It Ain't for Everybody!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/20/oscars-diversity-problem_n_6709334.html

http://www.eonline.com/news/626853/mo-nique-says-roles-in-empire-and-the-butler-just-went-away-lee-daniels-told-me-i-ve-been-blackballed

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/sheryl-lee-ralph-monique-blackball_n_6737830.html

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/oscars/oscars-2015-john-legend-makes-slavery-comparison-acceptance-speech-n310816

I'd like for everyone to take the time to watch the videos in the above links. They will clarify where I was coming from in class about my gripe with the Oscars and the entertainment field as a whole. In the story Black Ice that we discussed in class, we can see how audacious the main character Joyce was in standing up for herself and other women to a politician. As I'm typing this I can think of the movie American Violet which is the perfect visual depiction of a similar situation-a black woman going to bat ultimately for rights to herself (June Jordan reference), and her opponent is a not only a white man but a politician with ulterior motives ("This is an old and primary tool of all oppressors to keep the oppressed occupied with the master's concerns"). Watch the movie if you haven't already. It's very fitting for some themes we've covered in class and relevant to society as well. Great movie, watch it and thank me later.
Anyway, I call the first link the "crash-course" into the background of the Oscars and it's surrounding politics. The way that it's set up is undeniably discriminatory. Of course there's a sprinkle of brown faces, not because they're talented money makers but for "fairness" aka affirmative action purposes. I can understand why Audre Lorde wasn't readily supplying how to integrate instructions... because no one is oblivious to what's going! The way people are passive, assertive, or aggressive speaks to their character. Take the third link I posted. Sheryl Lee Ralph makes a snide remark regarding the attitude to take in showbiz sometimes (which really made me commend Mo'Nique's speech at the Oscars more)which to me says she lack integrity for herself. It says to me that she's willing to be that puppet on the string which we've had more than our share of in history. We need more Mo'Niques and more Joyce's amongst black people because obviously we still can't leave it up to black men to speak for us women either (hence John Legend and Common Oscar speeches).