Last week’s Golden Globes had a noticeable lack of diversity, both in nominations, and especially in winners. So it should really come as little surprise that when the Academy Award nominations were revealed earlier this morning, the diversity was very minimal.
Let’s just get this out of the way. Yes, “12 Years a Slave”, a predominately black and black-themed movie, has received the 2nd most nominations this year with nine, following the movies “Gravity” and “American Hustle”, which both received ten nods. ?”12 Years a Slave” already won Best Picture at the Golden Globes but that was its only win of the night. Two black actors, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong’o, were nominated for an Academy Award in the Lead Actor and Supporting Actress categories, respectively. Yes these are great achievements, but will they win? Jennifer Lawrence won the Golden Globe in Lupita’s same category already, and seems to be the favorite to win at the Oscars again this year. For the male lead category, Chiwetel is in a tough race with powerhouses like Christian Bale and Leonardo DiCaprio. Oddly enough, the favorite for this category might be neither of those guys. Matthew McConaughey won a Golden Globe for his role in “Dallas Buyer’s Club” and may be a favorite to win at the Oscars.
Steve McQueen is the black director for “12 Years a Slave” and is also nominated for an Academy Award this year for best director. He faces incredibly tough competition, mostly from Alfonso Cuaron, the director of “Gravity”. As someone who saw “Gravity” in theater’s, I must say I would be more than pleased if Cuaron won because that movie was emotional, haunting, and an aesthetic masterpiece. Having said that, it looks like “12 Years a Slave” might not win anything in any individual categories for which a person of color is nominated.
There were plenty of black movies and black talents that were snubbed. 2013 was often seen as a great year for minority movies with the successes of “12 Years a Slave”, “Fruitvale Station”, “Mandela”, “Best Man Holiday”, and “The Butler”, to name a few. I think it is quite upsetting that none of these movies mentioned above, other than “12 Years a Slave”, were nominated for an Oscar. Okay, “Best Man Holiday” was popular but was never going to receive major awards, as it was more of a light comedy holiday movie. The others, though, had great acting, great messages, and should have received some recognition.
“Mandela” saw a stirring performance from black British actor Idris Elba, who put his heart into playing the iconic Nelson Mandela. While Mandela was alive during the filming of this movie, it was undoubtedly a tough task to play such a heroic and well known figure.
“The Butler” was a successful movie that centered around a White House butler who saw numerous notable events during the 20th Century. There were many famous and talented artists of color represented in this movie, such as: Forest Whitaker, Mariah Carey, Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Lenny Kravitz, and Oprah Winfrey. The movie was directed by prestigious black filmmaker Lee Daniels, who gained immense fame for his 2009 classic, “Precious”. None of these talented people of color were nominated for an Academy Award. The person commonly viewed as most deserving is Oprah Winfrey, for her portrayal of the Butler’s wife. Michael Hogan from “Vanity Fair” said that Oprah was snubbed, and describes her performance as ” fierce” and “semi-frightening”. And no one could forget the slap heard around the world. Oprah’s character delivers a powerful slap to her character’s son in the movie, one that was widely talked about by fans and critics alike.
Perhaps the most tragic part of the Academy Awards nominations announcement earlier today was that there were zero nominations for the film “Fruitvale Station”. This movie may not have been this year’s highest grossing picture, but it surely made people talk, and stirred up emotions that maybe no other film of the year did, at least for minorities. The film was written and directed by a young black man, Ryan Coogler. His amazing depiction of the killing of Oscar Grant by a police officer at the Fruitvale Bay Area Rapid Transit Center ?Station in Oakland, California, was almost unbearable to watch. And that is a great thing. It is not surprising that Coogler wasn’t nominated, especially considering his age and race, and the subject matter of the movie, but this doesn’t mean he wasn’t deserving.
Young black actor Michael B. Jordan gives a phenomenal performance as the lead character and shooting victim, Oscar Grant. My friend and social critic, Arielle Reid, saw “Fruitvale Station” and said its greatness is that viewers of the film “left the theater in a different place mentally/emotionally than they had been coming in.” Everyone who saw this movie was deeply affected by it. Much of that is credited to Jordan’s performance. Reid says he “did an amazing job capturing the depth and nuance of Oscar Grant.” And this is true. Oscar was not merely a victim. He was a father, a friend; a real person was killed that night at Fruitvale Station, and that was what made this film so unbelievably heartbreaking yet magnificent.
So why should people care? Are these just movies? Are the Academy Awards simply another showing of the entertainment elite, which has no affect on society at all? Not quite. It is not that trivial, and ?goes much deeper. There is a long history of under-representation for minority groups, whether it be blacks, Latinos, the LGBT community, etc. It is not important to just have our voices heard and our talents shown, but to be respected and praised for those talents. The Oscars are the most prestigious awards given to those in the film industry. 2013 was a great year for black movies and actors/directors. This makes the lack of diversity during this awards season troubling. This shows us that people of color and films that depict people of color in very real ways have to try so much harder to be recognized and to win. This is vital because it does not only relate to the entertainment industry. This is indicative of our lives as minorities. We have to work twice as hard in the workplace, education, the arts, and life in general.
I am rooting for “12 Years a Slave” at this year’s Academy Awards. Yes, the directing, acting, and story were superb, but it is the only thing “black” about the 2014 nominations, and I think it winning would be a huge achievement.
Go here to see the full list of the 2014 Academy Award Nominations.
Edited by DH.
