Can We Stop Calling It An Oscar Snub?

Another Oscar season, another 500 articles zipping around the interwebs with headlines proclaiming yet another “Oscar Snub” for Best Picture, Actor, or Caterer. Sure, last year was more dire, as #OscarsSoWhite overwhelmed much of the conversation, but EVERY winter brings with it a similar cry for “Oscar Justice”, and what does it truly boil down to? When you drain away all of the excess fluff – the politics, the lavish gifts for votes, the controversy – what does it all mean for us as a society?

Not a single thing. Nada. Zip. It’s celebrity-obsessed nonsense and wouldn’t it be great – as a friend recently suggested to me – that when Jimmy Kimmel takes the stage Sunday night, he addresses this year’s batch of Oscar “snubs” and omissions in front of a monstrous screen that is running scenes of refugee crisis camps, ISIS attacks, and global climate concerns, just to remind us all how pathetic and shallow we as a species have truly become?

Am I proclaiming that racism or ageism doesn’t exist in Hollywood? You’ve got people whiter than Casper playing Egyptians and teens playing “cultured survivors” on an annual basis, certainly there is an issue?

Am I saying Hollywood doesn’t favor certain actors over others? Of course not. If you think Hacksaw Ridge would have landed a Best Picture nod without Mel Gibson’s apology tour in full effect, I’ve got some gorgeous beachfront property in lower Iowa you might be interested in. It comes with its own unicorn.

Am I implying that money is not a factor here? That this is an honorable race of nobility? If money didn’t matter, you wouldn’t see Harvey Weinstein out there selling his first-born for a nomination every single year. Seriously, how many first-borns does this guy have?

So if I am not saying any of that, what am I saying then? I’m saying none of it matters because – as a society – we have far more important things to worry about, don’t we? A fancy awards banquet none of us are invited to really should not receive this much attention. BUT, since you and I insist on obsessing over it, know this: All of those gripes and complaints I mentioned above? They’re BS. All of them.

A “snub” is essentially a rebuff. It means this league of voters, these thousands of dedicated artists (well, most claim to be anyway), these professionals – they each worked in collusion to ensure Ben Affleck wouldn’t receive a nomination for Best Director of Argo? This town full of narcissists and egomaniacs, who cannot even work in unison on competing genres (Wyatt Earp and Tombstone coming out in the same year says hi)? In an alternate universe, these guys gathered together in some smoke-filled backroom to pool together their efforts and finally put a stop to the rise of the Almighty Affleck?

C’mon! I realize that claiming favoritism or racism generates website clicks and furious discussions among fans – we are a vocal and passionate fan base – but does that really feel like a sensible conclusion to you? That so many people would actively gather to thwart a single member’s nomination? Was Daredevil really THAT bad?

Don’t worry, I won’t skirt the topic of color, this applies to the argument of a racist board as well. Do you, if you take your anger and contempt for the very real race issues occurring in our country out of the equation, sincerely believe the most liberal and forgiving organization in America (Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, and even Mike Tyson still get work for crying out loud) was grouping itself in an attempt to ensure not a single actor of ethnicity received a nomination last year? I completely understand why you would be led to believe this, the way the media uses this topic to fuel our emotions and incite our rage, our comments online, our clicks in their data banks – but do YOU actually believe it?

For this writer – Yes, I am white, and if one’s race should not matter there, it should not matter here either – I simply do not believe that the entire Academy of accomplished actors, writers, artists and producers, banded together to ensure only Caucasian people with names like Tom Hanks or Andrew Garfield receive Oscar nominations (even though some claim two-time Oscar winner Hanks was “snubbed” this year). Nor do I believe they are working overtime gathering under the cloak of darkness to hammer out ways to keep Affleck and Robert Downey Jr. away from the main stage for years on end. Hell, the palest actor in Hollywood – Tom Cruise – is still empty handed in the eyes of Oscar. This is not naiveté nor is it standing ignorant in the face of the truth. This is me taking out all of the hyperbole that is soaked into every Oscar conversation these days, and looking at it with just the facts in front of me. No rhetoric.

I know what a few of you are thinking: ‘So how can you possibly explain the lack of diversity the last two years within acting nominations, which after much fanfare last year is suddenly not an issue this Oscar season?’ OR ‘How do you explain why (insert a favorite performance here) was not recognized or has never won? Is that NOT a snub?’

No, neither of those issues are snubs. Should Hollywood employ more people of color in prized roles? Absolutely. Are there numerous roles which a more seasoned actor could play which is tossed off to some young thespian-in-waiting? Of course. Do you know why they aren’t cast? Why they REALLY aren’t? When you scrape away all of the media-infused nonsense and look at it from a practical standpoint: It’s not racism or ageism, it is marketing based on OUR racism or ageist views.

Yes, I know this is an opinion that will make many raise their hands and toss me idle threats, but hear me out. The nominations are not the problem, who Hollywood is employing in the films they are making is the problem. There are always exceptions, but as a rule, Hollywood is greedier than Wall Street and Big Tobacco combined. Every single decision made in this town is based on two things: art and commerce. Is it artistic AND can it make money, but especially – Can it make money?

Can the studio spend millions of dollars and somehow recoup this investment, possibly even make a profit? It’s a business, no matter what the sound bites tell us on E!, they’re not in it just to win awards. So for decades, we have had men and women behind a desk doing absolutely nothing except running statistics, charts and demographics. What sells, to whom specifically, and when. Everything from the age, sex and color of the actors, to locations, all the way down to the length of the film – EVERYTHING is being picked apart to find that most perfect combination, one that guarantees a windfall of profits. The marketing reflects society, which does have racism and ageism sprinkled throughout on all sides of every issue, and it is almost always the driving factor in hiring decisions. Plainly stated: diversity can often obstruct business.

Why can’t Idris Elba play James Bond? Because as much as they do not want to admit it, marketing looks at it and sees a large sector of the audience would not pay to see it. Sometimes the motivations are racist, other times they are simply a purist. Is the reasoning true? I personally would watch an ostrich play Bond if it was compelling enough, as would you most likely, but the marketing doesn’t care what Aaron or Joe Reader thinks. They live to serve their masters, therefore they only care about the millions that – according to their detailed research – physically buy tickets, digital releases or blu-rays, as well as what is currently trending on social media. THEY are who movies are made for. I’m still shocked 12 Years A Slave didn’t feature Chris Pratt in a cameo as some sort of white savior…wait, that was Brad Pitt. Never mind. Carry on.

Every part not firmly rooted in history or already defined by their ethnicity in previous works should be open to any actor, without-a-doubt. There will never be a debate from me on this issue, and I’m not just saying that to keep antagonizing comments at bay – but marketing is not wired that way. It is this mentality of commerce, this “Hollywood-By-The-Numbers”, which has led to a disturbing lack of solid roles for people of ethnicity and advanced age in previous years, and in-turn has led to the typical lack of nominations.

Many will think the increased number of nominations for ethnic roles this year was a response to last year’s uproar. I would completely disagree and cite that most films released in 2016 were already underway or completed by last year’s Oscars, they just had better parts in last year’s final roster. Fences, Moonlight and Lion are all films years in the making. This ole’ Hollywood marketing is inherently the problem that needs to be addressed and desperately updated. If you want true change, if you feel the need to pick up a sign and demand a systemic overhaul, it needs to start there, with the studios, producers and directors whom we all blindly idolize that are doing the hiring. It begins with your dollars.

There is also a larger issue today, due to that old troublemaker on the block: the internet. It gives so many people a forum to express their demands, to unleash their rage, they begin to believe their opinion should actually determine the outcome. Hey, I get it. I’m still irked Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds and Amy Adams failed to receive Best Picture, Actor and Actress nominations. They absolutely deserved the recognition over a snooze-fest like Manchester By The Sea…TO ME.

That’s just it though, this is my opinion and mine alone, not the Academy’s. Hollywood Reporter and Variety have their favorites too, but that does not necessarily mean the Academy agrees, nor should they. At your job, if they have an annual awards banquet, do you want the “Employee of the Year” handed out by a bunch of random couch potatoes who don’t actually work there? No, you want them doled out by your peers, the people who know exactly what it took for you to accomplish the impossible. The Academy has a much more public position (and there should be a verified requirement that members must view potential nominees to participate in voting), but this point remains very much the same.

There are a thousand awards shows now for film and television, and that is great if you’re a fan of 12-hour red carpet events and incessant adoration for every actor with a British accent. For those of us that pass on the 100+ other awards shows, but DO love the Main Event – it is simply because nothing compares to The Oscars. It is the only ceremony that awards the absolute best in the industry by a vote of the very members who contributed to it. For many of us film fanatics, this is the apex of our year. This is our Super Bowl.

As much as we all believe we have a say in how it all unfolds, it remains as much movie magic as Vin Diesel wrestling a Tyrannosaurus Rex on Mars. We, the public, do not factor in the results, we have no input whatsoever other than using our dollars to create more opportunities for artists to shine, nor should we. We just happen to revel in the possibilities because we love and admire the work they produce, yet that affords us no right to scream and demand who should or should not receive accolades for those efforts. We all completely agree that Saving Private Ryan is a far better film than Shakespeare In Love – even Affleck knows this to be true – unfortunately, The Academy feels like they know better than those of us sitting comfortably in our lounge chairs, passing random judgments from afar, and they decided to go a different way. We call it a snub, they call it a carefully crafted selection. So be it.

This is THEIR night. This is THEIR accomplishment. These are THEIR Oscars.