Minority actors simply aren't Oscars priority

On the eve of the Academy Awards ceremony celebrating the best films and performances of 1995, Reverend Jesse Jackson published an essay on the lack of nominations received by people of color. His protest of the Oscars and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences received widespread publicity and brought to light a major problem within the movie industry.

At the time of Jackson's article, only nine of the nominees in the major categories in the 90s had been minorities. The year of the protest, Ang Lee, the director of "Sense and Sensibility," was the lone non-white nominee. Much to the chagrin of Jackson and many others, talented performers such as Don Cheadle (who won the National Society of Film Critics' Best Supporting Actor Award for his work in "Devil in a Blue Dress") were ignored entirely.

Courtesy of Miramax Samuel Jackson played a gun dealer in Quentin Tarantino's 1997 film Jackie Brown. The Academy Awards have been protested by such figures as the Reverend Jesse Jackson for their consistent lack of minority nominees.

Although the Academy's history of overlooking minority actors, directors, and writers was long, many felt that Jackson's criticism would help improve matters by addressing the issue and by bringing negative publicity to the largely white organization. So, how did the Academy react? It nominated two people of color for awards the next year.

The chosen pair were Cuba Gooding Jr. for "Jerry Maguire" and Marianne Jean-Baptiste for "Secrets and Lies." While Gooding's eventual victory was refreshing, it is important to note that the two performers were in supporting categories, while many stirring performances in lead roles, like Denzel Washington's exceptional work in "Courage Under Fire" or Eddie Murphy's hilarious turn as "The Nutty Professor" (which won him the National Society of Film Critics Best Actor Award), were not honored.

Last year, the Oscar ceremony was free of color aside from Spike Lee, whose documentary "Four Little Girls" was nominated. Among those deemed unworthy of recognition: Victor Nunez of "Ulee's Gold," whose direction propelled Peter Fonda to a Best Actor nomination; Pam Grier and Samuel L. Jackson for "Jackie Brown;" the cast and crew of the wonderful "Eve's Bayou;" and Lee, director of critical favorite "The Ice Storm."

But, perhaps the snub that best represents the state of affairs in the Academy and the movie industry was the failure to nominate Djimon Hounsou for "Amistad." While Hounsou's performance was excellent, his ignoral would not have been as noteworthy had Sir Anthony Hopkins been overlooked for his acting in "Amistad." It is insulting enough that in a story about a slave-ship revolt the heroes turn out to be a couple of white lawyers. But to top it off, Hopkins is nearly laughable in the film, while Hounsou is the heart and soul of the narrative. Moreover, the Academy seems to love underdogs, as evidenced by all the attention given to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, the well educated blue-bloods who had a bit of a hard time selling their script for "Good Will Hunting." Yet, Hounsou's life story is remarkably compelling and features difficulties far greater than having problems with a screenplay.

However, the Academy should not be singled out as the source of the problem. Granted, the organization is fairly conservative, but in recent years it has opened its heart to more creative, innovative works, such as "Pulp Fiction" and "Fargo," perhaps opening the doors for minority filmmakers who tend to have less conventional artistic visions.

Still, the failure to win awards is insignificant in comparison to the failure to gain ground in the film industry. When so few of the people producing, directing or starring in movies are minorities, can the Academy really be expected to honor more than one or two people of color a year?

Thus, the only way more non-white individuals will be nominated each year is if minorities somehow infiltrate the system and increase their prevalence within the industry. Obviously, this is easier said than done, and does not necessarily guarantee more recognition. After all, the Academy is the organization that in the past did not nominate films such as "Do the Right Thing," "Boyz 'N' the Hood" and "Hoop Dreams," which are considered by most to be three of the most important movies of the last 10 years.

The fact that recent works were not recognized by the most prominent and pervasive group in the movie world suggests an enormous problem that is nowhere near being fixed.

09-08-98