Boycotting the Oscars

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LovelyLadyLux
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Boycotting the Oscars

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

I'm not a movie buff by any stretch however apparently this year the Oscar nominating committee has not named any actors to win an Oscar other than white actors and actresses. This has prompted many black Actors/Actresses to boycott the Oscars this year and to lay claims the Oscars are racist.

There is also now a British Actor Joseph Fiennes being cast in the role to play Michael Jackson. The question of the day here is - should a WHITE actor be allowed to play a BLACK person?

IMO in the world of acting I think if you're portraying an Asian show then ALL actors/actresses should be Asian. If you're portraying middle America then percentage-wise white & black is NOT 50/50 but rather more like 80/20 however if you're talking downtown Detroit then you're probably talking 80%black to 20%white and so a Movie should possibly be portraying these percentages IF what they're portraying needs to be true. I always thought Movie Directors and/or Artistic types had lots of artistic licence to portray and show that which they want to portray and show however now it seems there is a call for Movies to be "balanced" (otherwise the shouts of racists come out).

Should movies have to be racially balanced? And to what extreme? Only black and white? What about Asian and middle eastern persons?


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Re: Boycotting the Oscars

Post by Horus »

They once tried to ruin a perfectly good British programme about a quintessentially fictional English county called 'Midsommer' as in 'Midsommer Murders’ and it had all the typical stories about murders in a very rural English village setting, with places like Badgers Drift filled with odd country characters dwelling in old thatched cottages and manor houses with the vicar dropping by for tea. Then someone complained that the script writer Brian True May, did not have any characters from minority groups in it, give me strength. :st

Why anyone thinks that there should be an equal spread of actors in any one film is beyond me, especially if like myself most of my favourite actors are actually black, such as Morgan Freedman, Jamie Foxx, Samuel L Jackson, Denzel Washington, Forrest Whitaker and Will Smith to name but a few. So I do not need any black or ethnic quota to make me enjoy watching these actors.
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Re: Boycotting the Oscars

Post by Jayway »

Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson ??? Surely you are kidding us ? haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Oscars is rubbish anyway, just a lot of people giving themselves awards for something they have already been paid for - - I want a roadsweepers Oscars, at least they do something useful. Half of these films lately send me to sleep.
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Re: Boycotting the Oscars

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

I very much like Morgan Freeman and Jamie Foxx has been excellent in some films and movies too. They're amongst my favourite actors too.

Interestingly it is Will Smith's wife Jada who is leading the charge re: Oscars and there not being an equal number of "black" actors being nominated as "white" actors - again spare me and/or give me strength.

Can you imagine, for example, Harry Potter having to have a racial breakdown? OR what about any depiction of Movies dealing with the Royals - not exactly "black or Asian" territory and IMO if we have to count 1 race then we really ought to count them all in. I'm sure if there were movies about the OLD SOUTH at having white and Asian SLAVES in the role of black people would add that spark of authenticity too!

AND IMO there SHOULD be Eskimos in the Royal Court!!! And I'm sure Whoopi Goldberg could do a good portrayal of Queen Victoria and/or Samual Jackson would make a terrific Henry VIII.

There is also a TV Series called "VIKINGS" that is going into it's FOURTH or so season and I've watched some episodes of and very much like it. I'm sure to add authenticity a few Asians and black people in the role of VIKINGS would be good to (ahem) BALANCE out the show. :urm: :urm:

Some days I just think "Shoot me Now"!!!
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Re: Boycotting the Oscars

Post by Mad Dilys »

I have a great deal of trouble with the present day "Black" issue, though I would and am, of course offended if I were treated differently because of the colour of my skin.

This quite different to being regarded as suitable for an acting role and I take issue here with film makers who insist on using glamorous stereotypes. I know it's fantasy, but unfortunately the viewing public lose their sense of reality and carry that out of the cinema.

If an actor is to be believable in a role one of the first things to be considered is appearance. Do they immediately convey the impression of the part? The lovely but huge and boisterous Rebel Wilson would not be suitable as Queen Victoria no matter how good the makeup artists were. Dustin Hoffman is an excellent actor, but as Dr. Martin Luther King even he couldn't make the part believable.

America has a large population whose recent ancestors were slaves and that resentment will last for many generations and is understandable, but the situation is not capable of being changed over night. It should be treated however as America's problem. Not a worldwide issue.

In the UK most people considered Not White came here voluntarily and therefore should accept our rules and regulations. That sounds good but unfortunately a lot of the indigenous population don't follow those rules.

I have met racism in the UK and Egypt. In Egypt I have never met a woman who could consider a dark skin beautiful, they use horrid drugs to whiten their own and of course often wear the Niqab if they tan quickly, to keep their complexion light.

I have frequently received preferential treatment, which I hate, because of the colour of my skin. When I went to vote in Luxor, I was ushered into the shade and given a chair - while other elderly or infirm ladies smiled at me and stood in the boiling sun. It's not fair - but it is, what it is.

I honestly do not see where "Black" begins and ends. What shade exactly? Let's go round the coast of Europe and the Mediterranean. Where does "White" become "Swarthy" then "Dark" and finally "Black"?

Innocent people were and are treated as slaves. The Romans were very fond of Anglo Saxon and Nordic types, I understand and the biggest dealers in slave were the Arabs. (At that time the Arab nation had not been cut up by Europeans)

Before the English naval supremacy raiding parties of Arab boats scoured the coastline of the British Isles, in snatch and grab raids on villages, often taking an entire hamlet in one swoop.

What happened to those people who are still in slavery or were shipped off as slaves was and is almost beyond belief.

Later the Europeans themselves used slave labour from a number of sources, at first from the African continent as it was the nearest easy source and then as transport improved Asian ad Far Eastern venues were popular.

At the same time, it is seldom mentioned, the lower class of British people were treated worse than slaves - especially women, as they had no monetary value. Think of small children cleaning chimneys and women working in coal mines of course, but also those who worked "in service" and ended up in the Poor House if they were lucky. The wonderful English navy was manned largely by people who were Press Ganged - in other words kidnapped and used as slaves.

So far so good, nearly all the world it seems has either used slaves or been used as slaves. We could all carry a chip on our shoulder for what happened to our ancestors but we can't go back and put it right, we can only do our best to give everyone the respect they deserve - whatever their physical appearance or abilities.
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Re: Boycotting the Oscars

Post by Horus »

Well said MD, I believe in being aware of our own and others history, we as a nation have done many bad things when viewed in today’s terms, but then again we have also done many good things of which we can be rightly proud. We are also no better or worse than any other nation or ethnic group when it comes to the ill treatment or exploitation of others. As a great fan of African tribal history I can assure everyone that the continent was in turmoil well before the white settlers arrived and black people sold their own kind to Arab slavers before any white nation became involved in the practice there. It is for those and many more reasons that I always consider the past history of our own and other countries, but I refuse to apologise for it, that was then, today is another time and place.
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Re: Boycotting the Oscars

Post by Robbo70 »

MD do you not find some of the Egyptians are quite racist in the way they describe their own. I once dissolved in fits when Omar was trying to tell me about Ahmed at breakfast.. and I said which one, theres 3 of them.. ...
The black one was his reply.
Ummm to me, they are all technically black dear.
No no, not the light brown one, or the chocolate one... the black one.

watched a lovely clip today about the labels we give each other.

http://www.globetoday.com/watch-the-vid ... verything/
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Re: Boycotting the Oscars

Post by Mad Dilys »

Yes, totally agree the Egyptians I've met have mostly been very colour conscious, though usually coming from families with a broad band of skin tone.

My first and second DHs skin tone was very similar, both tanning quickly to a similar deep brown. Their hair was/is baby soft and straight without a kink in it. Number1 had greenish hazel eyes and number 2 has brown.
Number one was English and spoke "with a plum in his mouth." Number two speaks English well, but with an accent.

However, my sister thought fit to refer to Number 2 as "Black" and thus couldn't possibly visit my Mother in the Nursing home, though she had never seen him. He was Egyptian so obviously "Black".

I have only rarely seen that beautiful almost plum black skin that is the only colour I think deserves the name Black - everything else except albino is a shade of brown to me. My Celtic brown is unfortunately in little clumps.

I don't find it necessary to refer to a person's colour in a link to their ethnicity or character. They are people.

I am prejudiced against several nationalities as I can generalise with the best! French, Americans, Australians and people who are actually in my view English who call themselves British, which is a beast of a totally different "colour". :lol: This does not stop me from having dear friends as individuals though I can't stand their compatriots en masse.

I liked the video, but a bit long, being wordy is an American trait! ;)

PS I have a great affection for Canada and Canadians - I was on my way to live in Canada when Number 1 proposed. How different my life would have been. 8)
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Re: Boycotting the Oscars

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

I have found during my life, travels and experiences that people in other countries can be and are very racist. I've found many people in many countries of the world prefer having as "white" a skin as can be made or generated.

My oldest daughter (very blonde with green eyes) has very white skin. When she went to Japan and lived there often the whiteness of her skin was commented on as a thing of beauty. She also elaborated how Japanese women would never be caught going out and sun tanning as they actively avoid the sun so as to not darken their skin. They want to be as white as possible.

In Trinidad a lighter colour of black is much preferred too. Interestingly they're very open to talking about this, often joke about how black they are and will nickname (they NAME everything and everybody) - Black Boy, Brown Boy, Chocolate Boy etc within their own speaking circles to identify the person. I'm "D White Ladee" in my friends neighbourhood and even though for 20 yrs I've told everybody my name it has never stuck. Over the years the kids have been instructed to call me "Auntie" (but they're also told to call ALL older women Auntie). Only the adults call me "D White Ladee."

Going onto a Canadian First Nations Indian Reserve will give you a very abrupt and heavy feeling as to what being the recipient of racist feelings feels like. Nothing is tempered or refined and on Reserve it is very acceptable for First Nations to hold and display racism towards those of us who are of European ancestry. Doesn't matter how pleasant you are towards them if you're white you will feel what it is like to NOT be like based solely on the colour of your skin. If this was reciprocated i.e. if "I" was to display any level of racism towards a First Nations person "I" would be immediately in jail! (but not vice versa - so we do the Canadian thing - we don't talk about it!)

Same/same it is culturally appropriate here NOT to talk about the French. It is totally taboo for an English Canadian to verbalize anything towards those of French extraction in Canada. To do so will result in immediate sanction and screams of 'racism' and on and on. So we do the Canadian thing and don't talk about it.

Here black people are called Black but this 'black' is in reference to negroid features. We have large East Indian populations with dark skin and they are NEVER referred to as black and while I've never studied this per se I really don't believe here in Canada we'd call anybody of a darker skin tone with NON-negroid features black. Honestly we don't seem to call ie dark skinned people anything.

I do believe we are becoming more educated, more enlightened and I hope the phrases and stereotypes are dying with my generation. I see no advantage to identifying somebody by their skin colour or outward appearance but it does happen and this is alive and well in the world. Relating this to the Oscars - IMO in order to represent in a real and believeable manner one has to CAST according to the character and the Production.

If we are talking Star Wars type movies (fantasy) then I'm sure there could be a complete balance of races/ethnicities/nationalities and gender but if we're talking a specific movie and a specific theme if we're to keep real and true we cannot be arbitrarily inserting a colour balance or ethnic balance into the production. "Bridge on the River Kwaii" for example didn't have any 'black' actors in it but to arbitrarily cast a Morgan Freeman into this production just wouldn't be "real."
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Re: Boycotting the Oscars

Post by Horus »

MD, I know what you mean about the really black skin and one American actor springs to mind, his name is Bill Duke. He has been in films such as Predator with Arnie Swartzenegger and in a few other top movies often playing a bent copper in the other rolls. Every time I see him I am struck by how deeply black his skin is compared to what is often brown for most other Afro/American actors, I would describe him as ‘Plum Black’.
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