Recently filmmakers from the upcoming Pan African Film Festival showcased their work at UCLA’s Bunche Center for African American Studies “Images of Blackness” film series. Afterwards, a lively discussion was held, covering such topics as the difficulties of mounting a coherent short film narrative, and the changing relationship between the Black and LBGTQ communities. A subject that was not talked about, but certainly was on every one’s mind, was the current turmoil concerning race, the Oscar nominations, and the status of minority involvement in the entertainment industry.
To be sure, the debate began long before the nominations were announced. Last year’s event set the stage when critics lamented that the critically acclaimed biopic “Selma” was snubbed, and all 20 of the major categories were announced with no persons of Black people represented (Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu and his satirical “Birdman” were perhaps the year’s crowning achievement, with multiple nominations yielding four awards).
This year, the nomination results were replicated and the negative reaction was quickly forthcoming, led by the Rev. Al Sharpton, a vocal critic of the awards process the previous year. In short order, leading industry figures Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith announced that they would not be attending the Oscar ceremony (a coveted event for all within the industry) this coming Feb. 28, to protest what they see as the systemic exclusion of Black and other minority talent from recognition by their peers.
African American Cheryl Boone Isaacs, in her second year as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, diplomatically composed a carefully-worded statement:
“While we celebrate their extraordinary achievements, I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important conversation, and it’s time for big changes. The Academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership. In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond.
As many of you know, we have implemented changes to diversify our membership in the last four years. But the change is not coming as fast as we would like. We need to do more, and better and more quickly.
This isn’t unprecedented for the Academy. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was about recruiting younger members to stay vital and relevant. In 2016, the mandate is inclusion in all of its facets: gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. We recognize the very real concerns of our community, and I so appreciate all of you who have reached out to me in our effort to move forward together.”
UCLA sociology professor Darnell Hunt has been tracking entertainment diversity for most of his academic career. A cornerstone of his research is his annual report on the subject, now in its third year with the latest to be released on Feb. 24—a week before the Oscars. He sees the current proceedings optimistically, declaring that “. . . this is an important step in the right direction.”
“The industry can’t keep operating like this and continue to be viable,” he says, believing that the alignment of commerce, audience preference, and shifts in population make-up will eventually force a progressive advance.
“People of color are now 39 percent (of America’s population),” he notes, and the change in the country’s racial profile is a virtual certainty to continue.
“The majority will be the minority,” he states, adding that this change will effect a change in spending patterns, and in turn the decision-making process among those in control.
Things will change because public sentiment will “… hit them in the pocket book,” and economics will be the determining factor in terms of the direction of progress, Hunt believes.
Maryland-based filmmaker Monda Raquel Webb, in town for the “Images of Blackness Series,” applauded the heightened emotion building around an issue hat has been smoldering for years. Much of the problem stems from a disconnect between what she sees as shifting “American demographics and viewing preferences,” and the unwavering tastes of an entrenched old guard that makes up the voting Academy.
The performers of color who do succeed, in Webb’s opinion, do so because they conform to an industry perception.
“The majority of Black actors who have won awards depict the voter’s views of what’s acceptable and ok: mammies, bucks, coons, jezebels, sapphires and straight up thugs; from Hattie McDaniel to Halle Berry,” added Webb.
Backing up her assertion, she continues.
“Whoopie Goldberg won for being a ghost, or as my deep southern counterparts would say, a ‘haint.’”
“She won for being invisible,” Webb summarizes, “which to me depicts how many White men deem people of color.”
That said, Webb does not believe a boycott is the right approach.
“The challenges within the Academy are systemic, and need to be addressed from the inside out,” she insists. “The push for diversity should be realized by drastically changing the membership (amending the rules) as well as exponentially training and hiring people of color in the industry.”
Also in attendance at the “Images of Blackness Series” was Anndretta Lyle Wilson, who shares many of the same views with Webb, with significant differences.
“How can people of African descent ‘boycott’ an event when we were never really invited in the first place?” she asks. “The Academy Awards is basically a big party by and for film industry peers.”
“More important than discussing how we get invited to the Oscars,” she continues, “is discussing how we can create, own, and consume more of our own content and then throw our own parties and celebrate ourselves,” she says, pointing to the efforts of director Ava Duvernay (another Oscar snub) to distribute Black independent films through her ARRAY Now collective and company (http://www.arraynow.com).
A seasoned stage and vocal performer and doctoral candidate in theater and performance studies at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television, Wilson suggested more emphasis should be focused on the creation of alternative avenues of opportunity, outside of a system that has been biased from its inception.
“Diversity doesn’t necessarily mean empowerment, and I think economic empowerment through self determination is more important than diversity.”
Wilson makes an analogy with the present state of visual entertainment and the metamorphosis of the music industry in the 1990s with the inception of the sales tracking system “SoundScan.”
“SoundScan revealed—contrary to existing industry reports—that NWA had the #1 selling record in the country,” she remembers, “that was evidence that Black art doesn’t need major industry support or approval in order to have wide commercial success.”
“The same thing is already happening with the film industry through video on demand (VOD).”
“Why do you think VOD revenue numbers are not widely available?” she asks before answering the question herself.
“Because in the privacy of their homes, people are disproportionately watching Black content and those producers are making tons of money.”
The Plot Thickens …
“Tonight we honor Hollywood’s best and Whitest. Sorry, brightest.”
—2015 Academy Award host Neil Patrick Harris
A telling component of the mellow drama swirling around the entertainment industry is the propensity of Caucasian celebrities on expound on the scandal. When pressed by entertainment trade magazine Variety, double Academy Award winner George Clooney cautiously allowed that “… we need to get better at this.”
Left-wing documentarian Michael Moore followed suit by announcing that he would also not attend, nor would he take part in any of the parties or other social functions.
A subtext of the controversy is the plight of other marginalized groups including Asians and Hispanics. A time-honored tradition in cinema history is the practice of allowing White actors to portray ethnic minorities with the aide of makeup, which is a subtle form of Black face. This tradition was revitalized in 2011’s “The Descendants,” a film starring and produced by Clooney’s production company, and featuring a number of Caucasians representing native Hawaiian characters. This situation was reprised in 2015’s “Aloha,” a romantic comedy in which Flaxen haired Emma Stone took on the role of a Chinese/Hawaiian Air Force pilot.
Some time ago, an industry watcher and long-time entertainment on-looker noted that things aren’t necessarily great for White women as well. Bankable actresses have been historically “put out to pasture” once they pass the age range of the ingénue (mega-starlet Jennifer Lawrence famously bemoaned her lack of paycheck parity with her male colleagues in a recently published essay), and in the highly coveted realm of feature film direction, entry is notoriously difficult to get into the “Hollywood boy’s club (Variety recently reported that females make up a paltry 7 percent of those helming the top 250 money-making movies).”
Wilson recognizes the “level playing field” is evasive for others aside from people of color.
“If a boycott is to take place, it should include people of color and White women who have also not been given opportunities to participate as directors, producers, or screenwriters.”
At this point on the calendar, there is an interval of more than a month left before the 88th Academy Awards takes pkace, and the drama will probably only increase during that time frame. This year’s host, comedian Chris Rock is noted for stand-up routines that typically touch upon politics, social class and race relations, will almost certainly be obliged to address the controversy. In the meantime, we can only wait and watch for behind-the-scene theatrics that may well be more entertaining than any production mounted by the Hollywood power brokers.
