get them. Right now, it doesn’t seem fair and balanced. So -- fix it
And please -- go to the party, enjoy the show, represent, be heard and be seen. Stand in the light that is Hollywood and let them see you. You have the world watching -- let them know what you have to say.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” (Martin Luther King).
