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Academy Awards 2016 Boycott

The Academy Awards are also known as "The Oscars". It is an American Awards ceremony that is held annually to acknowledge achievements made in film. These awards have been held every year since 1929. The award categories have changed throughout the years. When the Academy was first starting out part of the growth process every year was to include more categories, which resulted in more opportunities for everyone involved in the films to receive acknowledgement. There were also categories that were dropped throughout the years. The Academy is meant to celebrate the achievements made in film for all of those involved, so when certain celebrities began to feel as though they were being less involved, it resulted in the boycott of the 88th annual Award Ceremony. The Academy Awards 2016 boycott was done by many celebrities that believed that the nominations for the acting awards lacked diversity, specifically the category for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The boycott was publicized and #OscarsSoWhite began to trend on Twitter as a part of the boycott. There were many criticisms of The Academy for their 2016 nominees, and the overall lack of diversity.

Notable Moments in the History of the Academy

In 1927, Louis B. Mayer, M-G-M Studio Chief, discussed the idea of creating "an organized group to benefit the film industry." Mayer worked along with others to elect officers as well as electing Douglas Fairbanks as the president. This was the beginning of the development of the Academy Awards.

The first Academy Awards Ceremony was on May 16, 1929 at the Roosevelt Hotel's Blossom Room and there was a total of two-hundred and seventy people who attended. This was very different than what the Award Ceremony has become in 2016 because the winners were not kept a surprise, they were actually announced three months prior to the ceremony. Now, the nominees are announced prior to the award ceremony, but the winners are not announced until the night of the ceremony. The ceremony is broadcasted live to ensure that everyone watching finds out the results at the same time that they are being announced in real time.

In 1940, it was the first time that a black person won an Academy Award. Hattie McDaniel won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Gone With the Wind. At the end of her speech McDaniel was in tears and said, "I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything I may be able to do in the future. I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry". This was the first step in creating a more diverse Academy Awards ceremony.

In 1953 it was the first time that the Oscar ceremony was televised to viewers throughout Canada and the United States.

In 1966 The Oscars were broadcasted in colour for the first time.

In 1969 The Oscars were internationally broadcasted for the first time.

In 1989, the award eligibility was expanded to include all residents of the United States of America. This was another step towards a more diverse Academy Awards ceremony.

In 2015 Common and John Legend, African-American musicians, won the award for Best Original Song for "Glory" from the film Selma. In their speech after receiving the award, Legend said, "Nina Simone said it's an artist's duty to reflect the times in which we live. We wrote this song for a film that was based on events that were 50 years ago, but we say that Selma is now because the struggle for justice is right now," and then he said, "We know that the Voting Rights Act that they fought for 50 years ago is being compromised right now in this country today. We know that right now the struggle for freedom and justice is real. We live in the most incarcerated country in the world. There are more black men under correctional control today than were under slavery in 1850. When people are marching with our song, we want to tell you we are with you, we see you, we love you, and march on. God bless you."

Award Categories

• The following categories are what the current awards are comprised of.
  • Best Picture
  • Best Director
  • Best Actor in a Leading Role
  • Best Actor in a Supporting Role
  • Best Actress in a Leading Role
  • Best Actress in a Supporting Role
  • Best Animated Feature
  • Best Animated Short Film
  • Best Cinematography
  • Best Costume Design
  • Best Documentary Feature
  • Best Documentary Short Subject
  • Best Film Editing
  • Best Foreign Language Film
  • Best Live Action Short Film
  • Best Makeup and Hairstyling
  • Best Original Score
  • Best Original Song
  • Best Production Design
  • Best Sound Editing
  • Best Sound Mixing
  • Best Visual Effects
  • Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
  • Best Writing (Original Screenplay

The Boycott of 2016

There are over 6000 members in The Oscars', among them the voters are 93 percent white and 73 percent male. After the nominations for the 2016 Academy Awards were announced, there were people who disagreed with the selection. Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee are just two of the celebrities who went public with their choice to boycott the Academy Awards due to the lack of diversity in the nominees. The boycott was about the lack of diversity throughout all of the categories, but specifically the category for Best Actor in a Leading Role'.

African-American celebrities spoke out and publicly shared their opinions on the fact that 2016 was the second year in a row that the nominees for Best Actor in a Leading Role' were all caucasian. Will Smith, husband of Jada Pinkett Smith, also took part in the boycott alongside his wife. Smith had said, "we’re part of this community. But at this current time, we’re uncomfortable to stand there and say, ‘This is OK'". Part of the reason that Jada Pinkett Smith was upset about the lack of diversity in the nominees is because Will Smith did not receive a nomination for Best Actor' in a Leading Role for his role in the film, Concussion.

Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist, was encouraging people to not watch The Oscars. Sharpton believed that the boycott and the #OscarsSoWhite trend was somewhat of a success. In a blog post he wrote about the decline in viewers from previous years. He said, "It is a significant decline and should send a clear message to the Academy and to movie studio executives that we will not tolerate discriminatory practices, whether they impact what we see on screen or what takes place behind the lens. Though we don’t take full credit for the decrease in viewership, certainly one would have to assume that we were effective and part of the decline … To those that mocked the idea of a tune out, it seems that the joke was on them." Sharpton also took the conversation on the blog post further by extending his ideas beyond just the ceremony when he said, "This isn’t just about black actors not being appropriately recognised for their talent; it is about the larger notion of what projects get funding for production, who gets hired behind the scenes, what stories are told and from whose perspective, what roles are available for black and minority actors, how people of colour can secure producer and director positions, how those who actually live in the Los Angeles area can get jobs in the industry and more."

At the Ceremony

On February 28th, the day of 88th the Academy Awards Ceremony, the boycott was brought up and discussed on the red carpet as well as throughout the ceremony. Host, Chris Rock, included many jokes in his opening speech in regards to the boycott. Chris Rock made jokes about those who boycotted and about those who were there.

Just before Chris Rock went on the stage for his opening speech, there was a montage of films that were made in 2015 and were being celebrated. When Chris Rock did get on the stage at the end of the montage, just as he started his speech he said, "I counted at least 15 black people in that montage."

Rock opened his speech by saying, "well I'm here at the Academy Awards. Otherwise known as the White People's Choice Awards. You realize, if they nominated host, I wouldn't even get this job! Y'all would be watching Neil Patrick Harris right now". Rock mentioned Neil Patrick Harris because he is a white actor who has hosted many award shows multiple times. He ended off his speech by telling the audiences and the viewers that not everything is a racist act or a sexist act and told everyone to enjoy the show when he said, "everything's not sexism, everything's not racism".

In his opening speech Rock also said, “No black nominees. People are like, ‘Chris you should boycott, Chris you should quit.’ How come it’s only unemployed people that tell you to quit something? … I thought about quitting. I thought about it really hard. But I realized they’re gonna have the Oscars anyway. They’re not gonna cancel the Oscars because I quit. And the last thing I need is to to lose another job to Kevin Hart, okay?”

Being an African-American himself, Chris Rock made an effort to remain neutral in his position as the host by making jokes as the hosts always do and taking the time to address the boycott all at the same time.

Kevin Hart, black comedian and actor, took to the stage to present an award and used that moment to also address the issue of diversity. He said, "I want to applaud all of the actors and actresses of color that didn't get nominated tonight. The reason why I say that is because I want them to understand that tonight should not determine the hard work and effort that you put into your craft."

Reactions to the Boycott

While some celebrities participated in the boycott such as: Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Anohni, and Spike Lee, others disagreed with it or were on the fence about it.

Actress, Viola Davis, did not attend the 2016 Oscars, and described the lack of diversity in the nominees as "blatant racism". Sylvester Stallone talked to the director of Creed, Ryan Coogler, and asked his opinion on the boycott. Stallone told Coogler that if he wanted him not to go that he wouldn't go but if he wanted him to go then he would. Stallone also had said, "I do believe things will change and it's a matter of time and all talent will rise to the top but it's a matter of getting a new paradigm, a new way of thinking."

President Barack Obama also weighed in on the boycott when he said, "California is an example of the incredible diversity of this country. That’s a strength. I think that when everyone’s story is told, then that makes for better art. It makes for better entertainment. It makes everybody feel part of one American family. So I think, as a whole, the industry should do what every other industry should do -- which is to look for talent, provide opportunity to everybody. And I think the Oscar debate is really just an expression of this broader issue. Are we making sure that everybody is getting a fair shot?"

George Clooney was amongst those who spoke out about the lack of diversity, and the racial suppression that took place. He had said, "I would also make the argument, I don't think it's a problem of who you're picking as much as it is: How many options are available to minorities in film, particularly in quality films?" Clooney went beyond the focus on the nominees and went to a deeper issue. By arguing about the diversity in the nominees is just picking at the surface, Clooney looked at this issue and made the argument that there can't be diversity within the nominees if there is no diversity within the films.

Roger Ross Williams, Oscar-winning Director, is a black man and spoke out to tell people not to boycott the Oscars. He said, "staying away from something that needs to change is no way to change it. Instead, let’s help them lead the way in promoting diversity in Hollywood.”

Ellen Page expressed her feelings towards the boycott when she said, "it’s awful, and I think what just happened in regards to the nominations two years in a row is a reflection of the industry itself, and the lack of diversity in all positions. It’s so upsetting that we’re still having this conversation. I don’t know what to say other than it’s so disheartening, and I feel like we all have to be doing what we can to make a change, because we’re supposed to be telling stories that reflect human experience, and we can’t just be showing one group of people."

British Actress, Charlotte Rampling, publicly spread her opinion about the boycott. She disagreed with the boycott and said, "it is racist to whites. One can never really know, but perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list. Why classify people? These days everyone is more or less accepted."

#OscarsSoWhite

The hashtag, #OscarsSoWhite began to trend on Twitter after the public became aware that there were celebrities who were boycotting the Academy Awards. This hashtag was made and maintained by those who believed that the 2016 awards ceremony was lacking diversity among its nominees and that there was bias when the nominees were chosen. The outcry stemmed from the fact that not only did the 2016 award ceremony lack diversity in the acting nominations, but the same thing occurred in the 2015 award ceremony. In all 88 years of the Academy Awards, only fourteen black actors have won Oscars for their acting.

Brie Larson took to her Instagram page to address her win for Best Actress, as well as to directly address #OscarsSoWhite. She said, "thank you @hollywoodreporter for covering this very unique moment in my life! It was wonderful spending time with all of you. Personally, I'm interested in reading their article on #OscarsSoWhite. This is a conversation that deserves attention." Larson is a white woman and was able to acknowledge the lack of diversity as well as promote the need for a more diverse future for the Academy.

Actress, Reese Witherspoon took to her Facebook account and wrote, "so disappointed that some of 2015's best films, filmmakers and performances were not recognized... Nothing can diminish the quality of their work, but these filmmakers deserve recognition. As an Academy member, I would love to see a more diverse voting membership" Witherspoon is also a white woman and like Brie Larson, Witherspoon felt the need to address the lack of diversity.

Aftermath

After the award ceremony, there was a series of responses from celebrities about the ceremony, the boycott, and about Chris Rock's role as the host. Tyrese Gibson, known for his reoccurring role in the Fast and the Furious films, commented on Chris Rock's position as the host by saying, “There is no joke that he can crack. There is no way for him to seize the moment and come into this thing and say, ‘I’m going to say this and say that I’m going to address the issue but then I’m still going to keep my gig as the host.’ The statement that you make is that you step down.”

After the 88th Academy Awards Ceremony, The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences voted to make a change in the diversity amongst themselves and amongst the nominees. Their goal is to double the amount of women and minorities in The Academy by the year 2020.