Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film

The most serious critiques of the Academy Awards Ò
involve charges of sexist and racist practices. Throughout
its entire history, as of 2005, no black or female director
has ever received an Academy Award Ò for Best Director,
and only one black director was ever nominated (John
Singleton in 1992 for Boyz N the Hood ). In 2002 a
milestone occurred when Sidney Poitier received an
Honorary Award and three of the ten acting nominations
went to African Americans: Halle Berry, for Monster’s
Ball; Denzel Washington, for Training Day, and Will
Smith, for Ali. Berry and Washington won (his second
Oscar Ò; he had been named Best Actor in a Supporting
Role for Glory in 1989). Three black actors (Paul
Winfield and Cicely Tyson for Sounder and Diana Ross
for Lady Sings the Blues) had been nominated in 1972.
But until 2002 Sidney Poitier was the only African
American to have won a Best Actor Oscar Ò (in 1963
for Lilies of the Field), and only four African Americans
had won Supporting Actor Oscars Ò. Lack of adequate
minority representation in acting and throughout the
movie industry led to picketing in 1962 and a call by
social activist Reverend Jesse Jackson to boycott the
Awards in 1996.
The other serious criticism of the Academy and the
industry it represents involves prejudice against women.
Only two women have received Best Director nominations
(Jane Campion, for The Piano, in 1993, and Sofia
Coppola, for Lost in Translation, in 2003) and no woman
has ever received the award. Because of the small percentage
of women working in the industry—except in
acting—the disproportionate male representation for
Award nominations and winners is unlikely to change,
unless membership in the branches becomes more
equitable.
Academy analysts conclude that in some years
Awards have been voted for performances or achievements
less deserving than a previous year’s unrewarded
accomplishment. Without question, popularity and politics
factor into the voting. And yet, because of the
Oscar’s Ò international prestige, because it means millions
in earned income to individuals’ careers and films’ earnings,
and because of the palpable excitement for each
year’s ceremony, professional and amateur alike will
continue to second-guess, handicap, and watch the
Awards, often unaware of the Academy’s myriad activities.
Several other countries have organizations similar to
the Academy, which also bestow annual awards. For
example, the British Academy of Film and Television
votes yearly awards officially called the Orange British
Academy Film Award, known colloquially as the BAFTA
after its parent organization. The French Motion Picture
Academy bestows the César. The People’s Republic of
China votes the Golden Rooster (first bestowed in 1981,
a year of the rooster), and the Italian film industry votes
the David di Donatello Award. But there is no organization
that carries the prestige of the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences, and no award so important to
the film industry as the Oscar Ò.
SEE ALSO Festivals; Prizes and Awards
Academy Awards Ò
FURTHER READING
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. http://
www.oscars.org (accessed 27 December 2005)
Hayes, R. M. Trick Cinematography: The OscarÒ Special-Effects
Movies. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1986.
Holden, Anthony. Behind the OscarÒ : The Secret History of
the Academy AwardsÒ . New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.
Levy, Emanuel. All About OscarÒ : The History and Politics of the
Academy. New York: Continuum, 2003.
———. OscarÒ Fever: The History and Politics of the Academy
AwardsÒ . New York: Continuum, 2001.
Mapp, Edward. African Americans and the OscarÒ :SevenDecadesof
Struggle and Achievement. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2003.
O’Neil, Thomas. Movie Awards: The Ultimate, Unofficial Guide
to the OscarsÒ , Golden Globes, Critics, Guild and Indie Honors.
New York: Perigee, 2003.
Osborne, Robert. 75 Years of the OscarÒ : The Official History of
the Academy AwardsÒ . New York: Abbeville Press, 2003.
Peary, Danny. Alternate OscarsÒ : One Critic’s Defiant Choices for
Best Picture, Actor, and Actress—From 1927 to the Present.
New York: Delta, 1993.
Diane Carson
SCHIRMER ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FILM 9