On Sunday, the 88th Academy Awards will be held and televised to honor actors, directors, producers and the like for another year of outstanding cinematic treasures. However, not all of those with the credentials to attend will be doing so, as the Oscars ceremony has been one sweltered in controversy since the revelation that 2016 is the second consecutive year in which no black actors or actresses were nominated for an Academy Award.
Let’s cut straight to the chase. There are two, and only two, possible reasons for having an Oscar ceremony that has been described by the hashtag “#OscarsSoWhite.” Either no black nominees were deserving of an Oscar nomination, or those in charge of nominating members of the cinematic community who are worthy of such an honor disregard the talents of those who lack Caucasian skin.
Interestingly enough, despite the fact that a number of actors are joining an Oscar boycott led by Will and Jada Smith, the Oscars will be hosted by Chris Rock, a renowned black actor and comedian. According to Rolling Stone, Rock will use his position as host to “confront the controversy head on during the broadcast.”
The problem with any controversy of this nature rests upon the fact that nominations that should be based solely on performance and not trivial factors such as race, sexual orientation, or religion, are covered by a veil of uncertainty. By this, I mean that those who believe the actions of the Academy are racist must assume that the performances of black actors and actresses were uncontestably worthy of at least a nomination, and those who believe the actions of the Academy were not influenced by the race of the actors considered for nominations must assume the Academy chose actors and actresses whose performances were the very best and the resulting lack of any black nominees for the second year in a row was purely coincidental.
Acknowledging this, know that at no time during the course of reading this article will you see me side with those in favor of the boycott or those who oppose it. The only ones who truly know if race played a role in the Academy’s nominations are those whose character are being questioned by millions of Americans across the nation.
Of course, it does not matter that the truth of this controversy resides in the realm of uncertainty, because, according to U.S. Magazine, the Academy Awards have already released a statement saying that its board is implementing “substantive changes designed to make the Academy’s membership, its governing bodies and its voting members significantly more diverse.” The Academy taking action reveals one of two possible truths: Either the Academy has acknowledged and taken steps to amend the vice of racial prejudice that prevents diversity in skin color amongst those nominated for various acting awards, or the Academy feels as though it has no choice but to decisively ensure the inclusion of non-white nominees by now equating the importance of diversity for the sake of diversity with the importance of nominating only those who, in the opinion of the board, displayed the highest degree of talent.
That is the problem with opinion; everyone can have one, and everyone’s can be different. If I were a member alongside those in charge of nominating actors and actresses for cinematic honors, I would have likely pushed heavily to nominate Will Smith in some form or fashion for his portrayal of Dr. Bennet Omalu in the outstanding social-commentary film Concussion.” Of course, the majority of those who actually do have the privilege of selecting nominees disagree with me.
Perhaps this realization highlights what could be the true source of what makes this controversy one that is more easily fixable than we might think. Perhaps, the key to ensuring diversity in a way that is fair to all of our annual Oscar-hopefuls is to ensure diversity amongst those granted the privilege of selecting nominees. For if a board with an adequate representation of black voters should choose to not elect any actors or actresses of color sometime in the near or distant future, one could not easily label the nomination as flawed with white-wash. If this is the solution to the #OscarsSoWhite scandal, it is quite possible that the Academy Awards are already charting a new path to ensure that this sort of prejudicial accusation is not made again.
