Racial Diversity (Or Lack Of) In The 2016 Oscars: Should This Be A Concern?

The Oscars are considered to be the epitome of the industry, the ultimate goal of an actor. They strive to achieve a nomination, to build a reputation, to become an icon or a long lasting influence on those who come after. But are these nominations handed out in a fair and just manner, or is there a hesitance, an unwillingness to acknowledge those who are not white? Some individuals feel this is true; others not. Even within those who are Black there is a confrontation as to who is right and who is wrong. I have to ask: is it real or is it a matter of perception?

Let's take a look at the more prominent categories and those nominated this year. And then take a look those who believe they should have been included at someone else's expense.

"And the nominees are... The Big Short; Mad Max: Fury Road; Room; Spotlight; The Revenant; The Martian; Brooklyn; and Bridge of Spies."

Each of the films nominated is headed by an actor who is white. For the most part, they are well known, well respected actors who have paid their dues and worked for years to get to this point in their lives. Tom Hanks in Bridge of Spies; Brad Pitt, Steve Carell, Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling in The BIg Short; Matt Damon in The Martian; Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton and Rachel McAdams in Spotlight and Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road among others are the people who put their all into their films, hoping to be noticed and nominated.

There are other films out there that were not nominated for one reason or another, many other films. In fact, there were in excess of 300 films released this calendar year so only a very small percentage of those released even get nominated. But there are a few who are upset at the lack of color shown in the films which have been nominated and feel they are being ignored, perhaps even persecuted. Have they? I would like to take a look at some films and compare them to one another in a few categories.

Let's take a look at the Oscar nominated films and their popularity by looking at IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes as well as budget versus box office. This should determine whether a film is making money, is popular with the viewing public and basically if it is a film that is worthy of our time. Please review these films and a pair which are being touted as being passed over in favor of other, "white" films in the table below.

In this film, which speaks about fighting a war against Satan in our lives, an elderly woman named Miss Clara is played by an actress named Karen Abercrombie. I have never seen her in a film before and was struck by the familiarity I seemed to have for her. My wife and I finally realized who she reminded us of: Cicley Tyson! In the old made for T.V. movie The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Ms. Tyson plays the part of Jane Pittman, a woman who was born a slave and is now nearly 100 years old. It was a wonderful film and Ms. Abercrombie's character reminds me greatly of Miss Jane Pittman in her strength, her faith and her ability to tell a tale. In my estimation, I firmly believe that Karen Abercrombie deserved a nomination for Best Supporting Actress this year.

So if we look at those films in this light, we see that of all the films nominated, The Revenant is the nominated film with the worst Rotten Tomatoes rating at 81% and falls slightly below Straight Outta Compton's 89%. It does fair better than Straight Outta Compton in the IMDb rating, 8.3 to 8.1. Revenant was much more expensive to make and brought in less than Straight. So what made Revenant get the nomination over Straight?

Subject matter. The Revenant is a film based upon real life trapper Hugh Glass who was mauled by a bear and left for dead by his comrades. Refusing to die, he crawled and staggered some 200 miles to survive. Leonardo DiCaprio has the lead role and reportedly is wonderful. This film grabs you and draws you into the struggle to live. Powerful stuff.

Straight Outta Compton is a film that is directed to a specific group of individuals. It details the rise and fall of a hip hop group from California. It is basically modern in its telling and the members of the group are for the most part still relevant to its target audience. However, in targeting a specific audience it will limit its appeal to the masses and while it has made more money than Revenant, in the long run its popularity will probably not reach the level of this film. Why?

In my opinion, because of the racial tensions currently looming large on our landscape. The Black against White struggle is fierce, with each and every newscast detailing some perceived oppression, shooting, riot, murder or other violent and negative situation in the United States today. For the most part, the majority of people in America today do not want to be reminded of such in an entertainment activity. They go to escape their lives for a short time, not have it thrust in their face and have to pay for the right to have this done. Those who will enjoy Straight will be those who follow Hip Hop music and the associated lifestyle, not the casual viewer.

And to me, that is why it was not given a nomination. I could be wrong and it might be something as simple as the old guard in the Academy not wanting to honor a film by Blacks about Blacks but I just don't think so. However, anything is possible.

As for Concussion starring Will Smith, it is another topical film detailing a doctor who discovers a connection between the violent nature of football and head injuries such as concussions. I have not seen the film and thus can only relate what I have read about it, but it has been written that this was not a good film for Will Smith and his performance is not his best. Adding the poorer reviews and low amount of box office revenue, and one has to agree that the general public did not like the film and thus probably should not receive a nomination.

If we look at the second table and compare those films to Concussion, we will see that virtually every one of them outperformed Concussion on all fronts with one exception: War Room. This film features a primarily Black cast in a Christian setting and is very good. Critics won't like it because it is a Christian film but the story is strong, the acting is good and it did well in the theaters, doubling the total box office take of Concussion. As a matter of fact, it outperformed The Big Short, Brooklyn, Room and Spotlight, all of whom are nominated for Best Picture. And if you tally up its cost versus the return, it outperformed every other film released this year by having a twenty-five times return on investment! The next best is Jurassic Work at an eleven times ROI. So no matter how you cut it, this film was a winner. But because of its subject matter it will not be popular with the masses, and that's a shame.

Films which were nominated such as Room and Brooklyn are low budget, low box office films but were well received, with Brooklyn having a near perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 99%. Thus, it received a nomination when Concussion did not.

In each of the other primary categories such as Best Actor and Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor and Actress the field is totally White. Could there have been a person of color there? Possibly. Should the Academy overlook a worthy contender because of their color just to include a person of color? Never! Should a person of color be overlooked solely because of their color? Never! Should a person of color be included solely because of their color? Never! If you give a worthy performance and you are one of the top five in the eyes of those who give out the nominations, you should receive one; but to say one is deserved or should be given in order to NOT have a white field is ridiculous. That in and of itself is racist, as you would be supplanting a worthy person based upon the color of their skin and I would hope that in this day and age, in the liberal bastion that is Hollywood whether a person is white or not should not play a part in such a nomination. Is it still possible? Yes, but I fervently hope that is not the case.

In the category of Writing, Straight Outta Compton does get a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. So obviously the film is getting some due, perhaps not what those associated with it wanted but really, you got something a lot of others did not receive.

Remember, there were about 320 films released this year, and you got one of only five nominations.

So, is there a conspiracy to exclude Blacks from receiving an Oscar bid? I don't believe so; nor do I believe any of the films mentioned nor actors upset deserved a bid. For Best Picture I would have left out Room and maybe Brooklyn, but that's my taste. I would have added Creed, maybe The Gift or Jurassic World in their stead. Mad Max is another one that is a bit outside what I perceive to be Academy Award material, but hey, who am I?

Heck, I don't even think the new Star Wars film deserves an Oscar nomination!

So which film will win the Oscar for Best Film? The Revenant is getting a lot of press but it's not the Academy's way to reward a big film. More often that not, they go with a little film no one hears of or sees, or features a topic most of us aren't interested in (remember The Hurt Locker and The Artist?) so it will more than likely not be The Revenant, The Martian, Mad Max, or Bridge of Spies. That leaves Room, Brooklyn, Spotlight and The Big Short. Room may be too specialized; Spotlight too topical; The Big Short too. So that leaves Brooklyn. So that's my pick.

What are your thoughts?

UPDATE January 31. 2016: I just finished watching The Martian. It was OUTSTANDING!!!!! Very smart, very exciting, one of the best films I may have ever seen. Matt Damon was great and it was easy to get lost in the plot. Well done, Ridley Scott!

And by the way, there were two persons of color who played very prominent roles in this film, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Donald Glover, to say nothing of the various other ethnicities including Asian and Hispanic. Overall it was a well balanced cast, and made for an excellent film,