The nominations for this year’s Academy Awards have come under fire from actors and film critics for their lack of diversity.
For the first time in 17 years, the 20 nominees for best actor and actress, and best supporting actor and actress, are all white, causing a storm of protest on social media,
USA Today reports.
"It was a total blow, it was like getting hit in the stomach," says regional Fox network film critic Shawn Edwards, who runs the website
ILoveBlackMovies.com. "It was like, 'Here we go again.'"
While admitting that he "was not surprised to see a complete shutout," Edwards added, "I was disappointed …You have to want to go out of your way to recognize quality cinema outside of your main scope. It's an issue of understanding."
Based on Martin Luther King's civil rights struggle, "Selma" received two nominations, for best picture and best song. But the film's Golden Globe-nominated director, Ava DuVernay, was snubbed, although academy members had the opportunity to make her the first female African-American director nominee.
The movie’s star, David Oyelowo, who has received rave reviews for his performance, was also ignored.
DuVernay attempted to hide her disappointment at not getting a nomination when she tweeted "Happy Birthday" to Dr. King and urged her cast and crew to "march on."
But actor Patton Oswalt showed his displeasure on the Twitter hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.
"Selma? One of the best pics of the year. But the directing, script, all the acting, & cinematography? Meh," Oswalt tweeted. "Nice song, though."
The social media backlash against the nominations pointed out that the director category is dominated by white men: Richard Linklater ("Boyhood"); Wes Anderson ("The Grand Budapest Hotel"); Morten Tyldum ("The Imitation Game"); and Bennett Miller ("Foxcatcher"), along with Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu ("Birdman"), who is a native Mexican.
Angelina Jolie's first film directing effort, "Unbroken," failed to get a nod, and women were also not nominated in the two screenwriting categories, including "Gone Girl's" Gillian Flynn, according to USA Today.
"This year's all-white lineup in the major categories seems like a bit of a step backward," says Dave Karger, host of movie site Fandango.com's awards show "Frontrunners."
"I don't think anyone is saying that black filmmakers should be held to a different standard,” he said. "But today's nominations suggest that the academy should continue its efforts to bring more minority members into the fold."
Pete Hammond, the awards columnist for the industry website Deadline.com, noted that "people are talking about this, and it's significant that we are talking about this."
And
Ben Fritz of The Wall Street Journal said, "The Oscars are often a focal point for complaints about diversity in the movie industry, which studies have found remains less racially diverse on-screen and behind-the-scenes than the nation as a whole."
Citing a Los Angeles Times investigation, Fritz noted that the problem is "exacerbated" by the fact that 94 percent of the Academy’s 6,000-plus voting members were white as of 2012 and 77 percent of Oscar voters were men that year.
A complete list of the Academy Awards can be
found here.
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