The Oscar Whiteness Machine, By Richard Brody

Simply because awards and such doesn’t include diversity, does not mean that almost all of America doesn’t. In today’s society, we are allowed the privilege of being able to interact with people of different races and ethnicities. From what America was before, we were unable to freely express things such as our genders and race without barricades and obstacles. Now, these are all accepted in our society today. “Washington wanted America to stand for something different; not the old idea that we are better apart, but the high hope that we are ether together. Respect, relationship, and service to the common good...” (Patel, Making Future Better…). This was the beginning of how diversity was craved by Washington and others. He wanted all of us to unite and be in assistance to each other, rather than be spanned apart. Although McGregor is right about her statement, because there was no showcase of diversity at that specific event, McGregor is correct. However. She is mistaken in which she is categorizing all of America as not cherishing our diversity. With these factors in mind, even if she does think America doesn’t cherish our diversity, the idea can still grow as well. Slowly, films and shows are expanding in terms of casting. Now, people of every color have the chance to be nominated and such. As time passes, nothing stays the same and with time, I believe that we can show our true diversity. I personally do think America cherishes our diversity, based on the main factor that it’s not obvious for visuals and various reasons. Together with time, we can only improve and change for the

There is an extricable relationship between race, capitalism, and property and how it perpetuates the notion of whiteness through the exploitation of “others”. Property is a relationship of a person and an object; slaves were considered as objects. Race is constructed from white workers’ ideology of whiteness and labor wage. Racism has been long constructed through the production of race and its relations to property, and we can see it through the notion of capitalism and the idea of whiteness.

Racism is dislike a person, or it is a fast judgment for the way that person 's looks, and without known anything about the person, indeed, the main reason behind racism is the lack of education. Racism is a true problem, existed hundred years ago in America, in fact, Americans showed hatred against other people especially immigrants. Some citizens of the United States of America believe the racism’s issue is resolved and it is over, also they think we all live in an equal rights era, while others believe the opposite, they believe the racism is still exists but in different forms and ways. In the book “The Heart of Whiteness”, published in 2005, by Robert Jensen, who was raised in a privileged community, he expressed himself as a white person, and the feeling of living in white supremacy. In all honesty, Jensen’s book is the most honest book I had ever read, it brought up the race problem genuinely, and the difference in treatment between the white people and the African-American people, also Jensen included some of his personal stories and experience. In the book “ The Heart of Whiteness”, Jensen aimed at white people, also he cited many points on how it is like to live in white supremacy, and the feeling of mixed emotions about the past, then what is the action white people should make. Me personally thinks the main three points that i experienced with my white friends are: White privilege. Second point is the guilt feeling towards the racism, and finally, the feeling of

In the article "The Missing Piece of the Oscars' Diversity Conversation" the passage quoted above was rather important. I am one for diversity in everything, I am a Jewish child at a prominently white and Christian university who also has a black brother and a hispanic brother. There is not one thing I would strive for more in this world than to have equality. However, I do feel that here it was not an act of racism, but rather an act of the screenplays not suiting the credibility

Trying to fix a diversity problem doesn’t have an instant solution. The Academy is facing this and dealing with the racial representation in the Oscar Awards as it has become a huge problem in Hollywood. Ira Deutchman, a member of the Academy, has stated “Like many Academy members, I was embarrassed and disappointed when this year’s Oscar nominees were announced, but I wasn't shocked. After all, no season passes without several scathing articles about the lack of diversity in Hollywood, both on the screen and in executive suites. On the other hand, when fingers were pointed at the membership of the Academy as the cause of the problem, I bristled at the implications”(Deutchman). As stated, the audience even including the Academy Members are baffled by the Oscar’s nominees. Racial representation is a huge problem in

One of the leading African American social activists of the nineteenth century, W. E. B. Du Bois, in his essay The Conservation of Races asked himself: “If I strive as a Negro, am I not perpetuating the very cleft that threatens and separates Black and White America?” It is one question in a line of introspections that serves to ask of himself, of the African American community, of Americans as a whole, what role race, blood, and heredity have in this country. Du Bois later addresses his fury of vacillation as a brand of “incessant self-questioning,” one necessary to bring forth the best in humanity in the unification of varied ethnic groups. Yet here we are, a century and some change later, asking ourselves if Chris Rock stepped on some toes with his satirical blasting of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for their blatant disregard for actors of color. If the ghost of slavery still haunts, the flesh of racism has blood coursing through its veins.

By analyzing the statistics of movies and music produced by people of color, maybe one day people will learn that diversity is part of the change there needs to be in the world. The color of someone’s skin does not define their talent, or box office stats, and whitewashing shall one day be an affair of the past. Whitewashing has been entwined into the very fabric of the American film franchise. “Whitewashing describes the habit of casting white actors to play non white character often to shoehorn in star, sometimes out of racial insensitivity, invariably to the detriment of people and especially actors of color”, as told

The 2016 Oscar nominations sparked a heated debate over why the show had only white nominees and prompted the academy to address the lack of diversity. However, it is imperative to note that the event only represents what is happening in Hollywood and the filming studios. If the industry does not give opportunities to the minorities to shine, they are not likely to appear in the Oscars. As several leaders in the sector of complained, the minority rarely get chances to work in front of the camera, which defines their presence at the award shows and not just the Oscars. Nonetheless, it is a diversity issue that deserves attention and should be remedied. It is a source of difference, especially in a country that prides itself as a multicultural nation. The Oscars should embrace the diversity that reflects the entirety of the nation and simply the majority. Moreover, such an action would demonstrate to be beneficial not only to the United States but also the Oscar Academy, which will be able to assess a wider pool of talent in the industry and ensure that the voice of everyone gets

As a sidenote, the complete lack of people of color nominated for acting awards in this year’s Oscars is a travesty unto itself, but it is especially so in my eyes after this movie. This film made it all the more apparent that there

“Man, I counted at least 15 black people on that monitor. I’m here at the academy awards, otherwise known as the White Peoples Choice Awards.” said Chris Rock to kick off the 2016 Oscars Academy Awards. The Awards were surrounded with controversy through and through. It was the second time in a row that absolutely no African Americans had been nominated. Considering that a lot of great movies came out in which African Americans either wrote, directed, or acted in, a few in the the Black community exclaimed that the racism in Hollywood needed to end. On the other hand, others felt that the reason that no black actors were nominated was because they were not good enough this year, or the one before that…, to earn a nomination. They feel as though

For instance, in Hollywood, it took 74 years before, Halle Berry, an African American actress, won an Academy Award for Best Actress. Before her, other stars won the award, but never in the best actress category. However, Berry’s triumph also represented the lack of representative roles that women of color received in the arts. She won the award for portraying a harlot – a limited representation of a black woman’s talent (Murch 2003). Berry’s accomplishment represents how black actresses must work quadruple as hard compared to white actors along with black men to be recognized. In Oprah Winfrey’s “Master Class,” African-American actress Cicely Tyson described black women’s struggle as, “white men are at the top of the chain, next are white women, following are black men, and black women complete the bottom of the chain.” Tyson’s statement speaks volumes on the gender and racial discrimination faced by black women. Despite the country’s inequality, black women repeatedly defy the odds by contributing their greatness to American

Many people like to watch movies as a source of entertainment. While actors and actresses act out various roles in movies, they make movies more entertaining for the audiences to watch. Now, think of the first five movie stars that you can come up at the top of your head. At least three of the five movie stars that you think of are white. As the majority of the movie industry consists of white people, minorities and their achievements are generally overlooked. The majority of the names on the credits contains white actors. Ethnic minorities are portrayed and treated differently within the movie industry compared to white people. In fact, minorities are more negatively treated as they face many racism and discrimination in the industry.

The Oscars is an annual American award ceremony hosted by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science in recognition of the excellence in cinematic achievements within the film industry (as decided by the voting members). For the second year in a row, when the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science announced its Oscar nominees, only white actors and actresses were among the handful selected for the top categories. Resulting in the reinvigoration of the social media hash tag “Oscar So White”. Since then, there has an uprising amongst the Hollywood community about the lack of diversity in the industry. Many celebrities such as, Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee, are even boycotting the Award show this year.

Lack of diversity in Hollywood creates a huge problems. It really reflects those long remaining dialog regarding people of different groups. Not long Oscars highlighted those issue more importantly in absence of representative and commendation of people of color. For the second years in the raw, there may be no people of color in the twenty nominees with acting classes notwithstanding those great execution films. For example, “straight outta Compton” and “beast of no nation”. People of all race within Hollywood are speaking out against lack of diversity and demanding changes. Prior to the eighty-eight academy award a number of well-known member of the fill industry such as Jada Pinkett Smith and her husband Will Smith announced boycott

Reading Steven Spielberg’s comments about his approach to the film, The Color Purple (one of my favorite books), was a nauseating testament to not only the advantages afforded to the white male in society, but the one who tells the stories that become history. Spielberg’s inability to acknowledge that this film was in fact about black people, particularly black women, who have a distinctive experience because of their black skin and gender, is an example of the need to decolonize the black narrative in Hollywood.