Brilio.net/en - Its Hollywoods favorite time of the year - award season. But there wont be much celebrating for minorities and people of color this season at the 88th annual Academy Awards. For the second consecutive year in a row, not a single actor of color has been nominated for the major actors awards.
This unfortunate fact didnt go unnoticed on social media, with Twitter followers quickly bringing back the 2015 hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.
While Chris Rock will be hosting the event, taking place February 28th at the Kodak Theater, the ethnic minority will otherwise go unseen on the silver screen.
The short list includes Mexican director Alejandro G. Irritu, who has 12 nominations for The Revenant, including Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprios portrayal as Hugh Glass. Sumi Yo, of South Korean origin, is in the running for Best Song in Youth. And perhaps in what seems to be a pathological choice, Straight Outta Compton, was snubbed worst of all. The movie stars mainly actors of color and is directed by African American director F. Gary Gray. The film however is only in the running for Best Screenplay, which is unfortunate news as the three screenwriters are white. The irony of it was not lost on the executive producer Will Packer who chimed in: To my #OscarsSoWhite folks who are angry at the absurd lack of diversity highlighted yet again at this years Oscar noms I get it.
Photo: LA Times
That short list is the comprehensive line-up of minorities and people of color who are in the running to take home an Oscar. Notable snubs include Idris Elba chilling performance in Beast of No Nation, as well as Will Smith in Concussion, which had two Golden Globe Nominations. Creeds Michael B. Jordan and Sicarios Benicio del Toro could easily have made the list for best actor as well.
Not only are the awards not offered to a diverse pool of minority actors, it seems that the Academy has failed to recognize movies with themes of LGBTQA topics, such as Carol. The movie, which had two nominations for Cate Blanchetts as Best Actress and Rooney Mara as Best Supporting Actress was noticeably missing from the Best Picture and Best Director category. In the BAFTA nomination, Todd Haynes masterpiece received both nominations and at the Golden Globes it was nominated for Best Motion Picture.
The lack of diversity at the Academies for a second year in a row is a deafening blow to the Academys Initiative A2020. Launched last year, the 5 year initiative was intended the promote diversity in the industry, inducing diversity in age, race, gender, national origin and point of view. The president of the Academy Cheryl Boone Isaacs stated: It is intended to encourage and to push the industry to examine its hiring practices and to begin to make changes.
Nominations are a probably a good starting point. At least Chris Rock will have some good material to work with.
Here are some tweets of#OscarsSoWhite:
Started snowing when I read about today's #OscarNoms which I guess is pretty appropriate. #OscarsSoWhite
Anne T. Donahue (@annetdonahue) January 14, 2016
For the second year in a row, all 20 acting nominees are white. No #OscarNoms for Will Smith or Idris Elba. #OscarsSoWhite 2.0, some say.
Joe Fryer (@joefryer) January 14, 2016
To fully sum up #OscarNoms... an academy of mostly white old men nominated mostly white old men. No surprise there. #OscarsSoWhite
Ernest Owens (@MrErnestOwens) January 14, 2016
20 acting nominations. 20 white people. #OscarsSoWhite
Melissa Silverstein (@melsil) January 14, 2016
Second year in a row without a single non-white actor nominated. #OscarsSoWhite
Jeff Chu (@jeffchu) January 14, 2016
A five minute opening by brilliant Chris Rock will not make up for over 80 years of erasure of marginalized communities. #OscarsSoWhite
April (@ReignOfApril) January 14, 2016
Wow, the acting categories are VERY white this year. Like... all white. Every single nominee. #OscarsSoWhite
Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (@Hello_Tailor) January 14, 2016
The diversity in the #OscarNoms #OscarsSoWhite pic.twitter.com/RRb94yrDOH
Steven Cash (@Welcome2Rebirth) January 14, 2016
#OscarsSoWhite, goodie bags for guests will include "Make America Great Again," hats.
maria lia calvo (@MariaLiaCalvo) January 14, 2016
#OscarsSoWhite I guess the Academy figured after 12 Years a Slave, they were good for a decade or two.
Lisa Bee (@lisabenjamin) January 14, 2016
(Reported by: Ivana Lucic)