I just found out that people of color are supposed to be considering boycotting the Oscars telecast because of the lack of diversity amongst the nominees. The person who started this whole movement to boycott was Jada Pinkett Smith, which I find to be quite ironic for a few reasons. The first one being that Will Smith was in the running for an Oscar nomination, which he obviously didn't get. Almost exactly one year ago, when he wasn't getting Oscar buzz, a reporter asked Will about his view on racism and the lack of diversity in Hollywood and his response was, "I don't really think that it's too much of a problem. In terms of what's snubbed and what's not snubbed, people vote for the movies that they want to vote for and they have that right.". What a difference a year and being snubbed himself make, huh? While I agree with him that people have the right to vote for the movies they want, it's obvious there is often a lack of diversity at the Oscars. Were there movies featuring actors of color that were Oscar-worthy? Probably. But you can't have it both ways, you can't say there isn't really any problem and then, when the problem affects you, come out and shout from the rooftops that the system isn't fair. I have my doubts as to whether Jada would've gone at the Oscars the way she did had her husband not been affected by this year's lack of diversity amongst its nominees.
Boycotting the Oscars does not fix the root of the issue here and that is the fact that people of color do not get near the amount of opportunities to shine that white folks do. That's just a fact in Hollywood, not even something up for debate. Hell, news outlets can't even tell the difference between two Latina actresses. Minorities have had their moments in the Oscar spotlight, but it's not even about the awards so much as equality in general. If you want more diversity, then you have to get more people of color into more starring and co-starring roles. The ideal outcome would be that it's no longer newsworthy when an African-American wins a particular category, or a Latino is nominated in a category for the first time, or a woman wins Best Director. But we're a long way from that. A group of people not watching the Oscars doesn't fix or change anything, it just takes away viewership from an award show that often sees a drop in ratings anyway.
The Smiths own their own production company and they have produced 20 projects, mostly movies but a few TV shows, since 1997. To their credit, only one of those projects boasts an all white lead cast, and another was written, directed by and starred a mostly Asian cast. However, of the remaining 18 projects, 12 were either directed by or featured a member of the Smith family in a starring or co-starring role, with a 13th project in the works also starring Will. That means that in almost 20 years of existence, the Smiths' production company has only made 6 films and one TV show featuring people of color who were not named Will, Jada or Jaden Smith. It's progress, sure, but it's not exactly a shining example of people with money, power and a platform trying to change the system. It could be said that it's just too hard to get projects with minorities attached to the lead produced, and it definitely is, but it's not impossible. If you really want to give the industry a kick in the ass, then seek out projects that don't star your family members, projects that benefit the cause. Will Smith has had a great career, and I'm sure it hasn't always come easy to him, but he got that chance because producers who wanted to see a shift in the industry took a chance on him. Why not use your platform to do the same, rather than making a fuss only when you're the one affected by the lack of diversity?
