The next chapter in the story of all-must-have-prizes
features Hollywoodland, Spike Lee and a frankly pitiful strop at the paucity of
Oscar nominations and the total lack of awards for ‘actors of colour’. Part of
the problem is we have no idea what to even call performers with a darker
complexion any more, still less whether or not we would be thought patronising
to praise them or give them awards. Can’t they just be, you know, actors, without
the former-slave chips on their shoulders? Anyway, don’t our dusky cousins have
plenty of their own whites-not-welcome events, awards and self-pity groups?
The apparent slight is compounded of course by the fact
that one of the sisters is in charge. You may have thought that if it was such
a big deal Academy President, Cheryl Bone Idle might have fought their
corner, although she did put out a statement:
"While we
celebrate their extraordinary achievements, I am both heartbroken and
frustrated about the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important
conversation, and it’s time for big changes.”
‘Inclusion’ of course
and always only applies to BME luvvies. You whites, you get all the best roles.
God, for instance (Oh wait, Morgan Freeman.) Time for big changes, you say?
Maybe a big change could be to stop making pictures with a blacks-only theme
and white-racially-exclusive storylines? Just a thought. Cheryl continued...
"The Academy
is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership. In the coming
days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order
to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond ... we have
implemented changes to diversify our membership in the last four years. But the
change is not coming as fast as we would like. We need to do more, and better
and more quickly."
Why? Why
diversity – which, by the way never includes whites in any field? Diverse
always means visibly different. Hey,
maybe people don’t necessarily want to watch visibly different, preferring to
favour ‘familiar’, ‘comfortable’ and even just, you know ‘great actors’ and
plots which don’t have a convoluted social message to convey? Just, you know, a thought...
“We recognize the
very real concerns of our community, and I so appreciate all of you who have
reached out to me in our effort to move forward together."
Why can’t ‘moving forward’ mean ‘suck it up and get better
at it’? Now, of course, Hollywood is rending its collective garments and
weeping and gnashing its teeth and wondering how to bend over backward to
reward mediocrity without it being too obvious. A special black Oscar section,
along the lines of Best Supporting Actor (or, as we all know it, ‘also-ran’) maybe?
Why do supposedly proud black heritage actors want the sympathy and pity of inferior,
pasty, white folk anyway?
A famous black actor speaks out
When Halle Berry got her statuette and made that awful
speech I can’t be the only person who suddenly looked at her differently and
thought, “She’s black? I hadn’t really noticed.”
Any black person who henceforth receives an Oscar will be
regarded as having got it through affirmative action and the imposition of quotas.
The Oscars were already as questionable, merit-wise, as the New Year Honours
List but now... The default position for all those second-raters who convince
themselves that they are discriminated against is to take away the ball. So, thanks
Spike, Jada Pinkett-Smith et al, for demanding a consolation prize and turning
the Oscars into America’s Got Talent.
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