Michael Caine is Right About #OscarSoWhite

The Oscars may be bullshit, but they're not racist.

I'm sure most of you have heard about the #OscarSoWhite "controversy". In a nutshell the Oscars have been politicised and subsequently accused of being "whitewashed" (racist term, the irony never ceases to amaze me) as there have been no black artists nominated this time around. Naturally this has caused a knee jerk reaction with "diversity" as the agenda with people like Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee speaking out against the Oscars.

Spike Lee & Jada Pinkett Smith are skipping the Oscars because of #OscarSoWhite controversy https://t.co/sLQjv1z89m pic.twitter.com/KEcqqPYuj7

— People Magazine (@people) January 18, 2016

Huh, black people boycotting the Oscars. That'll increase diversity...

This is silly. It really is. Now we have people complaining about lack of diversity in a merit based award system? Is that merit based award system riddled with subjectivity and bias? Of course, before Lord of the Rings the academy would barely even consider Sci Fi and Fantasy movies for nomination. Hell, if you make a horror movie you can forget about a nomination. We get it. The Oscars is subjective, elitist bullshit. But that doesn't mean it's racist, it simply means that the academy - who are made up of majority whites - maybe aren't into movies like Straight out of Compton. They'll lap up a fucking period drama full of rich white folks in a heartbeat, though. Could that maybe be because the academy is made up of mostly rich white folks? If the academy consisted of people from my generation it would be Star Wars or Avengers going home with all the Oscars. This is down to subjective preference at the end of the day.

Perhaps we could tackle this "issue" by including more black representation within the academy itself rather than expecting people to vote for movies and actors that they might not personally like. However, we'd then just have black film snobs instead of white film snobs voting for movies they like. That doesn't solve the real problem with the Oscars and the elitist attitude of Hollywood in general. I think a better solution would to simply increase the diversity in movies available, and I don't mean "blackwashing" already existing franchises or gender swapping established characters. I mean creating original content that appeals to other demographics. However, even then you're still reliant on the subjective opinions of the Academy and the demographic is consists of, whether that be blacks, whites, Asians, women, Drow, whatever. The system is flawed. this much is true.

Regardless, it's not racist. You cannot and should not simply award someone a prize based on the colour of their skin.

This opinion has been mimicked by Michael Caine and the hysterical Social Justice rags have immediately revealed their own prejudices in protest: "Old white actors don’t get the Oscars’ diversity problem. That’s why it’s a problem." ...dear god. Fighting apparent racism with racism and ageism? The hypocrisy is palpable. Aren't racism, ageism, sexism, ableism (and whatever other "ism" that's been invented these days to stage an ourcry) things that they're meant to be championing against? I don't particularly care I just wish they were consistent with their outrage. Caine hasn't misunderstood anything, and this misplaced character assassination doesn't fool me. Whether you're calling for diversity in either the awards themselves or the nominations, both of these things (as the author pointed out) gives an actor a boost to his or her career. Asking to be considered for nomination purely based on skin colour is still special treatment. Any boost to an actors career, via a nomination for a prestigious award or the award itself, should be earned.

Here's what Caine said:

"You can’t vote for an actor because he’s black. You can’t just say, 'I’m going to vote for him. He’s not very good, but he’s black. I’ll vote for him.’ You have to give a good performance,"

Spot on, Sir.

Problems with how elitist the Oscars are aside, an Oscar is an award. An award for achievement. In other words: A meritocracy. Where are all the calls for NBA to be more inclusive of 5'2" white guys? Is someone going complain that the starting line of the 100m sprint in the Olympics isn't diverse enough? This is daft. Surely in order to be awarded you need to have achieved something? Being black is not an achievement, like how being white is not a privilege. These concepts are fucking racist.

Oh, the humanity! #OscarsSoWhite pic.twitter.com/RiTJcVSDRF

— Larry Elder (@larryelder) January 22, 2016

To put this another way: The academy doesn't give a flying fuck about your opinion. They care about their own opinion. I know, it's elitist. But for fuck sake, we're talking about the plight of millionaire actors not getting a little gold statue to place at the crown of their mountain of wealth based on the opinions of self elevated movie toffs. Let's not ignore how trivial this is. How insecure must someone be, that in order to substantiate what they do they must be be recognised and be awarded prizes by the "rich, white elite" that they're apparently so critical of? Isn't the love and passion for what they do substantial enough? That and the fame and fortune, of course. Does the lack of a single token of recognition invalidate all the wealth and success an actor has achieved up until that point? If so we better not tell DiCaprio, if he doesn't win this one he might burn all that hollow, meaningless, Oscarless money and the Economy might never recover.

Yes, even a nomination has a positive impact on an actors's career, but if you want a boost to your career via this method: Act better. Earn it. Or more accurately: Act in accordance with the subjective opinions of a few thousand film snobs.

Welcome to fucking Hollywood.