A Black-Out at the Oscars

Hollywood may claim to support diversity, but when they have a chance to cast their ballots in privacy they seem to be a little colorblind:

A fact of this year’s Academy Awards has some in the entertainment and civil rights communities scratching their heads and raising their eyebrows: There are precisely zero African-Americans nominated for the coveted acting, best picture, and director Oscars.

At a time when racial set asides are aggressively enforced at all levels of American society, the obvious question is: Why isn’t liberal Hollywood following its own rules?

It’s a question that has not gone unnoticed by self-appointed diversity cops. Lisa Respers France of CNN.com fretted about the fact that despite the variety of nominees and winners last year, this year the show will be a monochromatic event. “There are no women or people of color among the director nominees, and the acting nominees are all white. Javier Bardem, who is up for best actor for his role in “Biutiful,’ is a Spaniard and therefore European,” she wrote, pointing out that this is a continuation of a historical trend wherein fewer “meaty” roles have been written for African American actors.

This will be the first time in ten years that there will be no African American nominees for these awards.

The only way you get Hollywood upset about diversity is if you don't have enough gay characters included in your movies or awards.  Color doesn't mean anything.

And really, it shouldn't mean anything.  These awards are for "Best Actor", "Best Actress", "Best Picture", "Best Director" etc, and not "Best Actor of Color" or other designations.  They're based on achievement and nothing else, as they should be.  Affirmative Action hasn't been foisted on Hollywood the way it has on other aspects of our lives.

Of course, before someone can get nominated they have to be cast in a role that has Oscar potential, and perhaps that's where the real problem lies in Hollywood.  The people that make those decisions are responsible for for the dearth of nominees.  And given that the business is driven by money and not by social ideals, I don't imagine things will change.