by Rob Macon
Not again! First 2015 and now 2016. The 88th Academy Awards, known as the Oscars, for yet another year has decided that whites only will celebrate being the best actors, rather than any other people of color. We Built This City,î as the song goes, which seems to be the mindset not only of the voting members of the Academy, but also, we’re learning, of the Hollywood studio executives, who are the true culprits.
Could it be the president of the Academy Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who is African American? She said that even she has experienced racism in Hollywood. Or could it be this year’s host Chris Rock, who also is African American? What about the producer for the Oscar show and telecast this year, Reggie Hudlin, another African American. A potential Oscar nominee such as Spike Lee is refusing to attend this yearís fete. He made reference to the 40 white actors nominated over the past two years in a row, for the four top acting categories of Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, with no people of color. Lee’s film Chi-Raq, Will Smith’s Concussion, Michael B. Jordan’s Creed, Samuel Jackson’s The Hateful 8. Benicio del Toros Sicario and the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton with a Black ensemble cast all were left out of the Oscars list for likely nominees even though other aspects of the films were up for awards. While there are plans to boycott this year’s Oscar awards, the Turn Off the Oscars Campaign is also getting under way. Viewers are encouraged to watch programs other than the Oscars on Sunday February 28. Turn Off the Oscars Campaign is aimed at affecting the Oscars’ ratings. The sponsors need to know that they are supporting a race war.
Even though Boone Isaacs expressed her disappointment about the lack of diversity and promised a huge change at the Academy (which should have been done after last year’s fiasco) there still will be a televised Oscar ceremony. With awards given to whites only. Turn Off the Oscars invites celebrities like Spike Lee and groups like Black Lives Matter to join the protest throughout Black History Month.
