Oscar buzz is a common phenomenon that occurs every year. Everyone wonders who—and what—will be nominated, what the nominees and their significant others will wear to the event, and what shenanigans the host will get into on air. This year’s nominations were announced early in January, and there were some names on the list that were expected, but some were noticeably missing.
Within the 20 actor and actress nominations, leading or supporting, not a single person of color was recognized. One of the biggest snubs comes out of the movie “Creed,” the 2015 addition to the long-running “Rocky” series of movies. The star of the movie Michael B. Jordan, who portrayed Apollo Creed’s son Adonis, failed to gain a “Best Actor in a Leading Role” nomination for his work in the film. Despite this, Sylvester Stallone, who reprised his classic role as Rocky Balboa, gained a nomination for “Best Actor in a Supporting Role.”
Another example of recognition of white contributors to movies with storylines that contained African American actors and actresses is shown in “Straight Outta Compton.” The only nominations the movie gained from the Academy Awards went to two screenwriters. Even though these two movies were, on all accounts, audience and critical successes. They failed to gain the recognition and amount of nominations of movies such as “The Revenant,” “The Martian,” or “Carol.”
The up-and-coming director of “Creed,” Ryan Coogler, gained no recognition in the “Directing” category, amid bigger names such as Adam McKay, George Miller and the 2015 winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu. Newcomer Tessa Thompson, who played Jordan’s love interest Bianca, was not recognized in either of the “Best Actress” categories.
Shekia Baker, a senior broadcast communication major and the president of the Black Student Association, shares the sentiment of some that Jordan was snubbed by the Academy, and that this stems from something larger. 2016 is the second year in a row that no one of color gained recognition in the “Best Actor” or “Best Actress” category, and the second year that #OscarsSoWhite has trended on social media platforms.
“I think the diversity issue comes from frustration—people of color, more specifically the black community, are not getting recognized for their work for the second time is frustrating,” Baker says.
Even though the issue of diversity within the Academy Award nominations has been recognized over the past two years, Baker says that a solution is not as clear as some might hope.
“I’m not sure how to resolve this issue especially when there are black actors who have yet to be nominated. It’s very strange, but I am not convinced it’s coincidental,” says Baker.
“Creed” and “Straight Outta Compton” are not the only snubs from the Academy in this year’s nominations.
Another is Will Smith’s role as Dr. Bennet Omalu in the sports medical drama “Concussion.” Smith’s omission from the acting category has gained attention from not only moviegoers, but also fellow celebrities including Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Spike Lee, the director of “Chi-Raq” among other movies, felt that he and Coogler were left out the nominations wrongfully.
The Smiths and Lee have made it clear since the nominations were announced that they would not be attending the 88th Academy Awards on Feb, 28. On “Good Morning America,” Smith announced that neither he nor his wife would be in attendance during the Oscars as a result of the lack of recognition of African American actors, actresses and directors. In his interview on the morning talk show, Smith said that he and his wife are a part of the larger acting community, “but at this current time, we’re uncomfortable to stand there and say this is okay.”
Actors who are not a part of the black community, namely George Clooney and Mark Ruffalo, have spoken their thoughts on the lack of diversity in the nominations, and how it ultimately reflects on the Academy as a whole. Ruffalo, who gained a “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” for his work in “Spotlight” contemplated not attending the awards ceremony in solidarity, but later decided that he would.
There is, however, another side to the discussion on diversity that is occurring around the Oscars. Emily Arias, a senior journalism major, recognizes the other side of the argument and looks at the talent being shown in major movies.
“I think the problem is talent in the movies, not the diversity. If people don’t do a well-enough job in their roles, they shouldn’t be up on the podium just because of their race,” Arias says.
Charlotte Rampling, who is nominated for “Best Actress in a Leading Role” for her role in “45 Years” supports the Academy’s decisions on nominations, and says that members of the Academy should always consider the acting talent of potential nominees.
Another area of the Academy Awards that has been scrutinized over diversity in the course of the near 90 years that the institution has been in place is the inclusion of women in technical categories, namely in the “Best Director” and “Best Picture.” Grace Goodwyn, a junior interactive media studies and studio art double major, recently made an infographic with statistics of women in the Oscars. “I found that in the 88 years of the Oscars, only four women have been nominated for Best Director and only one has won,” Goodwyn says.
“In addition, the nine women who have had their movie nominated for ‘Best Picture’ have not been nominated for ‘Best Director,’ and this does happen to male directors, but it is more obvious because of the lack of women in nominations to begin with,” Goodwyn adds.
The diversity issue in this year’s Academy Award nominations is a multi-faceted one. There is not a clear-cut solution, but the discussion that surrounds the nominees and the members is one that will not being going away soon.
The Oscars will be shown on ABC Sunday Feb. 28.
