Who is involved in the controversy?
The controversy has to do mainly with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. They didn't nominate anyone who isn't white for any award. People were outraged in a time when the first black-female director was expected to be nominated for Selma, a time when 12 years a slave won best picture one year ago. People were very upset when the nomination came out. So there is the group who believes that this isn't an accident since the academy is only 2% black members, then there are those who believe that this was simply a decision based on the merits of the art.
Who are some of the major speakers/ writers in your field?
The Academy president has released many statements on this (she is an African-American women) saying that it was in no way intended to be a racially motivated decision, but simply based on the merits of the art of acting itself. Most of the general public have said this is a sham and just a statement to cover up their mishap.
What kind of social/ political/ cultural/ economic power does this have?
Movies are a central part of todays cultural fabric and the academy awards are such a huge award show that it has massive cultural impact. Its showing all the world that there wasn't a black actor or director that was worthy of a nomination. So it has massive implications on society, and the fact that it got such attention in social media and it brought so much recognition to this mistake, intentional or not, that the academy made.
What resources are available to different positions?
The academy has released official statement which are available on their website and all over social media, for those who believe this was something more than an accident, there is an entire tweet thread of #oscarssowhite and also, in the irony of all ironies, the video of Common and John Legend performing their song Glory from the movie Selma after all the nominee controversy, shows a powerful image of Chris Pine crying at the performance, which has become the face of this controversy.
 |
| The academy of motion picture arts and sciences. Screenshot by Dylan Cotter 9/4/2015 Public domain usage |
What does each group value?
In this case it is pretty straight forward what each group wants. The academy wants to save face and make sure people don't view them as a racist organization with that much power in the world. Social media just wants equality and things like this to be erased from society.
What counts as evidence for each position?
For the academy, evidence is that they have a black president, other than that, it is just word of mouth that they are not racist. For the opposition, the evidence is the controversy, there was no Black actors nominated for the academy awards.
Who holds the power?
They both hold the power, the Academy has the power in the fact that it is one of the most powerful organizations in the entertainment industry. But social media holds the power because it is a mass group of people that represent the popular opinion of the people.
Is there and acknowledged/ unacknowledged ground between the two sides?
The acknowledged ground is that there wasn't any black actors nominated this year, the unacknowledged ground is why it happened. some say it was a reflection of the only 2% black members of the academy. Some say it has to do with the recent rise in unpunished white on black crime. It obviously won't become clear ever but its just speculation.
Do the various groups listen to each other?
I would say yes they do, however it won't do anything to resolve the issue. The academy is promising that they are not racist and the popular opinion is that they are. Along with police and the government and everyone else according to twitter. But this isn't an issue that goes away in a day, its buried much deeper than that, in the social fabric of the society.
No comments:
Post a Comment