Why this Years' Academy Awards Ceremony Was One of the Best

Chris Rock

Every year, there has been enough tension between the day that the Oscar nominations are announced and when the winners finally give their speeches. It is a fun time to speculate, especially if you're a prognosticator who enjoys nitpicking statistics or at any point believing that The Big Short was a front runner of any kind. The race itself was exciting, but this was likely undermined by what everyone else wanted to talk about: Oscars So White. For the second year in a row, every acting category was jam packed with white faces that would eventually lead to notorious boycotts from black celebrities, specifically that of Jada Pinkett Smith and Al Sharpton. This raised a question: how do The Oscars go on? Thankfully Chris Rock was there, and he turned  in one of the best awards ceremonies in years. It was controversial, sure, but Rock and producer Reginald Hudlin turned in a 3.5 hour production that not only addressed the elephant in the room, but reminded audiences as to why The Oscars are so integral to Hollywood, and international representation.

Why Chris Rock Should Not Resign as Oscar Host

Chris Rock

The Academy Award nominations haven't been out a week, and the backlash has been very, very ridiculous (so much so that I'd say that I've done an insubstantial job of covering every comment). The Oscars So White movement seems to have become a big phenomenon for anyone who is not among those 20 nominees in the acting fields. However, there is one person left in the game that could make or break from this news: Chris Rock. While he hasn't made a public statement, actors like Tyrese have publicly encouraged Rock to step down from hosting the gig on the grounds of the recent exclusionary factors. However, is that really a smart thing, especially with many publicly already boycotting the ceremony? It's a tough call, but I definitely am on the side that maybe him hosting will remain a good thing.

"Straight Outta Compton" Producer, Spike Lee, and More Address Oscars Diversity Problem

Scene from Straight Outta Compton

Last Thursday marked the announcement of this year's Oscar nominees. If nothing else, there was a lot of intriguing genre diversity in Best Picture, with two major sci-fi films competing with prestige dramas. Even the acting fields had their own surprises. However, there's one thing that has come up once again: Oscars So White. Last year it showed up because all 20 of the nominees in the acting field were white. This year unfortunately featured more of the same, with many crying out once again that The Oscars have a race problem. With that said, some major voices in the black community have made their opinion public, and everyone from Spike Lee (who recently won an Honorary Oscar) to Tyle Perry have ways that they could fix things. To say the least, some of them have good ideas.