2016 Oscar Nominations and Racism

[CosmicMonkey]

Has it always been "cool" to bash the Oscars? It is what it is. I take a mild interest in it year to year. It doesn't happen often(!) but I like seeing a film I enjoyed get awards.

I take perverse pleasure in reading the garbage articles that come out this time every year. Like this one from Daily Beast -
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... lshit.html

This guy isn't too bright. Arguing that Idris Elba deserved a nomination when he isn't even eligible is hilarious. One of the rules of the Oscars is that your film must premiere in theaters before streaming. Therefore, anyone who's movie premieres on Netflix or HBO will never get a nomination.

3. Films that, in any version, receive their first public exhibition or distribution in any manner other than as a theatrical motion picture release will not be eligible for Academy Awards in any category. Nontheatrical public exhibition or distribution includes but is not limited to:
• Broadcast and cable television
• PPV/VOD
• DVD distribution
• Internet transmission

source: http://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/88aa_rules.pdf

But hey, it's trendy and makes you look progressive to think Elba got snubbed. Did anyone give Kevin Fallon his progressive medal today?

Unless I'm missing something, it was eligible for the Oscars because they specifically had a limited theatrical release in order for it to be eligible. Here's one article about it: http://www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobe ... cf54b26ef9.

From the rule stated, it's a little ambiguous if a simultaneous online and theatrical release could qualify, but certainly everything I've read has interpreted it as eligible. And Netflix appears to have released in theaters specifically for that reason, so I feel like they probably made sure that the movie qualified. But I've been wrong before.

Also, FWIW, I'm not arguing it was snubbed since I haven't even seen it.

Edit: it looks like there was a clarification that specifically allows for simultaneous releases like this to be eligible: http://netflixlife.com/2015/09/11/will- ... my-awards/

Two of the Best Documentary nominees this year were also Netflix productions that were also given limited releases on the same day as it's online release, so this doesn't seem to be an issue for eligibility.

[Neonman]

If black people make up a considerably lower number of the population of America than white people, then wouldn't this explain the snubs? And why is it that when diversity gets brought up (at movie award shows and otherwise), Asians and Hispanics aren't grouped along with black people to strengthen highlighting the diversity issue? I really want these answers questioned, though I can't get it through most sites that continuously spew the same well-intended, yet badly reactionary and senseless rhetoric.

Anyway, I don't take the Oscars or any awards seasons seriously, but that doesn't stop me getting all hot and bothered each year when they come around, and this year is definitely no different.

[CosmicMonkey]

If black people make up a considerably lower number of the population of America than white people, then wouldn't this explain the snubs? And why is it that when diversity gets brought up (at movie award shows and otherwise), Asians and Hispanics aren't grouped along with black people to strengthen highlighting the diversity issue? I really want these answers questioned, though I can't get it through most sites that continuously spew the same well-intended, yet badly reactionary and senseless rhetoric.

Anyway, I don't take the Oscars or any awards seasons seriously, but that doesn't stop me getting all hot and bothered each year when they come around, and this year is definitely no different.

According to wikipedia the only Black nominee this year was The Weeknd for Best Song. Black people make up 13% of the American Population, yet made up only 0.8% of nominees this year.* That's 1 out of 121 nominees, and he wasn't even American, he was a Canadian guy living in LA. Like, no one is expecting that 50% or even 20% of nominees should be black, but when the difference in representation is off by two orders of magnitude than there is absolutely is reason to complain and protest.

Every discussion I've seen on social media regarding diversity at the Oscars has simultaneously decried the disproportionate lack of Latino**, Asian, Middle-Eastern, and Native-American nominees, as well as women, people with disabilites and people who are genderqueer, but of course when most mainstream media outlets report on this it's only ever headlines like "Did the Oscars snub Black nominees?" or something totally oversimplified like that, without understanding that people are upset about the lack of representation on many other levels, not just Blackness and not even just race.




*actually, it's even less, because that's only counting one nominee, per category, per film, but many categories will often have multiple nominees per film, like multiple producers, writers, sound editors etc. If I actually did count all those other nominees the percentage would probably be less than half that, but either way it doesn't make a difference to the point I'm trying to make.

** I mean yeah, Martniez, Inarritu and Lubezki (who's arguably White anyways, racial identity with Ashkenazi Jewish people is really complicated, and I'm not going to wade into that right now. Besides as a Goyim it's not really my place, anyways) all got nominated for The Revenant, as did a Colombian foreign film and Brazilian Animated Film. 5% of nominees being Latino is pretty good compared to most years, hence why people aren't complaining as much about that, as compared to other underrepresented groups this year, but for many of the 17% of the American Population that is Hispanic or Latino, there's still a understanding and desire that that number could be a lot higher.