I really got into the subject of my group's presentation and I feel like 20 minutes wasn't even enough time to convey what I had learned. I mentioned in class that I don't feel like the lack of African American Oscar winners is a race-issue, but I did find it interesting how in the early days of the show white actors would win for playing a black character, but a black actor wouldn't win for being a black actor in black face. There is one year I read of when Liza Minnelli was nominated alongside 2 African American actresses and she won, although it is disputed that the African American actress' role was far better and should've won. Some critics said that because 2 African Americans were nominated they canceled each other out, automatically making Liza the winner. Another year one of the white composers (or director- I am in St. George and don't have my research with me) was nominated against a black man and he openly stated that his work was lesser then the black man's, and that if he won he would not accept the award. Sure enough he won and refused to accept it.
Race is such a difficult issue and one that definitley comes down to the indivivual and how they feel/perceive. However in the entertainment industry there is power that can create images and drive what we believe to be true. As with all the early stereotypes- fried chicken and watermelon, lazy, uneducated- there was some truth behind each one, but give them to a Hollywood director who crams them all into one film and there is an exaggerated image that people start to apply to every African American they know. One of the reasons blacks in the entertainment industry started making their own movies was because they were tired of going to the mainstream films and seeing their race portrayed how others would see them. They wanted to display an accurate portrayal of their people.
Interested topic- lots to learn-now I am off to the pool!
Horse Country
7 years ago
