Academy takes historic action to increase diversity — Page 16

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?

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

"Objective" doesn't exist.

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

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

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

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