Image from KansasCity.com
The year 2015 gave birth to #OscarsSoWhite. If you haven’t heard of it, this was the backlash the Academy Awards received for not having any black actors in their categories. In 2016, history repeated itself and the hashtag resurfaced. In 2016, there was an extreme lack of any minority actors in the top four categories.
Despite the phenomenal films that were released in 2015, in 2016 there was an extreme lack of any minority actors in the top four categories. These roles included, Michael B. Jordan in Creed, Will Smith in Concussion, and Idris Alba in Beast of No Nation. There was much backlash on social media which ultimately started when celebrities such as Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett-Smith voiced their decision to boycott the awards that year. Spike Lee stated his opinion in a lengthy Instagram post. “Forty white actors in two years and no flava at all. We can’t act?! WTF!!” was included in his caption underneath a picture of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Despite the hashtags and boycotts the 88th Academy Awards went on with many notable celebrities in attendance as usual. Chris Rock was the host and used this as a time to make light of the situation. There many laughs as well as awkward silences. The top four categories awarded their “so white” winners and by the next week it was all forgotten about. Talk of the 89th Academy Awards started buzzing later on in the year.
There has been a major turnaround for this year’s award show. One would think that with films such as Fences, Moonlight, Loving, and Hidden Figures it would be impossible for the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag to resurface. This is currently the case with the top four categories all containing a minority nominee. There is Denzel Washington for Best Actor, Ruth Negga for Best Actress, Mahershala Ali for Best Supporting Actor, as well as Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer for Best Supporting Actress. What does this mean for minority actors in Hollywood? It could mean that they will finally get the recognition that they deserve in roles other than slaves, mammies, and gangsters. It could also mean that that this was just a way to end the slander of the Oscars.
