February 3, 2016
Page 19
O PINION
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A Lousy Mirror for Our Multicultural Society
Why I’m skipping the Oscars
m arC m orial
For two years in
a row, the Academy
of Motion Pictures
Arts and Sciences
— the organization
behind the Oscars
— failed to nomi-
nate a single actor or actress of
color in the lead and support-
ing acting categories. Not one.
Meanwhile, though women
earned more Oscar nomina-
tions overall, they were com-
pletely shut out from the best
cinematography and best direc-
tor categories at Hollywood’s
biggest and splashiest awards
show again.
In a nation as diverse as ours,
ilm awards that ignore the vast
artistic talent and contributions
of women and people of col-
or are a whitewashed iction.
They might make for good sci-
i, but they’re a lousy mirror
for our multicultural society.
I don’t question the cinemat-
ic credentials of the Academy’s
6,000-plus voting members.
by
But I do question how it
is that in a season that pro-
duced critically acclaimed
ilms such as Beasts of
No Nation, which stars
Idris Elba as an African
warlord; the NWA biop-
ic Straight Outta Comp-
ton; and Creed, the latest in-
stallment in the iconic Rocky
franchise, there were no black
screenwriters, directors, com-
posers, cinematographers, or
actors to be found whose con-
tributions deserved Academy
recognition.
Ironically enough, two ilms
helmed by black artists —
Creed and Compton — were
recognized by the Academy,
but their sole nominations
were denied to people of col-
or. Sylvester Stallone received
a best supporting actor nod for
his role in Creed, and the white
writers of Compton got a nom-
ination for best original screen-
play.
A much-cited 2012 survey
highlights the crux of the prob-
lem: the Academy’s members.
They’re 94 percent white, 77
percent male, and their average
age is 63. That’s hardly repre-
sentative of the diversity we
see in the streets and, increas-
ingly, on our TV screens.
Even after a push for more
inclusion following last year’s
infamous snub of Selma, few-
er than 20 African Ameri-
cans — and just a handful of
Latinos and Asian Americans
— were among the 322 new
members invited to join the
Academy.
There are other factors in-
volved. A recent UCLA study
found that ilm studio heads
were 94 percent white and
that all of them were men.
Studio senior management
was a similarly homogenous
92 percent white and 83 per-
cent male.
The struggle to transform
the Academy into a more di-
verse body must take place
within the Academy itself.
Maybe that’s starting to hap-
pen: After this year’s iasco,
leaders announced a goal to
double the representation of
women and people of color by
2020.
But change will remain elu-
sive if there’s no transforma-
tion of the white male-dominat-
ed studio system that decides
what gets made — and perhaps
most importantly, what doesn’t
get made — in the irst place.
Major studios simply aren’t
green-lighting projects that re-
lect our nation.
And the few movies that do
signal greater inclusivity end
up on the cutting room loor
during the awards nomination
process.
I’m not an Academy mem-
ber. I don’t green-light ilms,
nor do I direct them. But I do
control what does — or doesn’t
— appear on my television
screen. So this year, I’m skip-
ping the Oscars. And I won’t
tune back in until Hollywood
addresses these legitimate con-
cerns and gets with the pro-
gram.
Marc Morial is president
and chief executive oficer of
the National Urban League.
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