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Will Smith Joins Wife in Not Attending the Oscars


Ale

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Yeah he did really well clearing that up. A lot of people are still against him. They probably just read the headline "Will boycotts the oscars" and didn't listen to what he said. 

At the end of the day, no-one knows if the academy excluded people of colour deliberately. But I bet they make some changes next year. I think they need to start by having a more diverse board on deciding who's nominated. Then that's fair. 

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Hmm yes he handled it very well but why this year ? Because he wasn't nominated for concussion ? That movie sadly wasn't good enough for Will to be nominated. Idris Elba, Benicio, Sam Jackson they have a good case, they should've been nominated but Will ? I really didn't think it was as good as Ali or POH imo. But I agree with Spike he made a good point and yes there is obvious racism in Hollywood and Oscars, not just against black people but minorities in general. So people think Will and Jada boycott it because they weren't nominated (Concussion in this case) more than the fact of the long on-going issue of racism in Hollywood. I wish Will had took this decision any other year, would've made his complaints and decision more valid to me and probably many others. Either way Oscars are BS anyway, just a sad circle jerk of a popularity contest.

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4 hours ago, gosia said:

The only reason he did this was to quash the fire set of by Jada and her little facebook video with 11 mln views. People went off and he had no choice but to speak up. He stood by his wife. The end of story.

I agree. He kind of said that in the video too. I don't think he would of spoken out about this at all if Jada hadn't. He also had to contradict himself a bit to stand by Jada. He said not too long ago that there was no racism in Hollywood but there was prejudice. 

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Excellent interview by Will. He makes a cogent argument and frames the issue well. The problem isn't that he wasn't nominated or that individuals of color should be awarded just as much as others... the issue is that there is a systemic undercurrent of prejudice in the entertainment industry that often reflects that of society as a whole. Yes, there's a lack of diversity among those who choose the nominees, but that also extends to those who green light-movies, finance movies, write scripts and cast roles. It's no secret that black actors not name Halle, Denzel, Will, Samuel or Morgan have a short shelf life in Hollywood and find it hard to consistently get roles. More importantly, as Will pointed out, the effects extend past Hollywood. When young people watch movies and are hard-pressed to find individuals who look like them, reflect their culture and reflect their experiences, both in character and out of character, we do them a disservice. I think the most salient thing he said in the interview was something to the effect of... Look, it's not that serious... I'm just an actor... but it's important to remember that movies plant seeds for dreams.

All that said, and as right as he and Jada are, I didn't and still don't think Will was the right person to be at the forefront of this (very ironic given that was a major theme in concussion as well). My concern is that others will find the protest self serving and sour grapes as a result of not being nominated, making Will and Jada the story instead of the wider issue. It would be unfortunate if this damaged his reputation as an all around good guy in Hollywood. Janet Hubert, in her never-ending saltiness, has already called them out with many rallying to her side. Thankfully many other thoughtful actors of various racial background have echoed the same sentiments Will and Jada have noted, and even President Obama has weighed in.

In this age of Trump and banning Muslims, Ann Coulter and making sure minorities assimilate, this is a very important discussion to have. Janet must be even saltier today.

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