On February 28, 2016, the 88th Academy Awards will be held, the most glamorous evening of the year. It has been making young and old dream all over the world since 1929 by rewarding the best in each cinematographic profession (direction, interpretation, production, technique, photographer, original soundtrack etc.). However, when the appointments were announced on January 14, the public suspected the panel of being racist. It's been two consecutive years since an African-American actor has been nominated. More broadly, no nomination concerns a non-"white" person this year or last year. These two years are the worst for diversity since 1998. So where does this phenomenon come from?
Nominees (Best Actress/Actor, Best Supporting Actress/Male, Best Director)
Is the Academy presiding over this ceremony racist?
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) awards the Oscars each year after having previously chosen the nominees. A black woman presides over the Academy, but this does not reflect the composition of the Academy. There are 6,000 members of which 94% are white, 76% are men and the average age is 63. This means that the average member of the Academy is a white man born in 1952. A lot has happened since 1952… Thus, the lack of diversity is clearly notorious. Cinema is a timeless art certainly, but also in constant evolution. The objective of this organization being to promote the Academy it would be wise for the Academy to reflect today's society. This has surely been a source of debate at the coffee break at work or between classes, but who is really right? "Yes, but what if the most qualified are white?" asks rhetorically this colleague a little privileged and without any hindsight. "We're tired of always talking about racism in want it, here it is" repeats the puppet of your class, deciding to ignore the structural racism endured by people you know in different professions. When we see the predominance of African-American culture in show business in the United States, but especially given the history of immigration in this country, it is important to ask why in 2016, this ceremony scrutinized by the whole world does not reflect all the colors of the multicultural society. At least sexism will get everyone to agree. No woman has been nominated for "Best Director" for 5 years.
Black actors are mobilizing against the Academy of Oscars.
To protest the ceremony, the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite was created on Twitter and Instagram. Several African-American stars have expressed their frustration. Among them, Jada Smith, the wife of Will Smith through a video posted on his facebook page. Her anger is palpable, especially as her husband, alongside Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation), Michael B. Jordan (Creed) or the movie Straight Outta Compton were snubbed by the Academy, as was David Oyelowo (Selma) last year. It calls for the emancipation of such mainstream institutions . Others, such as Wendy Williams (talk show), are calling for a more representative Academy of cinema. However, to become a member of the Academy, one must be sponsored by two other members, which encourages the same profiles to succeed each other ad vitam eternam.
At the Oscars… people of color are always welcomed to give out awards… Even Entertain, (pt. 1)
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) January 16, 2016
But we are rarely recognized for our artistic accomplishments. Should people of color refrain from participating all together? (pt 2) — Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) January 16, 2016
Spike Lee, winner of this year's honorary Oscar, decided to boycott the event. Pressure from the African-American community was also exerted on Chris Rock (African-American comedian and comedian), the host of the ceremony, to step down. Until the latest news, faithful to the post (salary of $ 700,000 for the evening), he may be the only one to relax the atmosphere after this scandal that all the American media have been talking about for a week.
Does the problem really lie with the Academy?
75% of roles are assigned to white actors. What if we created more roles, films, series out of the Western codes of the twentieth century? What if we stopped recruiting non-white actors for stereotypical roles of servants, slaves, immigrants? What if our screens played a real socializing role by assigning them roles of leaders, independent men and women as there are in reality? Let's meditate on this by listening to Viola Davis ' inspirational speech (How to get away with murder) when she was the first black woman to receive an Emmy Award for Best Actress:
