every year i get asked by someone if i'm going to watch the oscars. at my current place of employment they do an oscar pool where they predict the winners. the person who gets the most correct wins the entire pool of money.
i don't watch the oscars. (not even for money).
why?
the entire event is racially biased, and i think people, especially actors, put too much stock into that little ugly statue.
the thing that really turned me off was the 1985 show where the color purple got completely robbed. that is a great movie. it was great then, and it's great now. then about two years ago i really got burned when halle berry and denzel washington won best actress and actor respectively. we (the african-american people) waited 74 years for some true recognition. and after waiting, what did we get? halle gets honored for basically playing a whore and denzel for playing a dirty cop. w.t.h?!
african-americans are good enough to host (whoopi goldberg, chris rock), but not good enough to win. just think of denzel alone and how many good films he's acted in. hurricane, malcolm x, remember the titans ... i could go on and on. i know he won an oscar for his role in glory, but that was long over due as well. to have to wait so long for african-american to win best actor/actress is ridiculous. there were worthy candidates before halle and denzel and will be worthy candidates afterwards.
and yes, i know sidney poitier was the first african-american to receive some recognition in 1963. which makes the whole thing more frustrating. 1963-2002. that equates to about 40 years of no african-american winners in major roles. come ... on ... now.
nearly 80 years and three african-american winners. it just doesn't add up.
will smith, who played muhammad ali, in ali put it best when he said we (as african-american actors) know we do/have done good work, and that is all that should matter at the end of the day. he's right. but it still burns when you sit and analyze the whole situation.
so, i boycott the oscars until things become a little more fair. i don't watch them. not even for money.
note one: if you don't understand my frustration, you've probably never been underrepresented or muted in society so you couldn't understand. and if you have and you still don't understand, shame on you.
note two: another travesty will occur if jamie foxx and/or ray doesn't win something this year.
note three: what got me ranting about this today? saw the color purple this morning, and i still can't understand how it could have been overlooked. it's such a good flick.
i don't watch the oscars. (not even for money).
why?
the entire event is racially biased, and i think people, especially actors, put too much stock into that little ugly statue.
the thing that really turned me off was the 1985 show where the color purple got completely robbed. that is a great movie. it was great then, and it's great now. then about two years ago i really got burned when halle berry and denzel washington won best actress and actor respectively. we (the african-american people) waited 74 years for some true recognition. and after waiting, what did we get? halle gets honored for basically playing a whore and denzel for playing a dirty cop. w.t.h?!
african-americans are good enough to host (whoopi goldberg, chris rock), but not good enough to win. just think of denzel alone and how many good films he's acted in. hurricane, malcolm x, remember the titans ... i could go on and on. i know he won an oscar for his role in glory, but that was long over due as well. to have to wait so long for african-american to win best actor/actress is ridiculous. there were worthy candidates before halle and denzel and will be worthy candidates afterwards.
and yes, i know sidney poitier was the first african-american to receive some recognition in 1963. which makes the whole thing more frustrating. 1963-2002. that equates to about 40 years of no african-american winners in major roles. come ... on ... now.
nearly 80 years and three african-american winners. it just doesn't add up.
will smith, who played muhammad ali, in ali put it best when he said we (as african-american actors) know we do/have done good work, and that is all that should matter at the end of the day. he's right. but it still burns when you sit and analyze the whole situation.
so, i boycott the oscars until things become a little more fair. i don't watch them. not even for money.
note one: if you don't understand my frustration, you've probably never been underrepresented or muted in society so you couldn't understand. and if you have and you still don't understand, shame on you.
note two: another travesty will occur if jamie foxx and/or ray doesn't win something this year.
note three: what got me ranting about this today? saw the color purple this morning, and i still can't understand how it could have been overlooked. it's such a good flick.
1 lovely comments:
mrcrazyone said...
I am with you on the Oscars. I think that racism played a role in Denzel’s and Halle’s winning. The performances were viewed as better to some of the voters simply because it played to their stereotypical view of black people as a whole. I would have rather gone another 40 years without an African American winner than to see those stereotypical roles be the ones to win it all. I still cry every time I watch the Color Purple.