The Oscar Crew doesn't care and neither should you.

(www.theminaretonline.com)

Hello, everyone! There's a hashtag on the internet, #Oscarssowhite, and you're probably wondering what does this have to with anything retro.  However, it is very relevant because since the Academy Awards or the Oscars was created on May 16, 1929, it has been very white with a sprinkle of color and even if black or other POC wins an award, the character is usually stereotypical such as a slave or the help. I am wondering in this day and age if the Oscars are still relevant because it continues to be tone-deaf and out of touch with reality.  

Hattie McDaniel

(www.wikipedia.com)

The first black person to win an Academy Award was Hattie McDaniel for her portrayal of Mammy in the movie, Gone with The Wind in 1939.  She won for Best Supporting Actress.  Now, by today's standards, this would not be acceptable to black people, after all, we're much more than just servants or slaves.  However, as I mentioned earlier, this is a recurring theme in the Academy Awards; either you're the help or slave and you'll get an Oscar.  At that time, it was a great win for African-Americans, even if acting roles at that time were limited, especially in a time of Jim Crow.  The same award was won by Whoopi Goldberg in 1990, 51 years later for her portrayal in the movie, Ghost. Other black actresses who won Best Supporting Actress (Best Actress in a Supporting Role) are Jennifer Hudson, 2006, Mo'Nique, 2009, Octavia Spencer, 2011, Lupita Nyong'o, 2013, Viola Davis 2016, and Regina King, 2018.  For Best Actress, it was even more dismal as Halle Berry is the only African-American woman to win the award in 2001.  That same year, however, Denzel Washington became the second black man to win Best Actor.  The first was Sidney Poitier who won for his role in Lillies of The Field,  in 1963.  Jamie Foxx and Forrest Whitaker also won their awards in 2004 and 2006 respectively.  Best Supporting Actors winners were Louis Gossett Jr, 1982, Denzel Washington, 1989, Cuba Gooding Jr, 1996, Morgan Freeman, 2004 and Mahershala Ali, in 2016 and 2018.  Best Picture went to Steve McQueen in 2013.  

Rita Moreno

(www.wikipedia.com)

Latino winners were also far in between unless you're talking about cinematography and the Best Director.   Jose Ferrer was the first Latino and the only Latino to win Best Actor in 1950 in the movie, Cyrano de Bergerac. Anthony Quinn and Benicio Del Toro won for Best Supporting Actor, 1952, 1956 and 2000.  No Latina has won for Best Actress,  however, Rita Morena has won for Best Supporting Actress in 1961's West Side Story a historic win for the Latino community.

Umeki Miyoshi

(www.wikipedia.com)

Asian winners are also few and far in between. Miyoshi Umeki won her Best Supporting Actress in the movie Sayonara, in 1957, while Cambodian-Chinese actor Haing S. Ngor won for Best Supporting Actor for the 1984 film, The Killing Fields.  Ang Lee won for Best Director in 2005 and 2012.  

Kathryn Bigelow is the only woman to win Best Director in 2009 for the film, The Hurt Locker, while many women won for Costume Design, including Ruth Carter, the first African-American woman to win in 2018's Black Panther.  

Overall, the awards ceremony is notoriously pale and this year is no exception.  Movies such as Adam Sandler's Uncut Gems wasn't even nominated for anything and I heard that it was a great movie. Another film that wasn't nominated, Queen and Slim which was surprising since the Academy seemed to enjoy seeing black pain such as slavery and abusive relations, shown in films such as Monster's Ball, Precious and 12 Years a Slave.  

There were a few bright spots though.  Cynthia Erivo, a black British actress was nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of Harriet Tubman, a former slave who risked her life to save her people from slavery.  Again, the only way for a black woman to be nominated is to act like a slave or the help, or in Whoopi's case a cheerleader of sorts.  Korean director, Bong Joon Ho is nominated for Best Director, Best International Film and Best Motion Picture of the Year, for his film, Parasite, which was very good and worth the hype.  I hope he wins at least Best Director but we all know how the Academy rolls. For Best Animated Short Films, Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver are nominated for the film, Hair Love, which is about a black girl and her father's love for natural hair.

Is the Academy Awards still relevant today? It's a complicated question.  Humans, in general, want some sort of validation, a recognition for their hard work.  It is even more so for black people, other POC and women. Don't get me wrong, there are other awards shows that support and reward their work but awards shows such as the Oscars and even the Grammys are still seen as the pinnacle of success.  However, the Academy Awards have proven time and again, that they couldn't care less.  They might give you an Oscar every now and then but they're basically rewarding themselves in the long run.  The institution is still white and male, even if they claimed to be liberal and open-minded, which is rather ironic as clearly it was shown otherwise.  The ratings have been dismal lately and this year there's no host.  Who wants to sit for three hours watching this mess?  Plus it's boring.  But I would be watching for fashion and that's it.  I hope that the film Parasite wins some awards, other than that, I couldn't care less.  

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/entertainment/when-the-oscars-were-not-so-white-a-history/2016/02/25/cf632cc8-db47-11e5-8210-f0bd8de915f6_video.html