Arts & Entertainment

Published on February 26, 2016 | by Anthony Gallo     Photography by Prayitno*

0

Will You Watch the Oscars?

When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released the nominees for this year’s best actor and actress, there was one thing that was prominent in the selections; no diversity. This has lead to a controversy about the academy’s membership process and how some members were not being treated fairly.

“This incident is the straw that broke the camel’s back.” said University of Guelph-Humber public relations teacher James Macdonald about how this issue has been in the background of Hollywood for quite some time.

“It is something that has been talked about quietly over the last few years…this is what finally pushed it over the top,” said Macdonald.

Celebrities like Will and Jada Pinkett Smith are leading a boycott on this year’s festivities, saying that it is unfair that the academy has failed to diversify their selection for the second consecutive year. This has also lead to people using the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite on Twitter.

When an institution is put in this type of situation, Macdonald said that, “the first step in these situations, is to admit you have a problem…They are put in a position where they have to react,” said Macdonald. The academy has done this to an extent by recognizing the issue publicly, he said.

The boycott has been brought up everywhere lately, and many celebrities have said that it is not the academy at fault, but Hollywood in general needs to give more roles to a diverse population.

Guelph-Humber film studies teacher Natalie Evans said, “Hollywood is going to keep doing what makes them the most money. Though they don’t want to take risks and make their casts more diverse.”

Evans understands why Will Smith would be upset about not being nominated this year for his film ‘concussion’ “Why shouldn’t they [Will and Jada] be upset?…People have been upset before over not getting nominated, not based on race,” said Evans.

Macdonald thinks the Oscars will still be able captivate millions even with the controversy. “I don’t think this will do anything to the viewership of the Oscars this year. I think, in fact, it is going to have an effect of drawing more people to it,” said Macdonald.

According to Nielsen, the 2015 Oscars were able to draw in a reported 36.6 million viewers.

Macdonald added, part of the draw might be to see what host Chris Rock or anyone else will say about the lead-up to the Sunday, Feb. 28 broadcast.

“Even if there is a controversy, I am still going to watch it,” said Luciano Vigliatore, a third-year business student at Guelph-Humber.

Erica Boni, a third year Guelph-Humber business student added that, “There’s a lot of good movies and even with the controversy, people should respect those who are nominated.”

Photo courtesy of Prayitno and license.

Tags: ,


About the Author

Is a third year Media Studies student at the University of Guelph-Humber. He hopes to one day work in a newsroom, delivering his take on sports.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

four − 2 =

Back to Top ↑
  • Latest Tweets

    It seems that widget parameters haven't been configured properly. Please make sure that you are using a valid twitter username or query, and that you have inserted the correct authentication keys. Detailed instructions are written on the widget settings page.