Is Hollywood Racist

Santino Brancato

4/11/16

Blog 2

 

Is Hollywood Racist?

 

Ever since I can remember Hollywood has been known for many great things. Beautiful weather, home of many celebrities, and of course the film capitol of the world. As my dad use to call it “Lala” land. But lately Hollywood, and more specifically the film industry and the academy awards have been under some heat. Many have argued that African Americans actors don’t get the same leading roles and recognition that white actors receive. With the academy looming around the corner many thought there would be riots, as some black actors chose not to attend. This really got me thinking because I have been watching movies since I was a kid and never really acknowledged that there might be a diversity issue in movies. I went out to see if Hollywood really was racist, and if black actors/actresses were really getting snubbed.

With the Academy Awards only days away many people in Hollywood grew anxious. There had been threats of riots and fear that black actors/actresses would boycott the Awards. And with Chris Rock (a black man) set to host everyone had the same question on their mind, is Hollywood racist? Chris answered that question very quickly in his opening comments, “Your damn right Hollywood is racist, not burning crosses racist, it’s a different kind of racist” (Griggs). Rock went on to make jokes at other black movies, and it didn’t really stop until the curtains closed. For most people Rock did a good job and took on the elephant in the room head on.  Of course some people have come out and thought the performance was rude and that Rock took it too far. Shaun King, an African American writer thought Rock went too far after his barrage of lynching jokes. In his blog he wrote “I can't imagine the deepest, darkest pain of any other group of people being used as a prime-time punchline. Not only that, but we indeed live in an era where black bodies, riddled with bullets, choked lifeless, tasered repeatedly, are strewn all over this country from coast to coast”(King). I can why both sides would be upset but I think Chris Rock was dealing with a very serious topic and tried to make a point the only way he knows how to and that through comedy. After watching the Oscars it really opened up my eyes. Why wasn’t one black actor/actress nominated for an Academy Award? I’m not talking winning an Oscar I’m talking they weren’t even nominated, and I know Straight Outa Compton was well deserving. I think we all have to open are eyes and ask ourselves if there is an injustice going on through the Academy. And if there is a change should be demanded.

After watching the Oscars and seeing how no African Americans got nominated it got me thinking how many African Americans have ever won an Oscar. Because I feel like there is a heavy black population in Hollywood and in many of the movies I watch. Some of biggest actors in Hollywood are black, Morgan Freeman, Samuel Jackson, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, and Forest Whitaker to name a few. And there a plenty more. But are they getting the fair recognition they deserve. This is what I found. In the history of the Academy Awards seven African American men have won an Oscar. Four won a leading role and three won best supporting actor. Big names like Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington are amongst the seven but those odds aren’t too great seeing that last month’s Oscars were the 88^th held. When it comes to the women the odds aren’t much better. Only one women has ever won an Oscar for a leading role. That was Halle Barrie in 2006 for her role in Monsters Ball. Six women have won Oscars for best supporting actress but once again the percentage of black women winning this honored award are dismal. The numbers don’t lie, and what the numbers are telling me is that the odds of a black actor/actress winning an academy awards are dangerously low. To me it’s definitely alarming because I never really noticed something like this in the past. I just figured that whoever had the best performance would win the trophy. It’s not like there is a scarce amount of African American in the film industry we see them everywhere in plenty of big time movies. But for some reason they have not received the same recognition as the whites. It could be that the white actors/actresses had better performances but when one race of people are constantly winning something has to change.

I wanted to figure out more about this topic and really understand the root of this topic. In a book written by Donald Bogule he explores the early days of Hollywood. In the 20s, 30’s and so on obviously black people had it rough in our country. The consensus thought about the African American race in those days was that they were no good. So that thought carried over into Hollywood and the film industry. In his book Bogule explains a segregated Hollywood in which African Americans were part of an underground film society because they were looked down upon in the white society. African Americans would gather in underground clubs to put on their own plays or shows. Somewhere they would feel appreciated. After reading this I realized that segregation has been around Hollywood for years. Blacks were not respected in Hollywood because of the racism going on in our country. So if they weren’t respected as human beings obviously they were not going to be respected as actors/actresses. And I think to some extent it has carried over through the years and that is why you are seeing so few film awards in the black community.

            In conclusion I think the problems in Hollywood and with the Academy are real. I don’t think it is a raging problem because there are many colored people in Hollywood. But like  I said earlier the numbers don’t lie and only 14 African Americans have ever won an Oscar in 88 years. Those numbers are ridiculous. I think we all have to realize that there are a lot of great actors out there, the color of their skin should not matter. Hopefully in the coming years the African American community will be acknowledged more when talking about film.

 

Works Cited

"Black Oscar Winners." Black Oscar Winners. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.Bogule, Donald.

"Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams." Googe Scholar. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016Griggs,

Brandon. "Chris Rock: 'You're Damn Right Hollywood Is Racist'" CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016

King, Shaun. "KING: Chris Rock's Oscar Opener Lynching Jokes Went Too Far." NY Daily News. N.p., 11 Feb. 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.