I know the above is an old post relative to the length of this thread, but I just had to respond to it -- for what it's worth, not all while people are offended by Jada, Spike, etc. wanting representation at the Oscars. I'm white, and I'm not offended; in fact, I'm hugely empathetic. It has got to be so frustrating and heartbreaking, after decades of struggling first to have any visibility at all in film, TV, magazines, commercials, advertisements, etc., and then struggling to have at least some of the roles that did exist reflect something other than gross stereotypes, and then finally to have people like Halle Berry and Viola Davis be recognized for their work.... only to reach an Oscar season which feels like an enormous backslide. Heck, I'm incredibly frustrated. How is it possible that when non-whites make up such a large percentage of the population of the United States, not a single non-white person was nominated?
I think the frustration and heartbreak is really on this level: It's not really about the awards, or solely about the awards -- the awards are symbolic of something greater, which is proportionate representation of non-whites in the media in general. I'm not saying there should be a "quota system", requiring representation in film to match real-world demographics exactly. But what does it say about our culture at large and our perception of people of different races when our interest in stories -- fantasy! -- differs so radically when the players happen to be white versus black versus Asian, etc.? I loved the new Star Wars, but I was a bit put off by the fact that, as far as I could tell, only one human character was black. Yes, he was a main character, but how is it that in 2015, pretty much all of the minor characters, extras, etc. making up the background of the film were white? Were almost all humans white a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away? Most importantly: Why was that choice made by the producers? That's the main question and the main point. What is still going on underneath the surface of our society that results in that choice?
In fact, Spike Lee stated that his objection was only partially about the awards, but also more generally about representation in film across the board, during a very interesting interview this morning on Good Morning America -- he specifically talked about the fact that it all starts with studio system and the people in the room during the "green-lighting" process, who somehow have a perception that films won't make money if they feature non-whites heavily, or tell "non-white" stories (I'm paraphrasing).
Regarding Jada Pinket Smith and Will Smith, I think they view themselves, as two of the most visible black people in the world, as having a responsibility to the black community, to use their platform to speak up for all of the people whose voices can't be heard. I don't always love them -- in particular, I sometimes find the self-congratulatory way they talk about their marriage to be grating. But even then, I think they are trying to set a different example and paint a different picture -- they are trying to make visible a story about relationships and parenthood that is very different from the stereotype of the single black mother and the young black father who isn't there for his children. So I don't think their reaction to the Oscars this year was sour grapes about Will Smith not getting an award (maybe there was some of that), but rather came from their sense of obligation to speak out on behalf of their larger community.
Finally, movies are not "just movies". Sure, any one movie is just a movie. But movies, TV, advertising, magazines, and other media on a large scale are very important -- they color and frame our perception of the universe. An extreme way to illustrate it is this: if we don't have personal exposure to a particular population and our only exposure to them is through media, where we only see them depicted or described a certain way -- as violent, unintelligent, poor, lazy, etc., etc. -- then we tend to believe that depiction reflects reality. And if we see people mostly or usually depicted a certain way, then we tend to believe they are mostly or usually that way in real life. And if we hardly see them at all, or if we only see them in an unimportant way, then we internalize that depiction and tend to view them as "marginal" and "unimportant" in real life.
In any event, I think the above is what the whole controversy is all about.
Also, I feel badly for Chris Rock. He as a tough choice to make.
