Colour Debate Strikes the Oscars, Second Year in a Row

Hollywood’s people of colour are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.

The colour debate plays out at the Oscars, for the second time in a row. 

The colour debate has struck Hollywood once again and rightly so. For the second year in a row, all twenty nominees in the acting categories, happen to be white. #OscarSoWhite erupted on social media just as the Academy Award nominations were being announced on January 14th.

Jada Pinkett Smith, actor Will Smith’s wife shared a video via Facebook, voicing her strong opinion on the discrimination in Hollywood, and also said that she would be boycotting the Oscars this year.

<p>Is it time that people of colour recognise how much power, influence, that we have amassed, that we no longer need to ask to be invited anywhere? Begging for acknowledgement, or even asking, diminishes dignity and diminishes power. And we are a dignified people, and we are powerful. So let’s let the Academy do them, with all grace and love. And let’s do us, differently.</p>

Jada Pinkett Smith

Will Smith is in total agreement and confirmed in an exclusive interview to ABC News, that the Smiths won’t be attending the Oscars this year.

<p>I think that diversity is the American superpower. That’s why we’re great. So many different people from so many different places adding their ideas, their inspirations, their influences, to this beautiful American gumbo. For me, at it’s best, Hollywood represents and then creates the imagery for that beauty. But for my part I think that I have to protect and fight for the ideals that make our country and our Hollywood community great. So when I look at the series of nominations of the Academy, it’s not reflecting that beauty. </p>

Will Smith, Actor

Filmmaker Spike Lee as well as actors Mark Ruffalo and George Clooney have also spoken up fiercely on the matter.

Actor Mark Ruffalo, who has been nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in Spotlight, supported those boycotting Hollywood’s biggest night. Ruffalo told the media that he will be attending the big night himself though.

Mark Ruffalo supports those boycotting the Academy Awards but will be attending himself (Photo: Twitter/@Variety)

<p>I’ve been really struggling with it myself because I do a lot with ‘Black Lives Matter’ and I’m really struggling because I would in essence probably really seriously think about joining them. Except I’m in a movie (<i>Spotlight</i>) that’s representing a whole other group of disenfranchised people, who have no voice in the world and this movie means so much to them. And so I totally get it and I support them but I have to demur and I have to stand up for the people I have to stand up for. </p>

Mark Ruffalo, Actor

The hugely popular actor George Clooney told Variety in an exclusive interview, that he believes that Hollywood is moving in the wrong direction.

We’re moving in the wrong direction: George Clooney (Photo: Twitter/@WoodallMcKenzie)

<p>If you think back 10 years ago, the Academy was doing a better job. Think about how many more African Americans were nominated. I would also make the argument, I don’t think it’s a problem of who you’re picking as much as it is: How many options are available to minorities in film, particularly in quality films? I think around 2004, certainly there were black nominees — like Don Cheadle, Morgan Freeman. And all of a sudden, you feel like we’re moving in the wrong direction. There were nominations left off the table. There were four films this year: <i>Creed</i> could have gotten nominations; <i>Concussion</i> could have gotten Will Smith a nomination; Idris Elba could have been nominated for <i>Beasts of No Nation </i> and <i>Straight Outta Compton</i> could have been nominated. And certainly last year, with <i>Selma</i> director Ava DuVernay — I think that it’s just ridiculous not to nominate her.</p>

George Clooney, Actor

<p>I think that African Americans have a real fair point that the industry isn’t representing them well enough. I think that’s absolutely true. But honestly, there should be more opportunity than that. There should be 20 or 30 or 40 films of the quality that people would consider for the Oscars. By the way, we’re talking about African Americans. For Hispanics, it’s even worse. We need to get better at this. We used to be better at it.</p>

George Clooney, Actor

Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced: Lupita Nyongo (Photo: Instagram/lupitanyongo)

Beasts Of No Nation actor Idris Elba had some powerful words to say about the debate during his speech at the UK Parliament.

American rapper and actor Snoopdog doesn’t believe in mincing his words and goes right ahead to cuss at the Oscars.

Oscars host Chris Rock tweeted a new promo for the show with the caption ‘The White BET Awards.’

As what is being seen as a knee jerk reaction to all the criticism, the Academy is reportedly mulling over making some tweaks. One of them being the proposition of permanently increasing the nominations in the Best Film category to ten. How effective this move will be, we’ll only know with time. Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs issued a statement recently, promising that the organisation was making big changes and, indeed, some of the ideas on the table would radically alter the Academy Awards.