Super Social Analysis: Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and LGBT in Movies

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Prefacing this by saying that I didn't see the original:

 

 

 

the idea of this amuses me more than it probably needs to, but I'm not sure how much you can parody what's practically a parody to begin with, not to mention a study in fucked-up relationships.

[raezen]

As soon as I saw the commercials for "Joy" and "The Big Short" I knew that these movies were going to be immensely critically acclaimed. You don't need to know the subject matter, or even the director, anything like that. All you need to see is all the actors

The funny thing is while you'd think that from the trailers in the case of Joy it's not true. Joy was in the theatres at least a week before the RT rating finally hit fresh and it still stays at 60% now. I remember when they announced that Joy would be in the comedy section of the GG awards one person remarked that meant it had already been nominated even though Joy hadn't been released yet. And sure enough the GG are the only awards that nominated any part of Joy other then best actress.

Edited January 15, 2016 by raezen

[Ms Blue Jay]

Yet another Oscar nominee for acting is pretty high acclaim in my opinion.  There's a lot of women out there.  Charlize Theron just as one small example.

[blixie]

 

Charlize Theron just as one small example

 

Charlize is easily my favorite performance by an actress this year, that I've seen, because platform releases suck I haven't see Room, or Brooklyn or Carol, much less 45 Years. I actively chose to avoid Joy. I also wish Mya Taylor in Tangerine had gotten more awards glow, for a non-actress she was amazing, the emotional heart/anchor of that whole movie.

[UYI]

I don't necessarily agree with what Anne Hathaway is saying here--I think Jennifer Lawrence did NOT come across as joking when she was talking to that reporter--but after being constantly compared to her in a negative way for so long, I do like how kind and classy she comes across here. This is from Anne's Facebook page. (ETA her last name--I can't believe I forgot it! *hangs head in shame*)

 

 

 

Dear the Internet,
It's become pretty clear that the Jennifer Lawrence "scolding" was taken out of context and that she was dryly joking with a journalist who was indeed using his phone to take photos of her.
Let's not continue the sad but common practice of building people - especially women- up just to viciously tear them down when we perceive them to have misstepped. Jennifer is a beautiful, talented, wildly successful, popular, FOUR TIME OSCAR NOMINATED young woman. Please let us not punish her for these things.
Sincerely,
A J-Law fan
‪#‎supportstrongwomen‬ ‪#‎imwithher‬ ‪#‎whycantwegiveloveonemorechance‬

Edited January 15, 2016 by UYI

[blixie]

Who the fuck is Anne? (sorry to be blunt, I'm just confused).

Edited January 15, 2016 by blixie

[UYI]

Oops, sorry!  Anne Hathaway. I thought I typed her last name. I'm sorry. :)

[DollEyes]

Once again I'm disgusted, but not suprised, by the breathtaking lack of diversity in the acting and Best Picture categories for this year's Oscars. Leaving Straight Outta Compton & Creed out of the Best Picture, Ryan Coogler & F. Gary Gray out of the Best Director and Michael B. Jordan out of the Best Actor races was bad enough, but snubbing Idris Elba again, this time for Beasts Of No Nation, is outrageous. I think that the reason why Idris keeps getting ignored is because most of the White, male members of the Academy are jealous. Idris is not only tall, dark & handsome personified, he's got the talent to back it up-and don't even get me started on his British accent. At least the Golden Globes have sense enough to appreciate Idris, since they've nominated him several times, including twice this year. 

 

  I think that some of the blame for the Academy's epic fail to nominate more minorities ironically belongs to Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who is a Black woman. Since last year's whiteout, Ms. Isaacs should have done everything she could to recruit more minority Academy members  & had she done so, I believe that things would have been better this year. Not much better, but still better. That said, Ms. Isaccs can only do so much. Unfortunately, since there are no minority studio heads in Hollywood, artists of color will keep getting screwed over all the time, not just at awards season. 

Edited January 16, 2016 by DollEyes

[Ohwell]

I think that the reason why Idris keeps getting ignored is because most of the White, male members of the Academy are jealous. Idris is not only tall, dark & handsome personified, he's got the talent to back it up-and don't even get me started on his British accent.

 

Damn right they're jealous!

 

*fans self*

[funkopop]

Damn right they're jealous!

*fans self*

This pic always amuses me. Married to an effing prince but still taken in by Idris.

[Ms Blue Jay]

......  thank you for that pic...... 

[xaxat]

That man gets his sexy on so easily.

 

I am really jealous.

 

 

  I think that some of the blame for the Academy's epic fail to nominate more minorities ironically belongs to Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who is a Black woman. Since last year's whiteout, Ms. Isaacs should have done everything she could to recruit more minority Academy members  & had she done so, I believe that things would have been better this year. Not much better, but still better. That said, Ms. Isaccs can only do so much. Unfortunately, since there are no minority studio heads in Hollywood, artists of color will keep getting screwed over all the time, not just at awards season. 

 

I don't really blame her. I don't have the numbers, but the Academy has worked to invite younger and more diverse members over the last couple of years. The problem is that there are thousands of incumbents that aren't going to go away any time soon. In addition, while attention is paid to the acting categories, I kind of doubt there are a lot of POC cinematographers, sound editors, casting directors etc. other areas that the Academy draws members from.

 

And while the Academy, rightfully, takes criticism for it's nomination history, that history is a reflection of a larger problem. As difficult as it is for POC to star in movies, my guess is that it is even more difficult for them to get involved in all of the other stuff that comes with making a movie. Take a look at all of the African Americans who have bee nominated for an Oscar. Cinematography, editing, costume design. . . only a handful of nominations. (But we do know how to write some songs!)

 

The Academy awards are a reflection of the industry. And I have no idea how to fix that.

[SeanC]

but snubbing Idris Elba again

When was the first time?

 

I think that some of the blame for the Academy's epic fail to nominate more minorities ironically belongs to Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who is a Black woman. Since last year's whiteout, Ms. Isaacs should have done everything she could to recruit more minority Academy members  & had she done so, I believe that things would have been better this year. Not much better, but still better. That said, Ms. Isaccs can only do so much. Unfortunately, since there are no minority studio heads in Hollywood, artists of color will keep getting screwed over all the time, not just at awards season.

AMPAS has been actively trying to diversify its membership for at least a decade (to some effect).  The problems with AMPAS' composition are essentially the problems of the industry as a whole.  When, I think it was, Variety, did that study to ascertain the membership demographics, they noted that there was no serious dispute that this was largely reflective of the source material; so it's not like, for instance, there are huge numbers of non-white cinematographers not being asked to join the AMPAS cinematography branch; the AMPAS cinematography branch is mostly white because most cinematographers are (cinematography is also, incidentally, the most male area in Hollywood; Best Cinematography is the only category that hasn't even had a female nominee, let alone winner).  That will only change as more non-white people get jobs in these areas and climb the ladder.

Edited January 17, 2016 by SeanC

[Ms Blue Jay]

What do you think about what Lexi Alexander writes about this issue?  She has tried to join and is refused entry.  Even though she is an Oscar nominee.

 

Lexi Alexander ‏@Lexialex  Jan 14
I'm an Oscar nominee & have tried to join the academy since I was nominated (they won't let me in). Now I don't care anymore. I'm disgusted.
245 retweets 278 likes
Reply   Retweeted  245  
Liked 278 
More

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/01/15/and-the-oscar-goes-to-a-white-person/make-more-women-and-minorities-members-of-the-motion-picture-academy

 

http://blogs.indiewire.com/womenandhollywood/an-oscar-nominated-director-gets-real

 

From Aisha Harris

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/01/15/and-the-oscar-goes-to-a-white-person/hollywood-needs-to-fix-itself

Edited January 17, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[SeanC]

What do you think about what Lexi Alexander writes about this issue?  She has tried to join and is refused entry.  Even though she is an Oscar nominee.

Jon Landau, who won Best Picture as one of the producers of Titanic in 1998, wasn't invited to join the Academy until 2010 (I recall there being some confusion when that list of inductions was announced); how they pick when to offer somebody a spot is a bit inscrutable.  You would think that nominees/winners would more or less automatically get an invite (at least, winners of awards with small numbers of people; one could understand them not automatically admitting every VFX person nominated in a given year), but evidently it doesn't work like that.

Edited January 17, 2016 by SeanC

[Ohwell]

This pic always amuses me. Married to an effing prince but still taken in by Idris.

She looks like her ovaries exploded.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Another article from Mykki Kendall

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/01/15/why-are-the-oscar-nominees-so-white-because-the-academy-doesnt-want-to-change/

[Ms Blue Jay]

Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett will boycott the Oscars.

 

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2016/01/18/spike-lee-jada-pinkett-smith-to-boycott-oscars-over-lack-of-diversity.html

[Rick Kitchen]

Are there people of color who are nominated for other awards?  If not, then it's a major problem.  If so, then those who are calling for a boycott are slapping them in the face.

I can think of Inarritu off the top of my head.

[Ms Blue Jay]

The Weeknd for Best Original Song.  I feel very confident he will not take it personally.

 

Just looking at the names of the nominees, the non-acting/writing/directing awards seem more diverse.  Obviously I don't know anyone's racial backgrounds, but there's a diversity of names.

 

http://oscar.go.com/nominees/

 

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0438090/ Asif Kapadia was nominated for the "Amy" documentary.  Just one example. 

Edited January 19, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[xaxat]

David Oyelowo Goes Off on Oscars: "I Am an Academy Member and It Doesn't Reflect Me"

 

 

Actor David Oyelowo — who was famously overlooked for playing Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma when the Oscar nominations were announced last year — broke off his prepared remarks to blast the Academy at a gala honoring Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs Monday night.

 

Awkward.

[DollEyes]

 

When was [idris Elba] snubbed the first time?

 

  For his starring role in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, which many people thought he would get a Best Actor nomination for.

[xaxat]

 A new trailer for Suicide Squad was released last night.

 

 

The Squad is assembled by an African American woman and features, an African American male, a Japanese American woman, a Hispanic man, a Native American man and a British man of African descent.

 

(Although it looks like they might be setting up Margot Robbie to steal the show.)

[SeanC]

  For his starring role in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, which many people thought he would get a Best Actor nomination for.

Pretty much nobody thought that after the movie actually came out (not that his performance was bad, but the movie excited pretty much nobody).

 

Suicide Squad certainly does have a diverse lineup.  Deadshot is typically the lead team member in the comics, which would jibe with Smith being in that role (he definitely looks different than his usual blockbuster persona).

Edited January 20, 2016 by SeanC

[Ms Blue Jay]

I only just figured out that Mr. Eko from LOST is in Suicide Squad!

 

One of my favourite movies this year was Focus.  Critics didn't much care for it, but I totally loved it.  It was so up my alley.  The main cast was:  Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro (yes mama), Adrian Martinez,  Gerald McRaney, and B.D. Wong!  Such a fun movie with such a multiracial cast.  Made more than $100 million dollars over budget.  

Edited January 21, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[DollEyes]

 

Pretty much nobody thought that after the movie actually came out (not that [idris Elba's] performance was bad, but the movie excited pretty much nobody).

 

  I respectfully disagree.  It excited the Golden Globe voters, who nominated Elba for Best Dramatic Actor in 2014, which inspired talk that he would also get an Oscar nomination.

[SeanC]

The HFPA's nominations tend to reflect the earliest phase of the awards race, not to mention them having twice as many lead slots. Elba was considered a possibility at the outset, but he quickly dropped out of the conversation. It lacked the passion, even among critics, to stay in the game.

Which isn't to say that performances in similarly-received films don't make the cut (arguably two of this year's nominees, Cranston and Redmayne, fall into that category). It's a highly variable business. But the 2013 race for Best Actor ultimately produced a field of five leads from Best Picture nominees; it's hardly glaring that Elba wasn't nominated.

Edited January 21, 2016 by SeanC

[proserpina65]

  I respectfully disagree.  It excited the Golden Globe voters, who nominated Elba for Best Dramatic Actor in 2014, which inspired talk that he would also get an Oscar nomination.

Golden Globe voters are easily excited, particularly by star power - they nominated Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie for The Tourist after all.

 

(Not saying that Mr. Elba's performance wasn't worthy of nomination, just that the GGs are not exactly good Oscar nomination predictors.)

Edited January 21, 2016 by proserpina65

[DollEyes]

True, the GGs aren't always the best predictor of Oscar wins, but since several of this year's winners in the acting categories are also Oscar nominees, their predictions of nominees are above-average.

[ChelseaNH]

Golden Globe voters are easily excited, particularly by star power - they nominated Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie for The Tourist after all.

 

In terms of star power, Idris Elba is nowhere near Johnny Depp or Angelina Jolie.  He's not a household name.  So that wouldn't be why HFPA nominated him.

 

That said, I don't recall a lot of buzz about his performance, and Hollywood runs on buzz.

[xaxat]

ABC is running an ad promoting the Oscars that works so hard to say "Hey, we're diverse!" that becomes hilarious in an unintentional comedy kind of way. 

 

I'm pretty sure it features more shots of POC who weren't nominated (John Boyega, Michael B. Jordan etc.) than (white) actors who actually were. Lupita Nyong'o, who has been a critic of the Academy, makes an appearance as does Will Smith, who is boycotting. 

[galax-arena]

Oh, Charlotte Rampling, no:

 

Oscars 2016: Charlotte Rampling says diversity row is 'racist to white people'

 

Asked for her take on the current furore over all-white lists of nominees on French Radio network Europe 1 on Friday morning, the British actor did not mince her words. “It is racist to whites,” she said.

 

“One can never really know, but perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list,” added Rampling. Asked if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences should introduce quotas, a proposal which no current advocate of increased diversity has mooted, she responded: “Why classify people? These days everyone is more or less accepted ... People will always say: ‘Him, he’s less handsome’; ‘Him, he’s too black’; ‘He is too white’ ... someone will always be saying ‘You are too’ [this or that] ... But do we have to take from this that there should be lots of minorities everywhere?”

 

When the interviewer explains that black members of the film industry feel like a minority, Rampling replies: “No comment.”

1. Why is it that whenever black people speak up about shit like this, the automatic assumption is that they simply must not be as qualified as the white person? Because white actors - along with white people everywhere - have only ever won based on pure merit, right?

 

2. The diversity issue isn't limited to black people. It's a problem for all POC. According to Wikipedia, only one Asian actress has been nominated for Best Leading Actress and that was way back in 1935.

[Archery]

Oh, so many things. 

 

How can expressing disappointment with the lack of diversity be "racist"?  The people objecting have no power to take anything away from white actors and directors, which is why it's not racist.  It may make white people feel uncomfortable, but it cannot keep them from anything or change their lives.  Actually, I don't even think she feels uncomfortable; she's just bitching. 

 

Second, it is entirely possible that a POC turned in a performance worthy of nomination AND was not nominated. 

 

Third, all acting awards are subjective, and it turns more on how much a character resonates with the viewer in determining whether that actor is uppermost in your mind for a nomination.  Big shocker: it is easier for white characters to resonate with white viewers because in many ways, they are seeing their experience up there on the screen.  While that is par for the course for non-white viewers, it is harder for white viewers.  I would argue that almost every story in which a POC has walked off with the Oscar contains a white window into the story. 

 

Ms. Rampling's response to this question should be contained in the world's working definition of white privilege.

 

A couple of nights ago, I delayed dinner because Eve's Bayou was on.  If there were any white people in this movie, I don't recall them.  It made every top ten list for that year (1997).  Here is Roger Ebert's review.  Wasn't nominated for anything. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

The hardest thing to wrap my brain around is some people's knee-jerk assumption that all 20 of the white actors absolutely were the 20 best actors this year as if voting was the scientific proof , as if the Oscars are not based on a subjective voting system.  How can people not see that they're believing what they're told at face value?  "These 20 people were nominated so they deserved their nominations, end of story, no bias here."  "These 20 white people were the best actors this year, no questions asked."  I don't understand that logic.  I don't know why this kind of conclusion jumping makes me so upset, but it does.  People believe what they see and what they're told, but where is the critical thinking?  Where is the questioning?  

[proserpina65]

In terms of star power, Idris Elba is nowhere near Johnny Depp or Angelina Jolie.  He's not a household name.  So that wouldn't be why HFPA nominated him.

 

That said, I don't recall a lot of buzz about his performance, and Hollywood runs on buzz.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I thought he was.  I adore him, but realize he's nowhere near that level of stardom.  I was just using that as an example of how the HFPA is easily excited.

[Princess Sparkle]

Oh, Charlotte Rampling, no:

 

Oscars 2016: Charlotte Rampling says diversity row is 'racist to white people'

 

 

 

And because Charlotte Rampling wasn't enough in one day, it's time for an "Oh Michael Caine...no".  Also, since it's Friday and I'm a dumb-dumb, I made the mistake of reading the comments, and I now weep for humanity.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Princess Sparkle

[Cobalt Stargazer]

From the Celeb News thread in the TV section:

 

Actually, Precious is a movie not about slavery or civil rights, and that got a ton of nominations (Best Picture, Director, Acting, Writing, Editing- that was clearly a top contender). So, it can happen, I just think there needs to be more movies made about POC and supported strongly by the studios.

 

 

I'm not sure that's the best example to pick to prove your point. 

 

 

What people are trying to tell you about Precious is that while it is a fine movie, it's basically a modern The Color Purple. Precious' parents are some of the worst stereotypes about urban/poor/Black people around. So yeah, there's representation, but its not exactly positive media images for the world to see. At the risk of being off-topic, I am sick of seeing Black action, romance, and drama movies. Give me some sci-fi, adventure, and fantasy please. 

 

The comparison between Precious and The Color Purple is interesting, and if anything Precious is worse as far as the ending goes. Unlike Celie, who escapes from Mister Albert's cruelty and goes on to live her own life, reuniting with the sister she'd been separated from for so long, Precious faces an uncertain future at best, leaving the welfare center (and her nightmare of a mother) behind with her two small children in tow. Her life may have improved, but when you start underneath the barrel, there really is nowhere to go but up.

 

So then the question becomes, did Sidibe and Mo'Nique not deserve the recognition they got for their work on the film, that because its so stereotypical or so depressing or so X Whatever Thing, their roles weren't worth acknowledging? Do movies about black people have to be uplifting and/or stories of triumph, or at least depict positive images to be worthy of awards and praise?

 

The counter-argument is something along the lines of, "Well, white people have 8.712 representations in movies, so that makes it okay to portray them as assholes." Which...okay, fine. I don't necessarily agree with that, but that's another tangent for another time. But between John Wick, Patrick Bateman, Hannibal Lecter, and Bishop Pike, you would think that all white men are hair-trigger psychos and outlaws who cut people up with chainsaws, then eat human livers after starting a brushfire of violence over a dog. And considering that John and to a lesser extent Bishop, since The Wild Bunch is about the closing of the west and the end of the line for his outlaw gang, are technically the good guys, that puts an even twistier twist on things. To summarize, I would be more wary of sharing an elevator with wealthy, successful, white Patrick Bateman than, say, Laurence Fishburne's Morpheus, because Patrick would be way more likely to kill me for no reason and dump my corpse in his bathtub.

 

As for seeing everyday lives reflected on-screen, my life is nothing like anything I've ever seen in a movie. But that's because my life is boring. I can't drive a car backwards at eighty miles an hour or pilot a boat over a tsunami wave or learn martial arts through a computer program implanted in the back of my head. I guess I've been watching the wrong movies.

 

Meanwhile, Idris Elba has been cast as Roland Deschain in the upcoming Dark Tower movie, and I'm fully expecting it to be another Hunger Games debacle. A few assholes in the Twitterverse will get their panties in a twist, and the debate about whether or not everything on the internet is the absolute truth at all times will crank up again. Because no one ever lies on those dating site profiles or anything.

[ChelseaNH]

It is mathematically possible that the top performances were all by white people -- the math tilts in their favor in large part because there are more performances by white people than non-white people.  So even if the nominations are "correct" (for somebody's value of correct), that doesn't mean everything is hunky-dory.

[Archery]

The hardest thing to wrap my brain around is some people's knee-jerk assumption that all 20 of the white actors absolutely were the 20 best actors this year as if voting was the scientific proof , as if the Oscars are not based on a subjective voting system.  How can people not see that they're believing what they're told at face value?  "These 20 people were nominated so they deserved their nominations, end of story, no bias here."  "These 20 white people were the best actors this year, no questions asked."  I don't understand that logic.  I don't know why this kind of conclusion jumping makes me so upset, but it does.  People believe what they see and what they're told, but where is the critical thinking?  Where is the questioning?  

Which is why the "all the NBA/NFL MVPs are black, so, . . ." argument is ridiculous, since those awards are based (mostly) on measurable statistics. 

 

As for seeing everyday lives reflected on-screen, my life is nothing like anything I've ever seen in a movie. But that's because my life is boring. I can't drive a car backwards at eighty miles an hour or pilot a boat over a tsunami wave or learn martial arts through a computer program implanted in the back of my head. I guess I've been watching the wrong movies.

 

And yet, don't you fall in love?  Could anyone in your family be diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers?  Would you drop everything in your life to look for your missing kid?  Can you be betrayed by a lover?  Why can't those stories be about POC?  I'm not asking to see my boring life on screen -- I can barely stay awake through it myself.  But that doesn't mean that I could never see myself or someone who looks like me on screen in a compelling story.

 

Honestly, that's why I can't bring myself to mind Tyler Perry movies. Not a huge fan of Medea-centered movies, but I sure can relate to the other characters he presents in Medea's orbit. 

Edited January 22, 2016 by Archery

[angora]

Here's the way I see it.  When you're talking about the best performances in a given year, there's going to be more than 20 worthy of of being nominated.  There are always going to be people who deserved to get nominated that don't; once you reach a certain level of awesome, the delineations between great performances are incredibly thin.   Sure, there are always going to be some outliers on either side - clear frontrunners or people with juicy Oscar-bait roles, as well as long-shots or people performing wonderfully in movies that are just okay - but many of the final 20 that do get nominated are going on that list by the luck of the draw. 

 

For the sake of reactionists who shout, "Maybe the actors of color just weren't good enough!!!", let's take a depressingly conservative estimate and say around 10% of that pool of Oscar-caliber roles/performances are from PoC.  It would follow, statistically, that 10% of the nominees ought to be PoC, too, right?  Two of the 20?  Or to be even more conservative, if you want to cut the odds for that 10% in half because white actors are more likely to be considered frontrunners and actors of color are more like to be considered long-shots, luck of the draw should still garner one nomination.  But, out of all the people who were basically equally great this year, to have only white actors "just happening" to draw those lucky cards feels like a stacked deck.

 

I'd imagine that, for most voters, it was done without malicious intent.  I'm assuming that, "What, I didn't nominate any actors of color?  Huh, that's weird - I didn't notice," was a far more common scenario than "Oscar whiteout!!  Woot woot!!!"  But that doesn't mean it's not a problem, and it doesn't let them off the hook.

[xaxat]

Academy announces major changes to membership amid #OscarsSoWhite backlash

 

Short version, membership is no longer for a lifetime and they are going to start kicking out older, inactive members.

[blixie]

That is such a good solution, because I feel like that is major part of the reason why the nominees are so white, and why it's so politically about campaigning and be well liked (except for Innaritu  and O'Russell for some reason everyone overlooks that they are assholes), as well as why I assume Carol (and Haynes in general) has been utterly snubbed so consistently.

[Dejana]

That is such a good solution, because I feel like that is major part of the reason why the nominees are so white, and why it's so politically about campaigning and be well liked (except for Innaritu  and O'Russell for some reason everyone overlooks that they are assholes), as well as why I assume Carol (and Haynes in general) has been utterly snubbed so consistently.

 

Directors don't have to be nice people. In life, it's generally a good thing, but in terms of being highly regarded as an artist, it doesn't matter so much in that field. The egotism and tyrannical ways are probably seen as part of an auteur's uncompromising creative genius. I should say that goes for male directors who aren't black. I doubt that the studios and awards voters would be so forgiving if Ava DuVernay ever behaved half as badly. 

Edited January 23, 2016 by Dejana

[blixie]

 

Directors don't have to be nice people.

 

 

That wasn't my point, I know directors don't have to be  nice, nobody HAS to be  nice. I was thinking more of how actors who are nommd/win are well liked, and engage in suck uppy campaigns. I still think being well liked and respected is worth something even to directors when getting awards, but being dick isn't as likely to be held against you.

 

I'm thinking specifically of the year Eddie Murphy lost for Dream Girls, I really thought he deserved to win that year, but he wasn't blowing smoke up anybodies ass, being his arrogant Eddie self, and he didn't win, even though he'd just won SAG and the Golden Globe. Of course Mo'nique still won when she refused to the play the game, but I felt like that was a year they were trying to prove they were super inclusive and not racist at all. Which they obviously got tired of pretending for that stretch of the 90's and aught's and just went back to nominating mostly white people.

[Chrissytd]

Charlotte Rampling says her comment was misinterpreted.
 

Which is why the "all the NBA/NFL MVPs are black, so, . . ." argument is ridiculous, since those awards are based (mostly) on measurable statistics.

Gosh, I hate that argument. I know I should stay away from the comments section but every single article had at least one comment mentioning black athletes, or how white people make up a majority of the population. *eyeroll*

Edited January 23, 2016 by Chrissytd

[xaxat]

Which is why the "all the NBA/NFL MVPs are black, so, . . ." argument is ridiculous, since those awards are based (mostly) on measurable statistics. 

 

Are people really saying that? Because, in addition to being ridiculous, it's factually wrong.

 

Not only do white players win MVP awards, in the NBA white guys from other countries have won the MVP. The front runner for rookie of the year this season is a dude from Latvia. 

 

Sports has its own issues with racial politics, but when it comes to identifying talent (which really becomes subjective when arguing about who is the "best") if you can play, for the most part people really don't care what color you are. 

 

Linsanity!

[Ms Blue Jay]

Can't watch that trailer without crying

 

xaxat, you're a smart/strong person for not reading comments.

 

I've seen

- Well make your own black Oscars then.

- Have you ever thought that they were the best performances of the year?  Huh?

- Everything is so PC these days

- So now we have to give an Oscar to every colour?

- it should be about the performance, not the race  (Meaning the best performances were rewarded)

- Why are there only black people in the NBA then?

 

etc. etc. etc. and then each comment has about 100 likes.

Edited January 23, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[SeanC]

An interesting article on how Disney Animation came to the decision to make Zootopia's female secondary lead into the main character as the production process moved forward.

[VCRTracking]

I'm thinking specifically of the year Eddie Murphy lost for Dream Girls, I really thought he deserved to win that year, but he wasn't blowing smoke up anybodies ass, being his arrogant Eddie self, and he didn't win, even though he'd just won SAG and the Golden Globe.

 

Well Norbit being released just before the Oscars and having all those billboards around town didn't help. Yikes.

 

ETA: I remember when Eddie Murphy was on Inside the Actors Studio in December 2006 and they talked about his great work in Dreamgirls which had just come out. But then he talked about his "upcoming movie" Norbit, and he was genuinely excited about it and told the audience "I can't wait for you guys to see it!" with sincere enthusiasm.

Edited January 23, 2016 by VCRTracking

[Danny Franks]

It's hardly news to anyone that Hollywood has a racial bias, when it comes to the better roles. They have a gender bias as well. But I'm really not sure that the Oscars are the right target for the vitriol.

 

Because what performances are we saying should have been recognised this year but haven't? Michael B. Jordan in Creed? Sorry, the movie is okay, and his performance is good, but not Oscar-worthy. One of the guys from Straight Outta Compton? They were a strong group of performers, but none stood out except O'Shea Jackson Jr, who was essentially doing an impersonation of his dad. Jada Pinkett-Smith? Anything I've seen her in, she was hopeless, I can't imagine she was somehow incredible in Magic Mike.

 

I've not seen Beasts of No Nation, so it may well be that Idris Elba has been egregiously overlooked. But so have other actors who aren't black. I can't say I find any of the leading actors who were nominated undeserving, and I'm actually annoyed that Tom Hanks wasn't nominated for Bridge of Spies. 

 

Creed and Straight Outta Compton were both decent, but when I was watching them, never did I ever think either were worthy of awards. The only movie I've seen this year that I came out of saying, 'oh yeah, there are some Oscars in store here' was Bridge of Spies.

 

If you want to argue that people of different racial backgrounds aren't given the same opportunities and roles as white actors, then I am 100% onboard with that. It's ridiculous that so many parts are still written based on the colour of the character's skin. It's ridiculous that there are so few directors and writers and DoPs and god knows what else, who are not white. But the argument is back to front.

 

The Academy awards are a reflection of the industry. And I have no idea how to fix that.

 

 

That's the problem. And making this argument about the Academy Awards means that people like Charlotte Rampling and Michael Caine can dismiss it so easily. It should be about the film industry as a whole. We shouldn't be saying, 'why wasn't Idris Elba nominated?' We should be saying, 'why is the movie industry still overwhelmingly dominated by white men, who don't want anyone else to play with their toys?' Zeroing in so closely on one thing allows everyone who doesn't want to look at the actual problems to ignore them.