Discussing
The Oscars’ Fear of a Black Planet

When God looks at the Oscar nominees, he probably wonders why those of his creatures who call themselves artists only paint with one color.

I think maybe it wouldn't have mattered to Jesus. I don't recall any stories in the Bible discussing Jesus' reaction to a play or recreational entertainment activity. It's a pretty big leap, intellectually and logically to get here, Josh.

Furthermore, as a steward of the limited resources I have been given duty to manage, I cannot justify using any of it to further the works of artists that portray, promote, encourage, and idolize what Jesus would clearly consider immoral activity.

I would say that nothing in this article leads to Christian thinking, but rather to a debate about questionable cultural choices. Except, that there might be others, like myself, who will not be baited into the fray about Academy Awards nominations but rather be spurred to address the needs of those caught in the traps fictionalized in these trifling entertainments.

In Reply to Michael S (comment #27788)
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Thanks for commenting, Michael. When you talk about wanting to "address the needs of those caught in the traps fictionalized in these trifling entertainments," how do you assess what those needs are, and how you can best go about addressing them? Might hearing their stories be a crucial, humble first step?

I'd also be curious to hear which of the movies I mention above you've seen, and why you found them to be "trifling."

Hey there Josh,

I really enjoy and appreciate your articles. It's great to be able to read the commentary of another film buff, who also happens to be a brother in Christ! I'm afraid I'm not quite with you on this one however. I think it may be a bit of a reach. As Christians we absolutely love diversity. We want it. We want it promoted. It reminds us of what heaven will be like. But in this case, I get the feeling you're arguing for somewhat of a "forced diversity." One year there aren't enough people of color with nominations, and then the next year, we have four or five people of color not only be nominated, but win the "big ones!" And here's the thing, when they do, it's merit based! The nominations and awards aren't, and should never be given in order to meet a diversity quota in my opinion. It should absolutely be merit based. I wouldn't want there to be the "token" gay or lesbian film nominated, just to meet an agenda or quota, you know? All I'm really saying is, I'm giving the people who nominate the films and actors the benefit of the doubt. Hollywood is sooooooo politically correct these days anyway, they wouldn't dream of "intentionally" leaving any one group out would they? Oh wait, I don't remember seeing Woodlawn get any nominations?!?!

I can't imagine why any Christian would be upset that people who practice alternate sexual orientations, or movies which portray the same would not be nominated for or receive awards! There is nothing about sin which is worthy of any kind of award. God made it exceedingly clear that any kind of sex other than between one man and one woman bonded for life in marriage is not worthy of discussion. Why would this topic even be included in an article such as this one?

In Reply to Andy Guy (comment #27791)
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I appreciate the kind words, Andy, but I think you're overselling the Academy's record on diversity. What year was it that "four or five people of color" were not only nominated, but won the "big ones"? Certainly that has not been a common occurrence, as you seem to suggest. And as far as the question of "token" nominations, that speaks exactly to the point of my piece. 2015 offered a number of Oscar-friendly, and deserving, films and actors for Academy voters to honor, and they chose not to.

In Reply to Greg (comment #27792)
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Hi Greg, my answer to your question would be the final few paragraphs of my piece, starting with paragraph 7.

I believe it was 2006 or 2007 that saw the most awards/wins for African American actors/actresses recently. And even more recently, the last 3 out of 6 Best Supporting Actress nominations have been great performances by African American ladies. But again, even though these haven't been "common occurrences" as you suggest, to me, it isn't necessarily a bad thing. It may be that an overwhelming number of voters saw other films or actors simply standout more than the others, regardless of race/agenda. "12 Years A Slave" was probably one of the best movies I've seen in the last five years, and I would point to that film as an amazing standout in terms of drama, storytelling, and filmmaking at it's best. And as expected, it was nominated for many, many Golden Globes, as well as Oscars. It even won Best Picture.

Andy

I disagree. I don't think Jesus would have cared about the exclusivity of the list of Oscar nominations, not because the stories of marginalized people are irrelevant but because the Oscars would have been irrelevant to Jesus's world and life view. When did Jesus ever ask or recommend that his followers ask for the approval of the world and its institutions when doing the right thing? Certainly, Christians should be open to watching movies with subjects that could be uncomfortable (always remembering that this is an artistic rendering of an understanding of reality), but demanding that the Oscars recognize diversity in entertainment is playing up to the institutions and pretensions of the world.

The Oscars are increasingly irrelevant. How many award shows does Hollywood have now? And how seriously are they taken? Even Hollywood elite joke that award shows are symptomatic of the fact that Hollywood knows it's just entertainment. And a great many successful actors and directors don't care that they haven't been recognized by the Academy because they are successful in their own right and in the eyes of the public at large.

While you are right to highlight Jesus' interaction with people on the edges, let's not forget the other aspect of his ministry that called people to leave behind their old ideas of worth and status and follow him. I can just as easily see an encounter with Jesus over the Oscars running like this:

"Lord, tell the Academy to put my movie on the nomination list."

"Man, who made me a judge between you. Watch out; be on your guard against all kids of vain glory and seeking praise from men. Don't be like the hypocrites who create situations to shout their own praise. Do not tell a story to be lauded for telling a story. Rather, do what is good and right in your film, and your Heavenly Father, who sees what is ignored and unlauded will reward you."

In Reply to Jennifer A. (comment #27799)
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Hi Jennifer,

Your point is well taken that Oscar recognition should not be pursued in order to achieve any sort of self-glorification. What is more important to me is that a culturally influential juggernaut like the Oscars - and they are still influential, bringing global awareness to the films that are nominated - make room for these other voices.

As far as whether or not Jesus would have cared about any of this, I stand by my understanding of His ministry as one that largely sought out the stories of those who were not in a position of cultural power. Furthermore, the entire Think Christian project is founded on the belief in a sovereign God who has always deeply cared about every aspect of His created world. In the words of Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'"

I really don't think I could care less about the nominations being black or white, or whatever. I think that the ones that got nominated deserved it more than others that didn't in many cases. What about the fact that Macbeth was totally left out? That just doesn't make any sense, especially in regards to the fact that it is an obvious potential for Best Cinematography. I think that those that got the nominations deserved them.
In addition, I can understand your wanting a good film or actress to be nominated, but why the urgency for the films about homosexuality and transsexuality? As Christians, I would think that those are ideas that we'd be against. I'm not saying I'm averse to seeing a film about those subjects, nor that they are inherently bad. But I don't think that we should be rooting for them on that basis, because we are supposed to be against those ideas. Again, to clarify: I'm not against the films on that basis, I believe they can still be good films totally worthy of nominations. But my point stands, that we shouldn't be complaining that they didn't get nominated on that basis, and it doesn't really matter that much either way.

This is a great article, Josh, and I absolutely agree with you. Jesus would care about the Oscar nominees because he cares about our stories, and about turning bigotry and privilege on their heads. We only have to look at the story of the Good Samaritan to see that: Jesus crafted the story not just to include the despised Samaritans in his Kingdom narrative, but to give them the protagonist's role, the hero's role. We need to hear stories that de-center straight, white perspectives in order to understand the full glory and power of Christ's Kingdom. #BlackLivesMatter #SamaritanLivesMatter