Now Showing in Color
Yesterday night I watched the Oscars. As a budding cinephile (fun fact: I was the proud President of a tiny movie club in college), I was excited. Of course, like millions of others, the feeling was also amplified by the chance to witness something momentous. It was a feeling embarrassingly similar to the flurry of emotions I felt before Obama’s election nearly a decade ago— I was ready to see six-time Oscar nominee Leo finally win his long overdue award.
Aside from this light-hearted hope (once little more than a far-flung fantasy and internet meme), I also expected more serious issues to drive the narrative of this year’s show. A noticeable lack of diversity in Oscar nominations had created an uproar several weeks ago that demanded addressing, lest the Academy further be criticized in its whitewashing of the movie industry. Chris Rock delivered. His opening monologue didn’t just touch the issue of race, but fully embraced it. And he was merciless, hilariously delivering uncomfortable truths, tempering points with the occasional bit of self-deprecation, and keeping it light again with a well-timed audience jab. The politicized nature of the show was something I had not seen before, it was edgy, and as a means to address a glaring race problem, a necessity.
A big issue within the movie industry was finally being addressed in full force. The Academy and 30+ million viewers across America were being forced to recognize the obvious absence of color in nominations. Indeed, Chris Rock had a noble cause and a very tough job. This was a black man honored by mostly white men to host a show dripping with controversy…and still be entertaining. Could he continue to hit the gut and tickle the belly at the same time?
I was rooting for him and then it happened. Halfway through the show, I groaned. It was a mental groan that I’ve made a hundred times before when the doctor is again an awkward Chinese man or when the cabbie has that thick Indian accent. In what hit like the clanging of a thousand orient gongs, Rock undermined his entire diversity effort with a cheap joke. Referring to the prowess of Academy Awards vote counter PricewaterhouseCoopers, Chris brought out three Asian children as his big punchline. Honestly, I didn’t care about the joke at first. Before the 30 second bit was over, I had already categorized it as another play on the Asian math-nerd stereotype and cast it aside. Upon reflecting today (and also seeing some pretty intense backlash across the web), I now realize how intensely sad this maneuver was.
It seems like the night wasn’t about diversity after all. With the lowest-hanging fruit of jokes cleanly picked, I suddenly considered that despite all the talk about inclusion, the narrative really wasn’t about Asian Americans, Hispanics, or any other dramatically underrepresented minority in the dramas. Chris traded an opportunity to be magnanimous, to expand the dialogue beyond “issues that affect black people” to “issues that affect all minorities”, for some scattered laughter. To me the joke wasn’t as offensive as it was sad. The show had squandered a huge opportunity to widen the scope of the diversity discussion in Hollywood.
Chris Rock’s joke cast a pall over the narrative last night — Asians’ (and other minorities’) issues weren’t just being overlooked, they were being ignored. The truth is, there is a startling lack of recognition in cinema for many races. In fact, Asians and Hispanics are among the most grossly underrepresented in film. Furthermore, good roles are simply lacking for many ethnic actors. How can I even win an Oscar if I’m stuck playing the same kung-fu character every movie? Aziz Ansari touched upon this in his recent show “Master of None” — there’s simply limited opportunity for many minorities to play non-stereotyped roles. It’s one thing to get recognition, and it’s another whole issue to even be given the opportunity for recognition.
This shouldn’t be a contest of who’s got it worst. There always seems to be a danger in raising issues specific to a group of people in that it can tear causes that deserve to be unified apart. The most unproductive thing that can come out of this dialogue is infighting among the underrepresented. I really hope what could be a good discussion does not become a conflict between black people, brown people, yellow people, or any other people, over who deserves what and whose problems matter more. In the same vein, we should try to be aware of other’s challenges, our own biases, and their consequences. As an example, destructive stereotypes for one race have been used to undermine the progress of others. Ultimately, this shouldn’t be a time to dismiss other people’s feelings and play them off stage. Instead, this is an opportunity to recognize a greater pool of diverse talent and perhaps build a better industry as a result. It’s a chance to address issues that affect all minorities (and not just racial minorities for that matter) trying to make it in Hollywood, and the dialogue should encapsulate that.
Despite all the glitz and glammer, the Oscars last night were really about justice being served. We were all so excited for Leo to win, but what we were really rooting for was credit finally being paid where it’s due. Think about how relieved you were when DiCaprio's name was called. Now inflate that emotion and you may get a sense of the feeling some people experience when they finally see a nominee of their same color, when they see that opportunity and recognition is possible. Really, this is an issue that affects anybody trying to make it in any industry while overcoming discrimination and systemic bias. It’s bigger than the Oscars, and it’s bigger than any single race or ethnicity.
If we no longer see movies in black and white, why not move our dialogue (or monologues) beyond that as well?
