Alan Caruba
Al Sharpton seeing red over all-white Oscars
FacebookTwitter
By Alan Caruba
January 19, 2015

I do not care who was nominated for the 2015 Oscars and I care even less about what the Rev. Al Sharpton has to say about the fact that this year no blacks were nominated in any category.

The Oscars are about films, not race, but you wouldn't know that from all the nonsense about the "all white" nominees this year. Back in 1998 the same thing occurred and maybe it had something to do with the films that year?

Sharpton has shown a talent for getting involved in various events over the years claiming racial connotations; beginning with the lies he told about Tawana Brawley in the 1980s, alleging she was a victim of rape that led to a defamation suit he lost in 1998. Flash forward and you have a man whom The New York Times reports has "more than $4.5 million in current state and federal tax liens against him and his for-profit businesses."

This is the same man who has been rubbing elbows lately with the President of the United States (!) and hailed as a civil rights icon at a recent fund-raising event by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. Obama hailed him for his "dedication to the righteous cause of perfecting our union," whatever that means. As The Times reported, "Major corporations sponsored the lavish affair."

There is the reek of corruption surrounding Rev. Sharpton that speaks poorly of the high ranked politicians who lend him credibility and the corporations that help underwrite his blatant exploitation of racial events such as those in Ferguson, Missouri. It does not speak well of MSNBC that has provided him with a television show as a platform devoted to stirring up resentment among blacks.

"The lack of diversity in today's Oscar nominations is appalling," Rev. Sharpton said "and while it is good that Selma was nominated for 'Best Picture,' it's ironic that they nominated a story about the racial shutout around voting while there is a racial shutout around the Oscar nominations."

The Oscars are not about "diversity." They are the result of the voting by some 6,000 members of the Motion Picture Academy. The Hollywood Reporter noted that 94% are white, 77% are male, and 86% are age 50 or older. The Academy, however, has demonstrated its support for black films and performers dating back to 1939 when Hattie McDaniel won a Supporting Actress Award for her role in 'Gone with the Wind.'

The list of black actors and actresses who have either been nominated or won Oscars is rather impressive and includes Sidney Pointier, Louis Gosset Jr, Denzel Washington, Whoopi Goldberg, Halle Berry, and Morgan Freeman among the 44 black actors nominated. Others include Ethel Waters in 1948, Dorothy Dandridge in 1954, James Earl Jones in 1970, to name just a few.

The attention the Oscars get is based on the films Hollywood produces, many of which are quite forgettable. The award show is one of the most tedious shows on television bar none. Am I upset because one of my favorite actors and directors, Clint Eastwood, was left out of the director category? No. Am I miffed because Jennifer Aniston, another favorite of mine, did not receive an acting nomination? No. I am a fan, but whether they win a prize or not is of little importance to me.

I am at the point where every new film seems a re-run of every earlier one I ever saw. Others are merely cartoonish violence. I am sure some good films are being made, but I no longer have much interest in films these days.

As for "Selma," I remember the actual event and that was dramatic enough. On top of that, I later personally met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and had a short chat with him. He was an extraordinary man. The film received a best picture nomination, but I am under the impression that it has not drawn much of an audience.

I have reached an age where the analysis of every event in American life seems to come down to race, gender or some other factor often unrelated to what is occurring. We are too often a nation of unrelenting complainers unwilling to see what a great nation it is.

I can only speak for myself when I say I am deeply offended by the antics of Rev. Sharpton because he's unhappy this year's Oscar nominees are "white." Last time I checked, not paying your taxes was a crime.

Oh, by the way, I will not be watching the Oscar awards. Other than the State of the Union speech, it is one of the most boring annual shows on television.

© Alan Caruba

 

The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)


Alan Caruba

(Editor's note: Alan Caruba passed away on June 15, 2015. You can read his obituary here.)

Best known these days as a commentator on issues ranging from environmentalism to energy, immigration to Islam, Alan Caruba is the author of two recent books, "Right Answers: Separating Fact from Fantasy" and "Warning Signs" -- both collections of his commentaries since 2000 and both published by Merril Press of Bellevue, Washington... (more)

Subscribe

Receive future articles by Alan Caruba: Click here

More by this author

 

Stephen Stone
HAPPY EASTER: A message to all who love our country and want to help save it

Stephen Stone
The most egregious lies Evan McMullin and the media have told about Sen. Mike Lee

Siena Hoefling
Protect the Children: Update with VIDEO

Stephen Stone
FLASHBACK to 2020: Dems' fake claim that Trump and Utah congressional hopeful Burgess Owens want 'renewed nuclear testing' blows up when examined

Selwyn Duke
No, Trump does not have to bow to mythical 'judicial supremacy'

Victor Sharpe
The Philadelphi Corridor: Israel, don't give it away again

Tom DeWeese
Conservation easements: The land grab that must be stopped

Jerry Newcombe
Financial and moral bankruptcy

Linda Kimball
The fallacious left vs. right dichotomy, and the war to the death between forces of good and forces of evil

Pete Riehm
Malicious intent or mediocre ignorance

Cliff Kincaid
Make the Monroe Doctrine Great Again

James Lambert
The federal cost of government – It is way too high, something Trump is exposing

Curtis Dahlgren
This is your brain on socialism: { [: ( [ )

Jerry Newcombe
A great birthday party is coming

Pete Riehm
Cleaning house and sweeping out the shadows

Michael Bresciani
The most powerful convergence of prophetic events since the 1948 rebirth of Israel begins now
  More columns

Cartoons


Click for full cartoon
More cartoons

Columnists

Matt C. Abbott
Chris Adamo
Russ J. Alan
Bonnie Alba
Chuck Baldwin
Kevin J. Banet
J. Matt Barber
Fr. Tom Bartolomeo
. . .
[See more]

Sister sites