Personally, I never thought about this much. It wasn't until last year while watching the Academy Awards that I noticed how few people of color are typically nominated let alone actually win awards. For instance, Quvenzhane Wallis starred in Beast of the Southern Wild at just 5 years old at the time of auditioning and filming (and just 9 years old at the time of her nomination) and took the film world by storm. Unfortunately, more attention was paid to the pronunciation of her name than her skill or performance in the film, which earned her a nomination for Best Actress. Wallis lost however, to one of Hollywood's most prominent stars, Jennifer Lawrence for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook.
Now while I haven't seen Beast of the Southern Wild (I'm bad at remembering to watch movies/tracking them down,) I have seen Silver Lining's Playbook and I gotta say...it was alright. By the end of the movie, it was just another Hollywood love story about two white people, not super original. The big thing about the movie was that it centers around two characters with mental illnesses, though the character's illnesses were brought up maybe a handful of times (at the most) and how they find comfort and love despite the fact that they are suffering. To me, the movie sent this message: If you have a mental illness, it's okay because you'll find someone to accept and save you and make you happy.
From what I've read and heard about Beasts of the Southern Wild, it centers around a young girl (played by Wallis) and her ill father trying to survive after a storm destroys their Louisiana home, known as the Bathtub. Throughout the film, the father and daughter struggle to take back their community. In the end, the father dies and his daughter says her final goodbye by setting his funeral pyre ablaze.
Even though a nine year old somehow had the talent and emotional depth to play a fierce and independent character like Hushpuppy, who spends most of the film either trying to establish some sort of functional relationship with her sick father or traveling on her own to find her mother, that wasn't enough for the Academy. Apparently, what they wanted was Jennifer Lawrence screaming at Bradley Cooper about how "fucking crazy" she is before throwing a bowl of cereal in a diner and giving him the bird as she passes the window of the restaurant while she is storming away. This frustrated me, I mean, come on. Scream, throw a bowl of cereal, flip someone off. I can do that and you probably can too. Obviously, Lawrence had to memorize lines and dance routines for the film but so do most actors and actresses. Her performance was fine, it was good, but did it deserve and Oscar? And did it deserve one more than that of a child who played a role even adults might find difficult?
I don't think winning awards like the Oscar matter, because they are not fairly awarded. When people of color can win award for playing a character other than a racial stereotype, maybe they will matter. Until then, they can piss off as far as I'm concerned.
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