I’m Not Buying Into the Race Debate for the Oscars

You guys know me. I'm probably more sensitive to race issues than a lot of people. It comes from being raised in a mixed neighborhood then moving to the South. I've seen the bias that so many ignore. When it comes to this Oscar situation, I'm calling b.s.

Jada Pinkett-Smith is leading the call to boycott the Oscar because of all of the major nominations went to white actors for the past two years.  Her call is immediately suspect because her husband Will Smith starred in the Oscar-Bait but ignored movie "Concussion" affecting a heavy Nigerian accent. This accent was ROASTED on Twitter with one of the kindest descriptions being that it was "wack sauce".  Mrs. Smith also picked on a year when the academy had already named a black host (Chris Rock).

Looking into the way the academy works, actors vote for acting categories, directors vote for directing categories and so on, with everybody voting for Best Picture. This is not a situation where there's an all-white panel of industry types deciding what gets nominated, this is nominations,  and the ultimate winner, as judged by their peers.

The "glaring commission" that some are pointing to is the movie "Straight Out Of Compton".  I know that everyone loved the movie, but does that make it Oscar worthy? The Shining, Psycho, The Big Lebowski, Reservoir Dogs, and

that people thought were the best movies ever didn't win and some weren't even nominated. Between 2001 and 2006 six black actors and seven roles were nominated for the male best actor category with three wins. The "evidence" just doesn't point to discrimination of any sort.

The list can be short, but the process seems fair. If you want more Oscar nods, don't fight Oscar or the voters, vote for better roles.  And in the end, the Oscars are irrelevant to most movie goers. Some people still tune in to see the dresses or maybe buy into some of the faint tension, but overall, it's a waste of an evening watching a bunch of people pat themselves on the back.  If you want to fight for equal rights, do it in the work force or education, no one cares what millionaire may have got ignored by the Academy.