On February 28th, Chris Rock hosted the 2016 Academy Awards, and as he did, the eyes of the nation looked to him. People looked to see what he would do, and how he would handle the pressure that so many had placed upon him. Would he address the elephant in the room, or would he ignore it and just host.
Earlier this year, when Oscar nominations came out, there was an uprising. Many actors, along with other celebrities, came out and stated that the Oscars was showing a blatant lack of diversity among the nominees; some even stating that the award show exhibits racism. As a result, many actors and actresses, such as Jada and Will Smith, boycotted the Oscars as a way to show that they would not support an organization that promoted inequality.
In his opening monologue, Rock addressed the issue head on, not holding anything back. One of his first statements was, “If they nominated host, I wouldn’t even get this job. Y’all would be watching Neil Patrick Harris right now.” This statement alone shows viewers how overlooked and under appreciated Black actors, as a whole, are.
Rock then goes on to ask the audience an important quetion: why now? Why all of a sudden is this uprising and realization occurring? Rock poses the point that after all, this is the 88th Academy Awards; meaning that this neglect of Black actors has been happening, so why is now the time to challenge this institution? Rock answers his question by stating:
“Black people didn’t protest because we had real things to protest at the time. We were too busy being raped and lynched to worry about best cinematographer. You know, when your grandmother is hanging from a tree it’s really hard to care about best documentary.”
The above quote stunned me, and really left me in awe, because it is absolutely true. Rock is absolutely right, the only reason why this conversation is just happening now is because, prior to this decade, the Black community had been working to achieve more pressing, yet basic rights; such as the right to vote, the right to attend universities, to disband segregation etc. This movement to continue the process of gaining equality is happening now because those basic rights have been successfully obtained. Presently, the Black community is now working to gain equality in the things that were deemed unimportant or trivial in older times, such as representation at awards shows.
Rock goes on to ask the question that so many people have been recently debating: is Hollywood racist? Rock states that he believes that Hollywood is in fact racist; however, it is not an ‘I hate you because you are different’ kind of racism, but an ‘I don’t acknowledge you because you are different’ kind of racism:
“Is Hollywood racist? Is it burning cross racist? No. Is it fetch me some lemonade racist? No… it’s sorority racist. It’s like, we like you, Rhonda, but you're not a kappa.”
This statement shows that, unlike what some media sources have been saying, no kind of racism is better than the other; all forms are just as awful, inhumane and oppressive.
Rock wraps up his opening monologue in the best way possible. He states that this movement and conversation is “…Not about boycotting, it’s about opportunity. We want Black actors to have the same opportunity as white actors— that’s it.” Equal opportunity, is something that is endowed to us by our Constitution, (“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”), and the fact that people today are still struggling to obtain equality is ridiculous and tragic. While this is tragic, I have so much respect for Chris Rock for reopening this conversation that desperately needs to be continued.
I believe Chris Rock is absolutely correct in that this issue has been looming for so long, but can only be addressed now. I agree that the focus could not have possibly been on the best documentaries and actors, when basic rights have not even been achieved. However, is it right for the movement to only take one step at a time? If that were the case, one would tell blacks to wait their turn to move up in the ranks, and be patient and not force the issue. I do not see that as a feasible solution. Yes, it is a continuous fight for rights and one advancement leads to another, but the idea that blacks should "wait their turn" is ludicrous. So, Maddie I agree with you that the fact that people are still waiting for the simplest rights is ridiculous. This issue should have been taken care of, so that we can focus on the smaller things that Chris Rock eloquently addresses.
ReplyDeleteWhile there are still obvious strides to be made, what stands out most to me when thinking about what Chris Rock said are the huge steps forward we've made in such a relatively short time compared to the history of race in America. For hundreds of years, the only role for blacks in America was as enslaved people. For a hundred years after slaves were freed, blacks were basically treated like a different species. Lynchings and race riots were common in our parents' and grandparents' lifetimes. The fact that we can now concentrate on such a comparatively small thing as award nominations speaks volumes to the exponential progress we've made in such a short amount of time, and I believe bodes well for the future of civil rights.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chris Rock that this is the time to address these issues in Hollywood. Although I can understand boycotting the oscars as a statement against the inequality in Hollywood, I believe Rock was also correct in choosing to host in the midst of these issues. Rock is able to use his platform as host and as a celebrity to speak out against the injustices he sees. I believe Kerry Washington best explains this at the Oscars when asked about the celebrities boycotting the Oscars, "I respect and admire the people who aren't here. For me, my voice is best used at the table. As a new member of the Academy, I really want to be apart of the conversation so there is an institutional change so we never have this again."
ReplyDeleteMaddie I think you make some great points here in this post. The difficulties of an Oscar nomination is it becomes irrelevant when your family members are being lynched, unable to vote, or still struggling to get a mortgage in “that” part of town based on the color of your skin. Chris Rock did a great job of pointing out why it is crucial we bring attention to issues like this. The complacency of many white Americans is what is wrong with our country today. Many have decided that with everyone having equal protection under the written law that we have arrived at a true equality and that people of color need to stop bringing up petty things. What a majority of the white population fails to realize is the law is not the only place that requires equality. We must end institutional racism in our society to eliminate the racist undertones within communities. As a society we have to ensure that white and black students get the same opportunities to go to college. We must also make a level playing field for job opportunities including acting. Chris Rock is right, the youth of the nation relates to TV and film though a reality mindset. The longer we keep segregation within this particular industry the longer our youth will be raised with a racial divide. Chris Rock’s comments, though as hard as they were to hear, moved us a bit closer to the acknowledgment as a community that we have miles and miles to tread before there is true equality in a land that prides itself on the freedom of opportunity.
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