# another "white" Oscars - does it matter\>? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 14, 2016, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169 "2016-01-14T21:48:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/101 "2016-01-18T17:54:39Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > Even if you want to assume it’s a less malicious rationale like benign neglect, or a lack of experience, know how, or ability to make these films, it’s very clear they aren’t being made DESPITE the clear feedback that a market exist for them. I think there’s an interesting phenomenon at work; even though the Tyler Perry shows may have high ratings, their perceived viewership may not be perceived as lucrative to advertisers, and therefore the networks may not pick those shows up. In other words, it’s not just that a show gets high ratings, it’s WHO’S watching it to give it those high ratings. It could very well be that all-white “Mike and Molly” brings more ad money with lower ratings than “The Haves and Have Nots” does, despite higher ratings. And the networks are in this to make money, so they’re going to go with what makes them money. Whether or not it’s advertiser reluctance to advertise on black shows, or whether it’s that the networks feel that black shows don’t sell good ads, I don’t know, but I sort of doubt it’s overtly racist and probably more economic pragmatism in the final analysis. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/102 "2016-01-18T18:55:44Z")
_The scene is an office at MGM. A producer is pitching his latest, sure-fire idea to a bored-looking studio executive with a deep tan and six cell phones._ “It’s the greatest idea you’ve ever heard! It’ll make billions - it’s gonna be bigger than _Star Wars, Part 26 - The Force Gets Cranky Because It Missed Its Nap_”. It’s called _JFK and Marilyn: A Love Story_. I’ve already got Jimmy Walker to play JFK - he’ll work cheap. Ru Paul wants to play J. Edgar Hoover, and he’s got his own wardrobe so we’ll save money. We’ll use CGI to put Jar Jar Binks as RFK, and Oprah - HERSELF - wants to play Thurgood Marshall. “Who’s gonna play Marilyn?” "That’s the genius part - we’ll get Gabourey Sidibe for the role. She’s got the Oscar already, and she will pull in all the black Monroe fans. It’s gold, Jerry - I’m telling ya, box office gold!" Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/103 "2016-01-19T04:59:07Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > @YogSosoth: So just to be clear, do you think things won’t be good until blacks are OVER-represented in the entertainment industry? I mean, I think it’s fair to say blacks are already over represented in the music and sports sectors, but it’s important to you that it gets that way in the movies? Where are you getting that they are over represented in music? And its important to me that they are not _severely_ underrepresented in movies/tv. We’re not going to get total equality and that’s probably a goal that we don’t need to reach, but we should at least have them not be laughably frozen out of places of influence don’t you think? > [@CarnalK](#): > > Without researching it, Jewish people are probably over-represented in the movie/tv sector. If you agree, what benefits culturally has that had? Correct me if I’m wrong. A quick Google shows them at about 1.7% of US population, which seems low compared to how much they are presented/involved in shows. I think Jews have turned how they are perceived around remarkably from the early 20th century. We still have Jewish jokes, but they are less tolerated now than ever before. I don’t know if that’s a result of them dominating movies and TV, but its a good model to follow if you’re a minority that still gets unfairly shit on by others and want to turn things around, right? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/104 "2016-01-19T05:44:40Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Where are you getting that they are over represented in music? I assume he’s using the Billboard charts. 29 of Billboard’s Top 100 albums this week were produced by black artists. And those are just the ones I recognize. The number could be higher. That’s proportionate to almost triple the African-American population of the US (though it should be noted that some of the artists, like Drake, are Canadian). > **[Billboard 200™](https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/)** > > The week’s most popular albums as compiled by Luminate, based on multi-metric consumption (blending traditional album sales, track equivalent albums, and streaming equivalent albums). ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/105 "2016-01-19T06:06:04Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I think there’s an interesting phenomenon at work; even though the Tyler Perry shows may have high ratings, their perceived viewership may not be perceived as lucrative to advertisers, and therefore the networks may not pick those shows up. Of course that may explain why a major network has not picked up a Perry show, but it doesn’t explain why other networks haven’t. At a certain point, numbers matter enough to make up for lower perceived value of viewers to advertisers. That’s even casting aside the fact that there are many products Black buy at higher rates than Whites, and that Perry’s shows typically cost FAR less to produce. Even so, it doesn’t explain why there has never been a Black or Asian bachelor for example. > [@bump](#): > > In other words, it’s not just that a show gets high ratings, it’s WHO’S watching it to give it those high ratings. It could very well be that all-white “Mike and Molly” brings more ad money with lower ratings than “The Haves and Have Nots” does, despite higher ratings. The comp is less a show like Mike and Molly, and more a show like The Bridge or Fargo. > [@bump](#): > > And the networks are in this to make money, so they’re going to go with what makes them money. Well, no, they are not JUST in it to make money. Many of them want to make quality entertainment and stuff that will bring them accolades and professional esteem. This is why most major networks wouldn’t touch reality shows for years despite them being money makers. The bottom line matters, but given the choice, most power brokers would rather make a show they understand and one their rich, largely White friends would watch rather than something culturally unfamiliar to them. > [@bump](#): > > Whether or not it’s advertiser reluctance to advertise on black shows, or whether it’s that the networks feel that black shows don’t sell good ads, I don’t know, but I sort of doubt it’s overtly racist and probably more economic pragmatism in the final analysis. I think it is overtly racist in many cases. I don’t think it’s the malicious type that hate groups practice, but there is plenty of evidence and anecdotes of power brokers explicitly believing unsupported ideas that lead to discriminatory actions. For example, this [gem](http://www.ew.com/article/2011/03/15/the-bachelor-creator-ashley-h) from a producer on the bachelor: > [@](#): > > \*Will we ever see a bachelor or a bachelorette who is not white? > \* > I think Ashley is 1/16th Cherokee Indian, but I cannot confirm. But that is my suspicion! We really tried, but sometimes we feel guilty of tokenism. Oh, we have to wedge African-American chicks in there! We always want to cast for ethnic diversity, it’s just that for whatever reason, they don’t come forward. I wish they would. The above would be defensible had the show not been sued for discrimination a few times, and had multiple Black prospective contestants [publicly](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/03/01/missee-harris-wants-to-be-the-first-black-bachelorette/) jocky for the role. The idea that a defensible answer to the question about casting and race is to talk about how one contestant _might_ be 1/16 Cherokee is just laughable. I don’t think malicious racism is what usually happens though. Most of the time it’s just people hiding behind “conventional wisdom” whether it’s actually true or not. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/106 "2016-01-19T08:59:59Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > Of course that may explain why a major network has not picked up a Perry show, but it doesn’t explain why other networks haven’t. At a certain point, numbers matter enough to make up for lower perceived value of viewers to advertisers. That’s even casting aside the fact that there are many products Black buy at higher rates than Whites, and that Perry’s shows typically cost FAR less to produce. Even so, it doesn’t explain why there has never been a Black or Asian bachelor for example. > > The comp is less a show like Mike and Molly, and more a show like The Bridge or Fargo. > > Well, no, they are not JUST in it to make money. Many of them want to make quality entertainment and stuff that will bring them accolades and professional esteem. This is why most major networks wouldn’t touch reality shows for years despite them being money makers. The bottom line matters, but given the choice, most power brokers would rather make a show they understand and one their rich, largely White friends would watch rather than something culturally unfamiliar to them. > > I think it is overtly racist in many cases. I don’t think it’s the malicious type that hate groups practice, but there is plenty of evidence and anecdotes of power brokers explicitly believing unsupported ideas that lead to discriminatory actions. For example, this [gem](http://www.ew.com/article/2011/03/15/the-bachelor-creator-ashley-h) from a producer on the bachelor: > > The above would be defensible had the show not been sued for discrimination a few times, and had multiple Black prospective contestants [publicly](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/03/01/missee-harris-wants-to-be-the-first-black-bachelorette/) jocky for the role. The idea that a defensible answer to the question about casting and race is to talk about how one contestant _might_ be 1/16 Cherokee is just laughable. > > I don’t think malicious racism is what usually happens though. Most of the time it’s just people hiding behind “conventional wisdom” whether it’s actually true or not. It’s the same conventional wisdom that kept black artists off of mainstream radio stations and MTV for so long. Nowadays we would laugh at the notion of black music not being profitable because we know how ridiculously wrong that is. I wish people would realize that the “free” market isn’t rational. Racism isn’t rational either. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/107 "2016-01-19T09:05:10Z")
I couldn’t give a shit. In a society where only a small proportion of the population are black, and only a small proportion of movies stand out as nomination material, and some of those movies will be representing a demographic type and provide a number of nominees, it is entirely reasonable that some years you will have no black faces nominated simply through relative worth alone. Note, a representative number of black nominees in a category would be somewhere between 0 and 1. I fail to see why either should be a cause for comment. It may well be that next year there will be an over-representation of black actors in the nominations and the unspoken assumption will be that it will be based on tokenism and not whether they deserve it or not. I don’t see that as being a step forward for equality. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/108 "2016-01-19T11:17:40Z")
When black actors are absent, that’s merit. When black actors are present, that’s tokenism. Got it. Thanks, **Novelty Bobble**! ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/109 "2016-01-19T12:39:57Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > When black actors are absent, that’s merit. When black actors are present, that’s tokenism. Got it. Thanks, **Novelty Bobble**! Read the last paragraph of post #107 again, carefully. Then consider what it _really_ says rather than what you just assume it says. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/110 "2016-01-19T13:27:01Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > No the Oscars are not “too white.” :rolleyes: There are only 20 slots for acting nominees. This question really annoys me because it assumes people were not nominated simply because they are Black. How about, there are hundreds of people to choose from to fill those 20 slots and maybe, just maybe, the nominating committee actually thought the ones they chose were the best? There are tons of white people I can mention who could been easily nominated but weren’t. > > The way many sjw’s refer to this, it really seems like they simply want a Black face among the nominees, any Black face it does’t matter who, so let’s not even use the pretense of these being the 20 best (or more accurately - 5 best in each category) and just save one slot every year for someone Black. > > They only could choose five. > > They only could choose five (and Stallone has the nostalgia vote.) I’d like to ask you some things about Stallone. Do you think he is a good actor? Do you think his acting skill is on the same level as the other nominees for Best Actor this year? I want to tell you that IMHO, he is not a good actor and his skill is nowhere near the same level as the other actors in that category. To be fair, Stallone did something really great with the first Rocky movie and IMO, he deserved to win an Oscar for that. But I don’t think it was for his acting. Maybe it was on account of his directing? Or maybe “Best Picture”? He did something great that year. But his acting is not great. He mostly just kind of mumbles his way through movies. I ask you once more. Do you think he is a great actor? Do you think his acting skill is worthy of an Oscar? I sure don’t. Not necessarily related, but I feel the same way about Jada Pinkett Smith. When it comes to her acting skill, I think she is just terrible. I base that opinion primarily on the TV show about Batman. It is called “Gotham”. I thought her acting was just terrible in that show. I could never get behind her winning any kind of award for good acting. If she deserves any kind of recognition, I would suggest she deserves something along the lines of the Harvard Raspberry award for shitty acting. She is truly a terrible actor. Just my opinion. But there it is. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/111 "2016-01-19T14:41:02Z")
It looks like Jada Pinkett Smith, her husband, and Spike Lee will not attend the Oscars. The announcer on the news said they were boycotting, but I don’t know if those were the actors’ exact words. Do you think a lot of other actors will follow suit? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/112 "2016-01-19T14:57:05Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > I’d like to ask you some things about Stallone. > > Do you think he is a good actor? Do you think his acting skill is on the same level as the other nominees for Best Actor this year? You realize he’s only up for best _supporting_ actor, right? And that he’s got the added challenge of playing a cancer-stricken man who’s reluctant to start chemotherapy because he saw his wife die (a) in spite of it, only (b) more miserably because of it? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/113 "2016-01-19T15:18:36Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > I’d like to ask you some things about Stallone. > > Do you think he is a good actor? Do you think his acting skill is on the same level as the other nominees for Best Actor this year? > > I want to tell you that IMHO, he is not a good actor and his skill is nowhere near the same level as the other actors in that category. > > To be fair, Stallone did something really great with the first Rocky movie and IMO, he deserved to win an Oscar for that. But I don’t think it was for his acting. Maybe it was on account of his directing? Or maybe “Best Picture”? He did something great that year. But his acting is not great. He mostly just kind of mumbles his way through movies. > > I ask you once more. Do you think he is a great actor? Do you think his acting skill is worthy of an Oscar? I sure don’t. > > Not necessarily related, but I feel the same way about Jada Pinkett Smith. When it comes to her acting skill, I think she is just terrible. I base that opinion primarily on the TV show about Batman. It is called “Gotham”. I thought her acting was just terrible in that show. I could never get behind her winning any kind of award for good acting. If she deserves any kind of recognition, I would suggest she deserves something along the lines of the Harvard Raspberry award for shitty acting. She is truly a terrible actor. Just my opinion. But there it is. I have not seen \*\*Creed \*\*so I cannot judge his performance in the film. There are other actors that I wish had gotten nominated in Supporting Actor, Jason Trembley especially. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/114 "2016-01-19T15:29:48Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Of course it matters. When minorities and women lack representation, it means children grow up trying to attain the expectations of white males. This isn’t just a problem in movies, but everywhere in life. Anyone remember the[Doll Test](http://www.naacpldf.org/brown-at-60-the-doll-test) that helped to decide _Brown vs Board of Education_? Kids, even black kids, associated negative stereotypes to black dolls over white dolls. > > Think of what that means for the world today. I’m in no way saying a few black Oscars would fix this, but it would be a step in the right direction if we had better, more balanced representation of minorities and we didn’t think of blacks as thugs, or women as objects. Maybe if people didn’t see blacks as aggressive, we wouldn’t have as many white officers shooting young black men. Or people would take women’s sexual rejections more seriously if Cary Grant or James Bond didn’t simply force their tongue into a woman’s mouth and suddenly she creams her panties after trying to fight them off before. I think it would be hilarious if Daniel Craig tries to kill a woman in the next Bond film and she not only rejects him but shoots him, and the movie ends with her swearing off men and going lesbian. > > The problem with people pretending a few more black and minority actors doesn’t matter is because a few more won’t matter. We need a lot more, and we need minorities writing, producing, and hiring. And even then, it would be difficult to point at one movie or actor and say this caused this. So people wallow in their ignorance. This is just silly. What is the most economically successful minority in America today? Indian-americans. How many Indian actors have won an Oscar? One. Asian americans are doing very well economically and Asian actors have won three Oscars, two sixty years ago and one 33 years ago. The reason people think of young black men as aggressive is that young black men are more aggressive than average. If movies shaped perception then people would think of Asians as being aggressive because of all the kung fu movies we have seen. Changing reality will change perceptions, not encouraging young people to waste their lives trying to be actors and filmmakers. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/115 "2016-01-19T15:49:05Z")
Another problem is that the nominations often go to biographies. I would divide that into two categories: 1. Well known people. Because of our Euro-centered sense of history, this is going to be almost entirely white. 2. People famous because of the movie. People like Erin Brockovich or David Helfgott. I’d even include John Nash. Other than _Concussion_, how many other biographies about little known or obscure black people can you name? ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/116 "2016-01-19T16:01:15Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Best Actor: > **2001 Denzel Washington (winner)** > 2001 Will Smith > **2004 Jamie Foxx (winner)** > 2004 Don Cheadle > 2005 Terrence Howard > **2006 Forest Whitaker (winner)** > 2006 Will Smith > 2009 Morgan Freeman > 2012 Denzel Washington > 2012 Chiwetel Ejiofor > > Best Actress: > **2001 Halle Berry (winner)** > 2009 Gabourey Sidibe > 2011 Viola Davis > 2012 Quvenzhané Wallis > > Supporting Actor: > 2003 Djimon Hounsou > **2004 Morgan Freeman (winner)** > 2004 Jamie Foxx > 2006 Djimon Hounsou > 2006 Eddie Murphy > 2013 Barkhad Abdi > > Supporting Actress: > 2002 Queen Latifah > 2004 Sophie Okonedo > **2006 Jennifer Hudson (winner)** > 2007 Ruby Dee > 2008 Viola Davis > 2008 Taraji P. Henson > **2009 Mo’Nique (winner) > 2011 Octavia Spencer (winner)** > **2013 Lupita Nyong’o (winner)** > > Which is 9.67% (29 out of 300) > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > (Too late to edit my typo) \*Chiwetel Ejiofor in 2013, not 2012. so it seems that black people - are - being awarded oscars ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/117 "2016-01-19T16:03:44Z")
Being that I haven’t seen any of the nominated movies or those who may have been snubbed, I have no idea if the demographics of the nominations are justified or not. But I do know that the host of award show is black. The president of the academy is black and has made pretty strong efforts to diversify the academy. Of course, the boycotters mean no disrespect to those individuals. So to whom do they mean disrespect? White people in the industry who were nominated? Do the boycotters feel there were undeserved nominations? ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/118 "2016-01-19T16:25:28Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Another problem is that the nominations often go to biographies. After that Steve Jobs movie which has virtually nothing to do with the actual Steve Jobs I’ve decided to boycott biopics. ---
**Author:** ![UberArchetype](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/2bfe46/32.png) [@UberArchetype](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UberArchetype)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/119 "2016-01-19T16:36:15Z")
I believe this issue is simply a reflection of the current racial polarization we are seeing the world over. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169/120 "2016-01-19T16:42:02Z")
I support the right of the Academy to nominate whoever they wish, and the rights of anyone who doesn’t like it to boycott the event. It’s a win-win. We can have a consciousness-raising discussion as a result of the protest, and there will be a few extra seats in the audience for someone who normally wouldn’t get in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-white-oscars-does-it-matter/743169.md?page=7)