Al een aantal jaar wordt het na de bekendmaking van de Oscar-genomineerden opgemerkt: waarom is iédereen lelieblank? Vorig jaar ging #OscarsSoWhite daarom trending, dit jaar wéér, want groot acteur Idris Elba ontbrak in het genomineerdenlijstje. En dan was er ook nog eens amper erkenning voor monstersucces Straight Outta Compton - behalve dan voor de blanke schrijvers.
Afijn: afgelopen maandag, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in Amerika, trok Jada Pinkett Smith van leer met dit filmpje:
We must stand in our power.
Geplaatst door Jada Pinkett Smith op maandag 18 januari 2016
Smith:
'Is it time that people of color recognize how much power, influence, that we have amassed, that we no longer need to ask to be invited anywhere? Maybe it's time that we recognize that if we love and respect and acknowledge ourselves in the way in which we are asking others to do, that that is the place of true power.'
Inmiddels is het filmpje meer dan tien miljoen keer bekeken, en die #OscarsSoWhite-hashtag blijft ook maar rollen, dus voelde Oscar-president Cheryl Boone Isaacs zich geroepen te reageren op alle diversiteitscommotie. In een statement zegt ze:
'I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important conversation, and it's time for big changes.'
Isaacs zegt dat de Oscars stappen heeft genomen om dingen te veranderen, 'but the change is not coming as fast as we would like. We need to do more, and better and more quickly. We recognize the very real concerns of our community. I so appreciate all of you who have reached out to me in our effort to move forward together.'
Haar volledige statement:
'I'd like to acknowledge the wonderful work of this year's nominees. While we celebrate their extraordinary achievements, I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important conversation, and it's time for big changes. The Academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership. In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond. As many of you know, we have implemented changes to diversify our membership in the last four years. But the change is not coming as fast as we would like. We need to do more, and better and more quickly. This isn't unprecedented for the Academy. In the '60s and '70s it was about recruiting younger members to stay vital and relevant. In 2016, the mandate is inclusion in all of its facets: gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. We recognize the very real concerns of our community, and I so appreciate all of you who have reached out to me in our effort to move forward together.'
Wow.
Bijzonder dat een discussie als deze in 2016(!) nog moet worden gevoerd, máár: hear, hear, opdat we volgend jaar niet wéér #OscarsSoWhite op onze schermen hoeven te tikken.
