When the Oscars were announced on Thursday, there were several noticeable absences, among them was last summers major box office hit, Straight Outta Compton. While the film did receive a nomination for Best Original Screenplay, director F. Gary Gray deserved more.
On top of that, the film’s cast was completely overlooked. Chatting with Wendy Williams, producer Ice Cube admitted that he thought the film would receive more recognition. While he’s clearly a little frustrated he’s not exactly surprised, and he’s not shedding any tears over it.
“I’m not pissed. I’m not surprised. It’s the Oscars, they do what they do. The people loved the movie, the people supported the movie. It was No. 1 at the box office, over $200 million worldwide. I can’t be mad, you know”.
The lack of award recognition is rather curious considering what a financial success it was and how revered it is among fans and critics. The film had an impressive opening week, breaking a huge domestic box office record for Universal Pictures. The film also opened to largely favourable reviews and has since scored an average rating of 7,4 on Rotten Tomatoes and a 8,1 rating on IMDB.
The film has, however, been acknowledged elsewhere. The film has been nominated for a SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, and made AFI’s list of top 10 movies of the year. To be fair, the Oscars were kinder than the Golden Globes, where the film was completely shut out. But it still doesn’t feel right. This year’s Oscar race is far too white for my liking.
After last years Oscars, one would’ve thought and hoped that the Academy would have learnt something. But no, it’s 2015 all over again. A lot of people feel that criticising the awards based on race is nonsensical and annoying. It’s based on talent and popularity, and if you haven’t got, you haven’t got it – most people will argue. It’s important to remember, that by saying that, one is ignoring a long history of structural racism.
Back in 2012, a study conducted by The Los Angeles Times, revealed that the Academy voters were overwhelmingly white and male. Showing that 94% of the voters were white, and that 77% of them were male. That’s one of the roots of the problem, the Academy needs to become much more representative, and a year like this just lays it bare. The problem is deep-seated, and the Oscars and Hollywood has a long way to go.
#Peace.Love.IceCube
