I know that some of you will say that I doth protest too much. I know you’ll say that I always play the race card. And I’d agree with you. The reason I play the race card is that America (and its original colonists) has consistently dealt from the very beginning from a race deck with marked cards. That’s why whites win nearly every hand or, in this case, nearly every film award. They win by almost always naming themselves as winners, but also by infrequently naming others (i.e., blacks) as winners. The “others” have to make themselves look bad or make whites look good in order to be recognized by the Academy. Where are the white street criminals, single mothers, deadbeat dads, welfare recipients, prostitutes, crack addicts, prison inmates, and high-school drop-outs in movies and on TV? After all, there are many more white ones than black ones in this country. I guess fact is stranger than fiction.Michael Coard, The Oscars Are Racist
Oh, this is good. This whole article is very very VERY good.
Coard discusses the types of roles that The Academy (italicized for uppity sarcasm and not out of respect or propriety, I assure you) deems worthy of honoring with an award, and the list is pretty disgusting. He also rattles off a laundry list of amazing performances by black actors who did not receive awards for comparison. The difference in the type of roles that get recognized and those that don’t, regardless of how compelling the performances are, is staggering, but sadly, it is not at all surprising.
I always hate award season, but I especially hate this year where everyone feels so self-important about loving The Help. I hear Viola Davis was wonderful, but I am very hesitant to hope that she wins the award given the kind of role this is.
(via she-hulk-smash)
(via cmao)