The Smiths ( Jada ) gets smacked down — Page 3

Wilmingtom said: "I think with a possibiliy of 10 Best Picture nominees, nominating only eight and leaving out Straight Outta Compton sent an unsettling message.

I'm not sure why. Carol would have almost certainly been the ninth nominee, and the tenth could have been any number of films: Ex Machina, Creed, Steve Jobs, Youth, The End of the Tour, Sicario, 45 Years, The Hateful Eight, or even an animated or foreign film. But, like SOC, none of these got 5% or more of the votes cast. Maybe it's a case of too many quality films, so the votes got spread out too thin. And SOC was well received, but not that well received, compared to other films.

Updated On: 1/20/16 at 11:55 AM

I watched Michael Moore, who is supporting the Smith/Lee boycott, talk about this with Chris Hayes on his show last night. He said that when he goes to Hollywood for meetings, it's the only place in the country where he will not see one minority in a position of power. This lack of diversity is reflected in who votes for the Oscars.

Oscar Voters: 94% White, 76% Men, and an Average of 63 Years Old

Older and more dude-heavy than just about any place in America and whiter than all but seven states

"It comes from a recent Los Angeles Times survey of the 6,028 Academy Award voters, which also found that the population is 76 percent men with an average age of 63. Broadway might be the Great White Way, but it has nothing on the great male whiteness of Hollywood's Academy."

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/oscar-voters-94-white-76-men-and-an-average-of-63-years-old/284163/

Hollywood may be liberal but it sure ain't diverse.

FindingNamo said: "Maybe it's a case of it being easier to give into racist impulses when balloting is anonymous.

Oh, please. Listing your ten favorite movies of the year and not including Straight Outta Compton doesn't make you a racist. And your point about anonymity is even odder. No one's going to think, "Thank God my name isn't on this ballot, so no one will know I didn't vote for Straight Outta Compton," even if they were racist.

It's not about A vote or AN Oscars ceremony.

It's the sum total.

And hork, you just illustrated that you haven't got a single idea of how institutionalized racism is insidious and barely in the consciousness. Of COURSE people aren't going to think what you've just dreamed up. That's simply not how bias works.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. I'm sorry. This moment is so much bigger than me. This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. It's for the women that stand beside me, Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, Vivica Fox. And it's for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened. Thank you. I'm so honored. I'm so honored. And I thank the Academy for choosing me to be the vessel for which His blessing might flow."

Miss Pinkett-Smith still has not said who/what should be nominated in place of who/what, should not. She may have a point but you cannot make this point and not say who should be replaced. Thats coward. In her defence though nobody here who is agreeing with her has either.

Updated On: 1/20/16 at 03:08 PM

The funny thing is the screenplay for SOC was written by 2 young whites ( a woman and a man)and it was nominated. How's that for irony?

Updated On: 1/20/16 at 03:16 PM

I already made the correction.

Jane2 said: ""I get not everyone likes Michael Moore. But he has nothing to do with 94% of Academy voters being white."

You brought his name up in this thread, not me. My comment was about not trusting anything he says."

I understand Jane, and I'm not trying to change your mind about Michael Moore. I was just clarifying that the article I linked to in the same post, about the make up of Academy voters, had nothing to do with Michael Moore.

I don't think it has as much to do with racism as the fact that artists aren't as able to put themselves in other people's skins as they would like to believe, or as they would like you to believe.

They go with what they can relate to the most, especially when it comes to performances. Sure, now and then a performance from a minority actor "speaks" to them, but generally they like what they know (and they know what they like).

Their voting is predictable, with a few exceptions. They are not fair and unbiased. They are reacting to art as themselves ... a group of voters who are mostly white males of a certain age.

This shouldn't be a shock to anyone, but it's less about race and more about what gets a reaction of identification out of them. If they identify with it, they vote for it.

It pretty much is, yeah. They can't think outside of their own skin, but it's less of an active stance or a feeling of superiority, and more of a "I can relate to the guy who is more like me" motivation.

I don't think they would ever admit it either. They like to think they have empathy for diverse people and cultures when they really don't.

They can't think outside of their own skin, but it's less of an active stance or a feeling of superiority

I totally agree with this and maybe the way you are describing it is more palatable to the general white public than the way I put it: All of us who were lucky enough to be born white in this country are racist. It's IN us. It's in our DNA.

But that always brings the pushback of, "Maybe YOU are but I'm not. I don't see color." Which is a) delusional and b) something some of the most blatantly racists members of my own family ALWAYS say.

Here's the thing, and I think this is super hard for people to grasp and I see it here on these boards all the time. If somebody is pro-something, and we're not part of that something, it does not mean that the person is anti-us.

If you are pro-black people getting representation, it does not make you anti-white. If you are feminist, it does not make you anti-man. It's not about any of these things that people get upset about. If I am pro-gay, loudly and proudly, it does not mean I am anti-straight. My pro-gayness is not about straight people at all.

My anti-racism, is not anti-white. I believe any white person can honestly examine his or her life and see how the institution of racism has benefited us, and then confront the way it has harmed our brothers and sisters and others of color.

Frankly, I'm surprised more people who are supporters of the arts have not ever done this in their lives and still take offense when somebody suggests they do.

I think the thing that freaks people out the most, particularly people in the majority, is when we hear that it's not about us and our needs at all. BUT HOW CAN THAT BE? EVERY STORY IS ABOUT US!

Updated On: 1/20/16 at 05:43 PM

This appears to be a movie problem because the other award's (Tony's, Grammy's, Emmy's) have African-Americans nominated and winning most years .