Inequality in racism, education, economics, and gender is prominent. It is prevalent in our country, and is a worldwide global issue. Although we have created laws against this issue, it still exists. America is one of the most diverse and accepting nations, yet it still falls victim to inequality. In my blog I will be addressing different issues that have represented this civic issue to demonstrate inequality seen particularly in America.
One clear example, that brought a lot of media attention was the 2016 Oscar Academy Awards. In 2016 when the Academy Awards nominees were announced a large controversy was brought up on the internet. Various movies in 2016 consisted of actors with color, who displayed talented performances, but no actors of color were on the nominee list. The actors felt strongly that this was unfair, and represented the issue of inequality and racism in Hollywood.
Articles all over the internet, and tweets from the stars caught the public’s attention. Stars commented on twitter that generated an uproar.
Chris Rock tweeted an add for the annual show, writing, “The #Oscars. The White BET Awards.” Jada Pinkett Smith tweeted a comment that aimed to boycott the Oscars entirely writing, “At the Oscars … people of color are always welcomed to give out awards … even entertain, but we are rarely recognized for our artistic accomplishments. Should people of color refrain from participating all together?” She wrote in defense of her husband Will Smith. His stellar performance in the movie Concussion was not recognized which she felts was due to racial profiling. Some stars added sarcastic comments to the pool, and clearly had a stance on what treatment they were receiving. Don Cheadle added, “@chrisrock Yo, Chris. Come check me out at #TheOscars this year. They got me parking cars on G level.”
Not only were actors of color commenting, George Clooney mentioned his disappointment in the Academy, and shared “If you think back 10 years ago, the Academy was doing a better job. Think about how many more African Americans were nominated. 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?” He feels the opportunity for colored actors now to obtain roles in Oscar worthy movies is challenging.
The last comment I felt was extremely tasteful, and worth noting was Lupita Nyong’o comment. An Academy Award winner and extremely accomplished actress still had an opinion that spoke out against the Oscar’s promotion of inequality, “I am disappointed by the lack of inclusion in this year’s Academy Awards nominations,” she wrote. “It has me thinking about unconscious prejudice and what merits prestige in our culture. The Awards should not dictate the terms of art in our modern society, but rather be a diverse reflection of the best of what our art has to offer today. I stand with my peers who are calling for change in expanding the stories that are told and recognition of the people who tell them.”
This is only a sampling of remarks that were shared after two years of no colored actors being nominated for the Academy Awards. The twitter #OscarsSoWhite stood clear to the Academy and the public. This civic issue of inequality became clear through media. But why is this still an issue in 2016? Shouldn’t inequality be non-existent? The laws created against it would make me think that, however, inequality is something that is not going away. It is present in society, and must be addressed when an issue presents itself. The reactions generated an awareness; it called the Academy’s attention. The Academy responded thoughtfully, and respectfully, saying, “We will work towards diversifying our selection of nominees in the years to come.” This shows that even though inequality may not be entirely effaced, it can be addressed every time a situation occurs.
Although Hollywood is not what culminates the entire public, it does have a major impact. People watch television, film, and movies every day. The average American spend around five hours a day watching some form of television. This statistic goes to show the impact film has on each individual. Therefore, when an issue such as inequality arises in this field it becomes well-known to the average citizen. It is important to be aware of this issue, and help to counteract it so it does not fester beyond what is manageable.
The links below are resources I used to gather information on this topic. If you find interest in this specific civic issue, feel free to take a look at some of the comments and arguments shared. 
http://variety.com/2016/biz/awards/oscar-nominations-2016-diversity-white-1201674903/
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-oscars-so-white-reaction-htmlstory.html
I never really thought about the diversity of the academy awards, mostly because I’ve never been a huge movie watcher and have only watched the Oscars once. Now that I’m examining this issue, it really does make it clear that there is some form of inequality in Hollywood, but whether its in the nominations or ingrained in the writing and casting of films themselves isn’t immediately obvious. In a country as diverse as the United States, having two years of all white nominees for best/supporting actor/actress is highly suspicious.
Movies themselves most likely don’t fully represent the diversity of our nation, and when casting for a movie there may be a unfair preference for white actors. I did a quick google search and fount that about 73% of actors in the top 100 movies of 2014 were white, but at the same time about 72% of the US population self-identifies as white. This seemed like a surprisingly accurate representation, so clearly the apparent inequality hides deeper than just who is cast in movies. The biggest roles might go more proportionately to whites, and there could be inequality in less popular movies where less effort is placed into creating diverse casts. I do remember that the Best Director award was given to Mexican directors two years in a row (2014 and 2015), so this could also point to the inequality not being perpetuated by the Academy Awards but ingrained in the casting process itself.
Whatever the source of the issue is, something needs to be done to create a more diverse Academy Awards. Having such an important honor accurately represent our country’s many ethnicities would show to a greater degree how an effort towards equality is being made. Media is extremely prevelent in all of our lives, and having a quietly racist Hollywood will effect the expectations of people watching movies without their knowledge.
Clearly the Academy Awards have taken note of the public’s discontent with the whiteness of their nominees. The 2017 nominees have at least one person of color in each of the categories, and Best Supporting Actress acutally features three black nominees. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction.