Oscars: #OscarsSoWhite

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Hello everyone, as all of you must know last night were the hotly anticipated and controversial Oscars or as Chris Rock dubbed it "the White People Choice Awards". I thought I would just discuss many of the topics which the ceremony and the ceremonial snubs have brought to light. 

Firstly, I am so happy for Leonardo DiCaprio for finally winning. RIP the memes: 2012-2016.

I applaud host Chris Rock for not ignoring the elephant in the room and regularly bringing up the controversy. I'm glad that he did not let people forget the controversy surrounding the awards. 

Although I totally agree that it is completely wrong that the Oscars has had only white nominees for two years running, I think it is important to remember that black people are not the only race to be ignored or marginalized in Hollywood. There is a fantastic article by The Huffington Post which shows the numerous non-white roles over the years played by white actors - click for link.

To further illustrate this point is this video on whitewashing - click for link. My lecturer showed this in class this morning and it provoked a really interesting discussion.

Bette Midler perfectly summed up most people's attitudes towards the Oscars this year:

Others also took to Twitter to express their opinions on the Oscars:

 

It is important to remember that it is not the Academy who should be alone in being scrutinized. The whole industry as a whole must be scrutinized as the Academy can only nominate what is available and it is those who cast actors and actresses that are partially to blame also.

It is unbelievable that it is 2016 and the conversation of whitewashing still exists. I know that some people may think that we are just discussing movies so who cares. You should care as film is a medium which is most watched and accessed by people and if on this medium you perpetuate detrimental and offensive stereotypes then it is something which we are all subtly being conditioned to accept. It is hugely important that Hollywood gets with the times and gives people of colour and non-white ethnicities the same opportunities which are being afforded to whites. Hopefully this is an issue which will be improved.

I hope you found this post and the accompanying links informative and educational. I am interested to hear your opinions on the #OscarsSoWhite

Rosh x