Academy takes historic action to increase diversity- Page 16

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/5/16 at 8:10pm

Interestingly enough, there is much talk in the states about a shift from racial & gender-based affirmative action to an income-based variety in several contexts.

 

This is soooooooo far beyond the capabilities of the Daves19 of the white world.

[Dave19]

Posted: 2/5/16 at 9:01pm

javero said: ""If the voting body of the Oscars is completely diverse, then there is no longer need to play the victim role to justify 'colored awards'".

 

 

 

I wasn't aware that the voting body of the Oscars is completely diverse."

 

It will be next year, so if it is, what are your opinions on race-based awards?

 

[Dave19]

Posted: 2/5/16 at 9:09pm

FindingNamo said: "Samantha Bee on Diversity: ‘The F*cking Thing You Have to Do Is Just Hire People’"

 

There is no need for swearing, shows a lack of class. But given that the percentage of black people in most productions is already very high, and tears all the percentages apart, there is no need for such a remark.

 

"Look at Game of Thrones, look at Grease Live, Look at the music charts. Look at the Les Miserables casts on Broadway and West End. Look at everything".

 

Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about that, but it is quite remarkable that there is no other race on earth with such a high percentage of working actors compared to the percentage of the population. Now that is a privillege.

 

Updated On: 2/5/16 at 09:09 PM

[Dave19]

Posted: 2/5/16 at 9:23pm

So the conclusion of this thread is, you either want segregation or integration.

 

If you don't want segregation, we have to get rid of black reel awards and other discriminating organizations and yes, we need a diverse voting body in the Oscars to even things out. If you like segregation, you can keep all races separated in awards based on race, even if the Oscar voting body will become diverse, convince yourself and the world that black people will stay less fortunate poor victims that need it, and enjoy the double standard.

 

I refuse to see black people that way, so I choose for complete integration.

 

 

Updated On: 2/5/16 at 09:23 PM

[javero]

Posted: 2/5/16 at 9:35pm

"It will be [diverse] next year, so if it is, what are your opinions on race-based awards?"

 

The same as now.  If it's a privately funded award given by a private entity with which I'm not personally affiliated, then I have no say in the nominations or awards. Perhaps the same could apply to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (aka Oscars) but I haven't seen the organic documents of that honorary society.  What I have done though is taken a peek at pix of the original 36 founders of the academy.  It was very insightful. 

 

Changing lanes, apparently the Oscars's diversity issue has become so intractable that several notable members of the US Congress have weighed in.  Also, there's even talk of knocking the dust off of the dormant Tree of Life Awards which used to be called the Black Oscars.  Details at the link below.

 

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-black-oscars-20160204-story.html 

 

ETA: Once more, in the context of diversity, your obsession seems to be race, the so-called black race in particular.  There are other ethnicities and underrepresented communities vying to present their stories on screen.  And Kathryn Bigelow remains the only female winner for best director among the FIVE (5) who've been nominated in the history of the award. 

 

Updated On: 2/5/16 at 09:35 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/5/16 at 9:40pm

Davey, your strict binary thinking has been your intellectual downfall throughout this thread.

 

So the conclusion of this thread is, you either want segregation or integration.

 

That's neither the conclusion of the thread nor the first time you've suggested such ludicrousness.  You reveal yourself to be an intellectual lightweight.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 2/5/16 at 9:53pm

Jesus Christ, this heifer is tiresome.   Go troll your own country.  

 

Namo says everything I want to say.  And better than I can.  

 

Dave, can't you drown in the Seine or something?

[kdogg36]

Posted: 2/5/16 at 10:24pm

I'm joining this late, but I have some points/questions for Dave:

 

(1) For two years in a row, all acting nominees are white. That's 40 nominees. If you picked names of US citizens - who are 62.6% white - out of a hat, the chances of pulling out 40 white people in a row would be (0.626)^40, or 0.00000000729. Those are very small odds. If the Oscar nominations are truly based on achievement, I think we'd have to assume that non-white actors are rather radically less talented than their white counterparts, by many orders of magnitude. This seems unlikely to me.

 

(2) You seem to criticize others for assuming racist attitudes exist among members of the Oscar nominating committee. You accuse them of claiming that they know the minds of all these committee members. But how do you know their minds? You seem rather cocksure that they have simply chosen the best performances for two years in a row. How do you come to this knowledge?

 

(3) Finally, you are very negative on awards programs aimed at minorities. You need to understand that white people have defined the mainstream culture for centuries, so it would be kind of redundant to have white-only awards. White people don't have a separate culture because we have defined the culture for so long. Black people, Hispanic people, and Asian people have a separate cultural identity because we've tried to exclude them for so long. If they were truly integrated as equals in our culture, I imagine they would feel no need for separate awards. But that's not the way things are.

[Dave19]

Posted: 2/6/16 at 9:46am

I feel like I'm repeating myself, but nobody denies that a diverse voting body is a good thing.

 

The fact is that excluding any race from anything is wrong. So separate awards is per definition racism and is by no means justifyable. Especially not when you have a problem with it in the first place.

 

That mindset is not and will never be a solution.

 

Updated On: 2/6/16 at 09:46 AM

[javero]

Posted: 2/6/16 at 11:38am

http://rmwfilminstitute.org/festival/submit

 

Dave19,

 

Why don't you have a look-see at the submission criteria for the Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival which is the the oldest film festival for women in North America.  I find it interesting that the Academy's acting awards are gender-specific but the award for the Best Director is unisex.  And a quick survey of BAFTA awardees reveals that British female directors have fared no better than their counterparts on this side of the pond.  Akin to the Oscars, Kathryn Bigelow remains the only female winner for best direction among the FIVE (5) who've been nominated in the history of the BAFTA awards. 

 

So, the question begs, should there be a separate award category for female directors at the BAFTA's?  There's an interesting article accessible via the link below that shines a light on the situation.

 

http://blogs.indiewire.com/womenandhollywood/2016-bafta-noms-female-centric-films-well-represented-women-directors-sorely-lacking-20160108

Updated On: 2/6/16 at 11:38 AM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/6/16 at 12:06pm

I feel like I'm repeating myself

 

It's because you're intransigent.  You work with your own definitions.  Nobody said next year the Oscar voting body would be "completely diverse" but you keep tossing that phrase around.   What would "completely diverse" look like, anyway?

 

Again, Black film awards are not "racist" by definition because no Black person has the power to reverse the systemic oppression and turn it on their oppressors.  In EXACTLY the same way the Lambda LGBTQ Literary Awards are not and CAN NOT be homophobic towards straight people.

 

Do? You? Get? That? Now?

[Dave19]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 8:23am

javero said: "

So, the question begs, should there be a separate award category for female directors at the BAFTA's?  "

 

Absolutely not. Of course not. The voting nody should become more diverse. Not the amount of categories of awards.

 

[Dave19]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 8:44am

FindingNamo said: "Again, Black film awards are not "racist" by definition because no Black person has the power to reverse the systemic oppression and turn it on their oppressors.  In EXACTLY the same way the Lambda LGBTQ Literary Awards are not and CAN NOT be homophobic towards straight people.

Do? You? Get? That? Now?"

 

Do you even realize that the core of this problem and the horrific history is the way of thinking you describe? Creating a race gap purposely.

 

Of course no person has the power to reverse this suddenly, it is a process. But to think that fighting back with more separation, creating a big gap by exclusive rules and awards for certain races, is doing exactly that.

 

If you think this only works 1 way you are wrong. First of all because you enlarge the race gap and don't gain respect from other races if you exclude races on purpose. Secondly, you present certain races as "incapable of mainstream", less worthy. And in this case, that is a CAUSE of maintained separation. No minority will ever be fully accepted in the mainstream world if the minority in itself does not fully engage in a positive way. 

 

The percentage of black people in most projects, like I said, many Broadway shows, almost every movie is much higher than the percentage of the black people in the population. And no other race has such an extreme percentage. And I couldn't care less. Does this mean that black people are much more talented than every other race? Who knows. But if people feel obligated to cast on race in any way, because of politically correct pressure, which turns out be be politically incorrect, then other races are definitely disadvantaged, and yes, that is also racism.

 

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 12:45pm

You care so much you keep bringing up absurdities as "almost every movie" having black people in it, which is untrue.  You care a LOT.  You care that discussion of race inevitably leads to discussing the unfair disadvantages the majority places in front of people who are not like them, that you continually argue that even discussing it is racist.  THAT is what you keep saying because you are so disturbed by the idea of looking at racism that you have dreamt up the notion that even acknowledging it exists is a bigger problem than the fact that it does.

 

That, as they say, is your problem.

[Taryn]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 2:24pm

If you believe the Oscars are entirely objective and white people are overwhelmingly the nominees and winners, especially if you think that the proportion of black artists is higher in film than in real life, the only end result is that you believe that white people are just more talented than anyone else.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 3:10pm

"Objective" doesn't exist.

[Dave19]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 3:14pm

FindingNamo said: "the idea of looking at racism that you have dreamt up the notion that even acknowledging it exists is a bigger problem than the fact that it does.

 

That, as they say, is your problem.

 

"

Your problem is the way you want to deal with it. Copying the "crime" is not the solution. No matter how much you think you have the right out of pity.

 

 

[Dave19]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 3:21pm

Taryn said: "If you believe the Oscars are entirely objective and white people are overwhelmingly the nominees and winners, especially if you think that the proportion of black artists is higher in film than in real life, the only end result is that you believe that white people are just more talented than anyone else."

 

Why? It could also be that a lot of black people got roles because of another kind of pressure than talent. Because that is what we are heading to. Casting mandatory on race. Because it seems that every race has to be included in everything. It could be an explanation. Unless you are completely sure that everybody casts purely on talent. The only other reason could be that you think that black people are so much more talented as an explanation for the very stretched percentage/proportion.

 

Race first, then talent. Like I said, the whole core of the problem, including the problem of the Black reel awards.

 

Now, there are only 2 solutions. 1. Making the voting body of awards diverse (an idea no one is against) 2. Erase all kinds of race-based separation in awards, society, with a positive attitude and movie casting based more on talent will follow.

Updated On: 2/7/16 at 03:21 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 3:32pm

And you're JUST the benevolent dictator to tell groups they can't give out their own awards!  Go you!!  You objective white guy!   

[javero]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 4:11pm

The Black Reel Awards operates under the auspices of the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAJ).  FAAAJ is a section 501(c)3 non-profit organization and professional honorary organization.  Its mission is to identify, inspire and prepare the next generation of African-American filmmakers as they continue to influence, craft and develop the evolving images of African-American people in cinema.  According the submission form, The Black Reel Award of Merit (The Black Reel Award) is presented to African-Americans and people of the African Diaspora that excel in acting, directing and technical categories.  See http://blackreelawards.com/submission-form/ .  In my estimation, the organization’s work is commendable on two counts.

 

First and foremost, the degree of transparency into the organization's operations is refreshing.  Profiles of the leadership are available http://faaaf.org/board-of-directors/ for public inspection.  Moreover, a listing of the voting body is available at http://blackreelawards.com/voters/ along with corresponding twitter handles.

 

The second item of note is the amount of community outreach the organization does in the form of its Reel Kids and Producer’s Institute programs.  The Reel Kids program provides middle school kids with hands-on training in the non-acting aspects of film like cinematography, film editing, and screenwriting.  What’s not to like about that?  The newly launched Producer’s Institute was created to award scholarships to minority graduate film, business, and law students seeking to pursue a business career in the movie and television industries.  That seems consistent with the practices of various religious, language, and other affinity groups that award scholarships to students within target demographic groups as part of their outreach efforts.

 

Finally, as you are so expressly concerned with the fate of young aspiring black filmmakers, please feel free to make a donation to the organization at  http://faaaf.org/donate-now/ .  I’m certain the money would be put to good use.  A rising tide lifts all boats!

Updated On: 2/7/16 at 04:11 PM

[Dave19]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 8:10pm

I would rather donate my money to organizations that will help actors of other races to achieve that enormously high percentage/proportion too. Or is that a privilege exclusively for black people?

Updated On: 2/7/16 at 08:10 PM

[Dave19]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 8:26pm

javero said: "The Black Reel Awards operates under the auspices of the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAJ). Its mission is to identify, inspire and prepare the next generation of African-American filmmakers as they continue to influence, craft and develop the evolving images of African-American people in cinema.  According the submission form, The Black Reel Award of Merit (The Black Reel Award) is presented to African-Americans and people of the African Diaspora that excel in acting, directing and technical categories. "

 

That is kind of the point of every award show. Only normally the word "race" is replaced by the word "people". They are not mainstream people? What is race actually adding to your talent? And why would race in any way deserve a prize. Do we really need to teach our children that having a certain race actually is worse than having another and he/she shouldn't be inspired by/take part in the mainstream world? Should they wait untill they do before joining the Oscars too? This is doing more harm than you can imagine.

Updated On: 2/7/16 at 08:26 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 8:39pm

I would rather donate my money to organizations that will help actors of other races to achieve that enormously high percentage/proportion too.

 

But that would be racist.  At least according to the incorrect definition of racist you operate with.  What do yo have against black people?

[javero]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 9:42pm

Dave19,

 

Each year the Academy awards up to five $35,000 fellowships to amateurs on a competitive basis.  The fellowships were established to identify and encourage talented new screenwriters.  Details at https://www.oscars.org/nicholl/about .  Also, profiles of the 2015-2016 committee are available at https://www.oscars.org/academy-nicholl-fellowships/committee/2015-2016-committee if that sort of information is of interest.

 

You are certainly free to donate to the Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Institute (RMWFI) at https://rmwfilmfest.org/support/donate as there appears to be no racial consideration included in the selection criteria.  In fact, according to the website they even accept submissions from men for their annual juried film festival with a certain proviso.  The selection criteria read,” our submission criteria include films directed, produced and/or edited by women.  We will also consider films made by a man, but only when the subject of the film reflects our mission statement ("celebrating the drive, spirit and diversity of women".

 

And in my backyard, each year the DC Chinese Film Festival is held.  According to the website, the goal of the DC Chinese Film Festival is to uncover excellent Chinese focused films and foster cultural exchange through screenings and other activities.  You are certainly welcome to submit your entry provided you meet at least one of the following conditions: (1) The main language of the film is a Chinese language or dialect, or (2) he creative team includes persons of Chinese ethnicity (e.g. director, screenwriter, lead actor/actress, cinematographer, and editor), or (3) The film’s content focuses on Chinese society, Chinese culture or the lives of Chinese people.  But don’t take my word for; check out the details on the festival and how to become a donor at https://www.dccff.org/download/20131120112706328.pdf.  I never make assumptions about anyone’s background.  Perhaps Mandarin Chinese is one of the four languages in which you’re fluent.

 

Hurry, there’s still time for you to get your entry into the 10th Korean American Film Festival New York (KAFFNY).   I’ll admit that I wasn’t aware of this one until you prompted me to broaden my worldview.  From what I gleaned from the website, the organization’s lane is to utilize Korean American perspectives as a point of departure, to present third culture narratives underscoring existing relationships between diverse peoples.   Of course I don’t desire to be charged with cultural appropriation or worse black-man-splaining the impetus for Korean-Americans to celebrate their heritage.  So, I’ll let you do the research at your own leisure.  The site URL is https://www.kaffny.org/about/ .

 

Y si tu hablas español , yo recomiendo que tu visites a https://sdlatinofilm.com/call-for-entries-2016/ cuanto antes posible.   Los organizadores si saben realizar un festival que es lo maximo hermano segun mis amigos que viven alla en San Diego.

 

En fin…

Updated On: 2/7/16 at 09:42 PM

[Dave19]

Posted: 2/8/16 at 7:27am

FindingNamo said: "I would rather donate my money to organizations that will help actors of other races to achieve that enormously high percentage/proportion too.

 

 

 

But that would be racist.  At least according to the incorrect definition of racist you operate with.  What do yo have against black people?

 

"

 

Nothing. I don't look at race. I look at people.