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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, March 28, 2024

For second year running, Oscar acting nominees exclude people of color

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Idris Elba spoke out about the Oscar nominations.

“And the nominees are …” The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Jan. 14 its nominations for the 88th Academy Awards, to be held on Feb. 28. “The Revenant” (2015) and “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) lead the way with 12 and 10 nominations apiece, with “The Martian” (2015), “Spotlight” (2015) and “The Big Short” (2015) earning seven, six and five nods respectively. The Daily takes a look at the most important stories coming out of this year’s nominations.

#OscarsSoWhite

When last year’s Oscar nods were announced, a wave of criticism swept the Internet, condemning the Academy’s failure to nominate any actors or directors of color (and triggering the hashtag #OscarSoWhite). Even the acclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. biopic “Selma” (2014), which was thought to be poised for Oscar success, was left out of the directing and acting categories. The uproar and fury spawned by last year’s nominations doesn’t seem to have bothered Academy members, however, as this year’s slate of acting and directing nominees are, once again, entirely white.

Excluded from the acting nominees are Michael B. Jordan for his lauded performance in “Creed” (2015) and Idris Elba for his turn as a warlord in “Beasts of No Nation” (2015). “Creed” was also unable to pick up a Best Picture nod, and the film’s director, Ryan Coogler, didn’t make the cut for Best Director. (The Academy awarded Sylvester Stallone, one of the few white actors in the film, a Best Supporting Actor nomination.) “Straight Outta Compton,”(2015) which received praise when it was released last summer, was also left out of the Best Picture race. It’s also worth noting that no female directors received nods; in fact, the last time the Academy even nominated a woman for directing was in 2009, and only four women have ever been nominated for the award.

Hollywood is often perceived as a bastion of liberal progressive values, but for many, that truism becomes hard to believe given this year’s Oscar lineup. Hollywood’s most prestigious and influential institution has, for the second year running, not deemed the work of actors and directors of color worthy of being in contention for many of its top awards. Last year, “Selma” at least earned a Best Picture nomination; this year, all the Best Picture nominees tell the stories of white — and mostly male — characters. Obviously, each and every year there will be snubs; after all, there are only a limited number of nominations to be handed out. Still, it is not insignificant that Academy remains so focused on rewarding the efforts of white filmmakers while often ignoring the work of the women and people of color. Expect #OscarsSoWhite to be a staple of online conversations about the awards.

Leonardo DiCaprio: always a bridesmaid, never a bride

A quick Google Image search of the words “Leonardo DiCaprio Oscars” yields a seemingly endless array of memes, tweets and Tumblr posts about Dicaprio’s inability thus far to capture Oscar gold. “Even if there was an Oscar for Best Leonardo Dicaprio, Meryl Streep would win it instead,” reads one tweet. This year, however, the tides may be turning for the actor. He’s been nominated for his performance in “The Revenant” — his fifth nomination — and no doubt many Academy voters might feel that an Oscar is overdue for the oft-overlooked star. Certainly, recent buzz has been leaning in his favor; his win at the Golden Globes didn’t hurt, nor did the 12 Oscar nods “The Revenant” garnered. If he can keep up this momentum, Dicaprio seems on course to claim his first Academy Award.

And the Oscar goes to...

The race for Best Picture is often somewhat of a snooze — by the time the actual ceremony rolls around, the eventual Picture winner seems all but guaranteed. (Think about the unsurprising wins for 2011’s “The Artist” or 2012’s “Argo.”) This year, however, there is no such obvious frontrunner, and the lack of early consensus could mean a more unpredictable race. “The Revenant” and “Mad Max" picked up the most nods, but there is a lot of love for the non-flashy, methodical “Spotlight.” Meanwhile, just as "Argo" received a swell of support after Ben Affleck missed out on a directing nomination, “The Martian” could see an uptick in momentum from director Ridley Scott’s snub

This muddled picture, however, might soon shift as the awards season progresses. Though the Golden Globes saw “The Revenant” and “The Martian” pick up Best Picture trophies for drama and comedy respectively, that booze-soaked ceremony is often a poor predictor of who will actually win the Oscar. (The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the body that votes on the Globes, has essentially no voter overlap with the Academy.) Keep an eye out for the winners of various guild awards — the Screen Actors, Directors and Producers — as the winners of those prizes often go on to claim Oscars. In fact, for the past eight years, the Producers Guild winner has also scooped up the Academy Awards’ top prize. Get your ballots ready!