Thursday, February 25, 2016

Boycotting the Oscars

There has been a lot of conversation about the Oscars nominations. The 2016 nominees were revealed to the nation and there were no African American nominations. This caused great uproar because this is the second year in a row. Many great celebrities are boycotting the 2016 Oscars such as Jada Pinkett Smith, along with her husband Will Smith. After Jada released her video on Facebook explaining her feelings about the Oscars multiple other actors and actresses joined her movement. Spike Lee commented his feelings about the Oscars also explaining how he would also not be attending because of the racial problems that are going on and he will no longer sit around and stand for it. Idris Elba also explaining that some of his main reason for coming to America was because of the diversity and the American Dream that has been portrayed. Obviously this portrayal is not true because great actors like himself are not getting the recognition they deserve because of the color of their skin. Comments from Stacey Dash was totally opposite from some of the actors and actresses I’ve mentioned earlier in this segment. She believes that as blacks we are doing things and trying to live our lives as an double standard. She explains, “If we don’t want segregation, then we need to get rid of channels like BET, and the BET Awards and the Image Awards, when you’re only awarded if you’re black”. I completely disagree with Stacey's opinion because if there are no awards being given at the award shows that suppose to be “integrated” then as an African American community we must show our own their recognition and appreciation. As a black entertainer in the industry it must be very frustrating to put in so much work and to even be smacked in the face without even being given an nomination. There needs to be a change within the Oscars because obviously this is not something that a coincidence because it is not the first time this has happened. If nobody speaks up about the problem then it will continue to happen and there will be no change. There are actors like Michael Caine who responded to this problem and said that you can’t just vote for someone because he is black, “you have to give a good performance”. This is also a contradiction to what the problem is because it seems that people are looking passed the problem that is actually being addressed. As a black entertainer the problem is when you continue to put on multiple good performances and to be addressed with the ignorance of people responding and saying things such as Michael Caine did. African Americans are not looking for a hand out they are only looking for fair nominations and to be rightfully awarded for their great performances.

How do you feel about the different responses such as Michael Caine or Stacey Dash?
If you were an black entertainer in the industry, how would you respond to the problems of the Oscars?
Do you believe that their should be a boycott for the 2016 Oscars?
-Mikal Wheatley

6 comments:

  1. -I feel as if Stacey Dash was ignorant to the cause of equality regarding African Americans. Even though there is the BET awards, it seems better because we at least specify the audience we are targeting.
    -If I was a black entertainer I would have made a strong point to address why I was boycotting the oscars.
    Yes I believe there should be a boycott for the oscars.

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  2. I believe they were right to boycott the Oscars. If I put in the same amount of effort as everyone else and year after year I have sit at the Oscars and not win anything because of the color of m skin then I would boycott the Oscars too. Stacey Dash is wrong about BET only awarding African Americans because celebrities like Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Adele etc get awarded almost every year.

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  4. I feel like Michael Caine’s response was a lot more sound that Stacey Dashes, but both of these responses are aims to break down the barrier with race. In example I never hear of us bashing Morgan Freeman about saying he doesn’t want Black history month (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3cGfrExozQ) . Stacy dash simply did not go about getting her point across in an effective way. I feel like Black people are scared of what could happen if we let racism go away because of what could happen once we drop our “guard”. I agree with Morgan Freeman about why we shouldn’t have black history month. I think it is okay to be scared because of slavery but we have to believe in each other as a human race if we want change.
    If I was a black actor, I would strive to have every award there is in Hollywood. I would not care if it was from the Oscars or the BET awards. I would simply strive to make better and better movies until I earned that award. I would not want pity Oscar awards because they make some new category for black people. That is racist in my opinion, the Oscars allows us to compete with other races which is what we fought for right? Together in the same category not separate but equal, that’s steps backwards.
    The boycott for the Oscars would cause the opposite effect than intended, First it wouldn’t be effective as most people don’t show up if they haven’t been nominated, and if there is that majority of blacks at the Oscars from the start the show wouldn’t stop. Instead we should go and show off what we have accomplished, walk the run way so people can see why you’ve attended, let them know about your movies, and feats. Show those watching that blacks can compete with whites whether it be in movies or hosts such as Chris Rock and his intro speech.

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  5. As a black woman, I just feel that Stacey Dash was dead wrong for what she said. They were 100% right for boycotting the Oscar's , and if there wasn't for them being so racist, there wouldn't be a BET or Image Awards.

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  6. I think the comments made by Caine and Dash are ignorant and fail to see the real problem. It's not about blacks trying to separate themselves it is about wanting recognition. They don't see that pro-black doesn't mean anti-white. If I was a black entertainer in the industry I would be disappointed. I do not see any problem with boycotting the Oscars, how can I attend something where I don't see representations of myself in.

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