What's up World!
So, by now I know everyone is fully aware of #OscarsSoWhite and all the hoopla that went on over the Oscars and the lack of diversity, not one Black actor was nominated for an Academy Award for the second year in a row. Many celebs spoke out and chose to boycott the awards ceremony like Jada Pinkett-Smith and Spike Lee. I noticed a lot of my peers on Facebook also made the decision to boycott by not watching the show. Honestly, I didn't see how my not watching would make a difference in Hollywood. I didn't think Jada or Spike would notice if I tuned in to the Oscars or not. Now don't get me wrong, I certainly applaud them for speaking up on behalf of all Black actors and actresses. I believe it is important that we stand up for what we believe in. Jada's voice was heard by everyone and her words lit a fire and put pressure on some folks, even if only for that moment... Although, some think her words were a reaction to her man Will Smith being left in the cold after his hard work in Concussion (I saw that film, it was a pretty good football movie *shrug*). Chris Rock, the host of the Oscars or the White People's Choice Awards as he called it, made mention of Jada being mad that Will wasn't nominated in his opening monologue... oh yeah, I definitely tuned in, and I wanted to see how Chris Rock was going to handle all of the heat. He did an excellent job by the way. He took jabs at #OscarsSoWhite and he did it with class and humor just like many of us hoped he would. He spoke about how some of his supporters wanted him to bail out on the job but he chose not to and I'm glad he didn't. America needed to hear what he had to say at their show.
See, I understand Black actors want to be acknowledged for their hard work and talent just like other actors do and the color of their skin shouldn't determine if they land a great role or not. It's not fair they are faced with this harsh reality. But listen, why strive to be accepted in places where you may not fit in? Like Chris Rock said, this isn't the first time Blacks were overlooked at the Oscars... In the 60's they weren't always nominated or if Sidney Poitier wasn't in a movie that year, no Blacks were nominated. He's right. Rock also said Blacks weren't getting all bent out of shape about not being nominated back then because they had bigger issues to fight for. Um hello, don't we still have bigger issues to fight for today besides the Oscars? Sure, the race card is definitely sitting face up but c'mon, the Oscars have never really been for us. I mean seriously, it was just 2002 when Halle Berry became the first Black woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress and she won for a disgusting role in Monster's Ball where she was a prostitute getting screwed by guess who, a white man. In the same year, Denzel Washington became the second Black man to win an Oscar for Best Actor in Training Day, he played a crooked cop and we all know Denzel is thee man who has starred in plenty Oscar-worthy roles. Those two opened the doors for Mo'Nique who won Best Supporting Actress for portraying and abusive mom in Precious, Best Supporting Actress winner Octavia Spencer for her role as a maid in The Help, Three 6 Mafia for Best Song It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp from the movie Hustle & Flow, Steve McQueen received the first Black Producer award for Twelve Years A Slave, Lupita Nyong'o won for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for Twelve Years A Slave. The above mentioned are all great talents who in my opinion deserved to win for better roles. However, not all Oscars awarded to Blacks have been demeaning, Hattie McDaniel (the first Black to ever win and Oscar), Sidney Poitier, Jaime Foxx, Forest Whittaker, Morgan Freeman, and Jennifer Hudson all gave stellar performances for their Oscars. They give what they want and unfortunately, we take it as if it's the best thing in life. Don't we have the BET Awards and the Image Awards? Why is Oscar so darn important? It surely didn't hold my attention, I only watched for Chris Rock and Leonardo DiCaprio.
After I watched #OscarsSoWhite I decided to watch the All Def Movie Awards, which was everything the Oscars wasn't. Russell Simmons decided to throw his own award ceremony to recognize Black actors and Black films from the past and present and celebrate the uncelebrated. Chris Rock's brother, Tony Rock, was the host and the award given out for the evening was a gold pimp statue inspired by Goldie from the 70's film, The Mack. Rock insisted the show was not a shot at the Oscars just an awards show done our way because Everything's better when we add our flavor on it. The All Def Movie Awards nominated actors from cool categories like Best Black Survivor in a Movie, Most-Quoted Movie, Best Bad Muh (winner Denzel Washington for Training Day), Most Likely to Steal Your Girl, Best Helpful White Person, and Should've Won For. Then of course there the norms like Vanguard Award, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture, Lifetime Achievement Award- winner Will Smith (who was not in attendance), and Best Actress- winner Sanaa Lathan who said in her acceptance speech I'm so happy that Hollywood, maybe, is about to wake the f*$^k up. Comedian Gary Owens took the stage to announce that he had been traded for Stacey Dash and it was good to be home lol. The awards ceremony was very relaxed and laid back with lots of comedy, cursing and cocktails. Snoop was in attendance smoking the spot out and Ice Cube was one of the night's top winners. Cube admitted in one of his acceptance speeches he was enjoying himself and had waited his whole life to win one of those awards.
The All Def Movie Awards may not have been as elegant as the Oscars, there were no floor length dresses and every man wasn't tuxed out, but it looked like a real good time. All of the attendees were laughing and having a ball not stuffy and on edge, waiting to be validated. They all looked like they belonged... it looked organic like you were hanging with the homies at a fun dinner party. No one got left out, not even White folks because they too were nominated and winners at the awards show. That is how it's supposed to be "celebrate the uncelebrated," recognize real talent because the actors are good at what they do, not because they shucked and jived in the only roles they were offered. Acting is an art, it's a craft and the color of one's skin should not be a factor.
After watching both award shows, I have to admit, everything IS better when we add our flavor on it. Kudos to the first annual All Def Movie Awards, next year should be bigger and better! #OscarsSoWhite, #AllDefMovieAwardsSoBlack
If you didn't get to check it out, you can do so here:
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