Scribbler's 11th Hour Post of the Week: Why Chris Rock Was the Right Host for the Oscars

I don't know how this debate ever got started among Black people, but it's one of the many moments where we just have to compare two people who are often nothing like each other stylistically speaking.  For years, the question was who's the funnier comedian between Chris Tucker and Chris Rock?  Maybe it's because they're both Black and named Chris, but whatever.  Most people I know said Chris Tucker was funnier, and I understood it because between Friday, Money Talks and Rush Hour, he frankly made better and funnier movies.  On cue, a lot of those same people said that Chris Rock wasn't funny at all...because no two Black folk being compared to each other can both be good.  (See the Jay-Z vs. Nas, Beyonce vs. Rihanna or old school hip-hop vs. new school hip-hop debates as the evidence behind my shade.)  However, although Tucker was funny as a stand-up comedian, I've always preferred Chris Rock in that capacity because I felt like he injected more social commentary without sacrificing the funny.  I thought the whole "you put the money in a book" bit from Bring the Pain (1996) was one of the funniest things that I've ever heard because, like most poignant comedy, there's a lot of truth behind that joke that says so much more about the issues in our community than the punch line can convey.  So amidst the most scared section of White America not having the best five-year period regarding race relations let alone the best Black History Month, it was only fitting that Chris Rock hosted the 88th Academy Awards.

Between Cam Newton's comments about scaring some people because he's a Black quarterback, Beyonce's Super Bowl performance paying tribute to the women of the Black Panther Party and Kendrick Lamar's riveting Grammy performance led by "The Blacker the Berry", it was the perfect setup for Chris Rock to continue ruffling the feathers of America's status quo.  Despite Jada Pinkett Smith leading a boycott of the award show after the Academy didn't recognize Will Smith for his performance in Concussion, I like many other Black folk decided to tune in just because Chris Rock was the host and we knew he was gonna "bring the pain" about the continued exclusion of Blacks in Hollywood.  So because I had a pile of stuff to do on Sunday night, I ended up DVRing the Oscars.  However, Mrs. Scribbler watched it live and likened the reactions of many people in the audience to when we saw Precious and there were those hard-to-watch moments when people laughed awkwardly because they didn't know what other reaction to have.  That's what happened on Sunday night: Chris Rock incited a bunch of uncomfortable laughter with delayed responses like, "Ohhhhhhh...I get it."  So let's delve into the pieces of Rock's controversial monologue that stood out the most...

IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY, THEN YOU CAN'T BE REPRESENTED.  In a boycott near the Dolby Theater, Reverend Al Sharpton took aim at the movie industry for their lack of diversity, especially as it pertains to Black actors.  On top of listing snubbed movies like Straight Outta Compton, Beasts of No Nation and Concussion, Sharpton placed perspective on one of the most important objectives regarding the top nominees: "We're not saying who must win, but when you've been locked out of the process, then you are dealing with a systemic problem of exclusion."  Whelp, within just the first 90 minutes of the 88th Academy Awards, that problem was evident on a smaller scale as Kerry Washington, Michael B. Jordan, Priyanka Chopra and Chadwick Boseman were the only presenters of color who had appeared on the stage other than Chris Rock.  Meanwhile, Rock made this simple plea that echoed Sharpton's intent:

We want opportunity.  We want the Black actors to get the same opportunities as White actors, that's it.  Not just once.  Leo [DiCaprio] gets a great part every year and all you guys get great parts all the time, but what about the Black actors?  Look at Jamie Foxx.  Jamie Foxx is one of the best actors in the world.  Jamie Foxx was so good in Ray that they went to the hospital and unplugged the real Ray Charles!

Although Jamie Foxx has come up the ranks slowly but surely and Will Smith gets quality roles on a regular basis, it's not everyday that Idris Elba gets a role like Beasts of No Nation.  Let's not forget that a lot of people were opposed to him being the next James Bond simply because Bond, a fictional character, is not Black.  (Whole time, darn near every movie based upon the Holy Bible--an actual historic account--features White people who often have British accents.  However, I've already gone there, so I'll step off of that soapbox.)  So when you slay the role like nothing you've done before, it's a slap in the face when you can't even be included in the conversation of top nominees.  

Let's keep it even funkier for a second: I like a lot of Sylvester Stallone's movies.  Although I have to be in the mood for Rambo and Cobra gave me nightmares when I was seven, I watch Demolition Man every time it comes on and, of course, the Rocky series is among my favorites.  However, how in the world does Sly Stallone receive a nomination for Actor in a Supporting Role, but Michael B. Jordan doesn't receive one as a lead actor when everybody talked about his performance in Creed?  The movie focuses on Jordan's character, Adonis "Donnie" Johnson, so for him not to get any kind of nod is essentially telling him, "Ain't nobody comin' to see you, Otis!"  Jordan's rigorous dedication to readying himself for a role in one of the most heralded movie franchises ever and the most critically-acclaimed installment in years is proof that Black folks work harder than anyone else in the industry to deliver those revenue-garnering, memorable performances because the opportunities are few and far between.  Even when Black actors receive the opportunities, Black faces, talent and culture still aren't good enough to be rewarded with a simple nomination for one of the highest honors in the entertainment field.

"...JUST HAVE BLACK CATEGORIES LIKE BEST BLACK FRIEND."  Because America has the tendency to be so exclusive at the "highest" levels, the forgotten members of society often have no choice but to create their own vehicles for recognition.  That's part of the reason to still need the NAACP Image Awards or to create something like the All Def Movie Awards--the latter spearheaded by Russell Simmons to specifically recognize the accomplishments of Blacks in Hollywood.  Some people might say, "Well, since you already have your awards, what's the big deal if you don't get recognized at the Oscars?"  It's simple: if a production company or movie studio run by White people hires a Black actor for a film and said film is a critical and commercial success, then it shouldn't have to be a delineation on the basis of race.  The people who look like the ones who hired that actor should be the ones recognizing, nominating and awarding that individual; although I think that most people love when their "family" celebrates their achievements more than anyone else, it shouldn't have to be a need for separation.

So enter the referenced portion of Chris Rock's monologue, which is perhaps what not enough people are discussing for its comedic but candid brilliance:

If you want Black nominees every year, you need to just have Black categories...you already do it with men and women.  Think about it: there's no real reason for there to be a man and a woman category in acting...it's not track and field.  You don't have to separate 'em.  Robert De Niro's never said, "I better slow this acting down so Meryl Streep can catch up!"

Now many people with their panties in a bunch will probably decipher that as Rock saying that we should have separate categories in order for Black people to be nominated or win Oscars.  However, he is saying the converse of that: whether you're Black or White, man or woman, tall or short, slim or plus-sized, you're either good at acting, producing, directing, writing, editing, etc., or you're not...simple as that.  Rock's comments are a direct shot at the movie industry and the Academy, letting them know that there is no need to overtly even the playing field in a field that does not and should not need to be evened.  He's letting them know that America arrogantly touts itself as the greatest nation and one of the most evolved societies in the world, so this country's entertainment industry needs to stop insinuating that Black people or women need a head start from White people or men when it comes to acting.

"SORRY, BUT WE DON'T SERVE YOUR KIND HERE."  It has to be tough for Cheryl Boone Isaacs, President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, to be in her position.  As the first Black person to hold the position and only the third woman in the 88-year history of the Academy, there has to be a certain sense of helplessness because she may not be able to effectively twist the arms of these movie executives to be more diverse in their hiring practices throughout Hollywood.  I'm sure she's heard from so many people within the Black community as well as from other cultures, pleading with her to speak out about the lack of diversity in an industry that brought in over $88 billion worldwide.  Thus, her remarks toward the end of the broadcast were just as important as anything that Chris Rock said:

Our audiences are global and rich with diversity, and every facet of our industry should be as well.  Everyone in the Hollywood community has a role to play in bringing about the vital changes the industry needs so that we can accurately reflect the world today.  The Academy Board of Governors recently took concrete action and sent a message that inclusion only serves to make us all stronger...each of you is an ambassador who can influence others in the industry.  It's not enough to just listen and agree; we must take action.

While this was a welcomed and necessary moment in Isaacs' tenure as President of the Academy, Rock laid out what Hollywood still feels like to the average Black person before she said her piece:

But here's the real question...everybody wants to know in the world is 'is Hollywood racist'?  You gotta go at that the right way.  Is it burning cross racist?  No.  Is it fetch me some lemonade racist?  Nah, nah, nah, nah, it's a different type of racist.  Now I remember one night, I was at fundraiser for President Obama, a lot of you were there and it's me and all of Hollywood.  It's about four Black people there--me, Quincy Jones, Russell Simmons, ?uestlove.  You know, the usual suspects, right...and every Black actor that wasn't working.  Needless to say, Kev Hart was not there, okay?  So at some point, you get to take a picture with the President.  As they're setting up the picture, you get to have a moment with the President like, "Mr. President, you see all these writers and producers and actors?  They don't hire Black people...and they're the nicest White people on Earth.  They're liberals!"  Cheese!  Is Hollywood racist?  You damn right Hollywood's racist, but not "racist" that you've grown accustomed to.  Hollywood is sorority racist.  It's like, "We like you, Rhonda, but you're not a Kappa."

Now it's easy to focus on how Black actors, directors, producers and writers got faded when it came to the top nominations.  As much as a complaint can be made about Michael B. Jordan not receiving a nomination for Creed, the same can be said for the questionable snubbing of Ryan Coogler--who directed and co-wrote Creed's screenplay with Aaron Covington.  His snubbing came only a year after Ava DuVernay became the first Black woman director to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for Selma, which lost to Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).  In an industry where 94 percent of the film studio heads were White and 100 percent of them are male, film studio senior management was 92 percent White and 83 percent male, and film studio unit heads were 96 percent White and 61 percent male only three years ago, you don't need a Captain Obvious commercial to show you that Black people don't run Hollywood.  

Consequently, and unfortunately, the rest of Hollywood is merely a trickle-down effect from the lack of diversity in the leadership positions.  Consider this: not one single Black person accepted an award for acting, set design, fashion, makeup & hairstyling, cinematography, film editing, sound editing, sound mixing, visual effects, best original score or any other category.  Only The Weeknd was recognized during the broadcast as being nominated for "Earned It".  To further illustrate the point, I stumbled upon the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) website and checked out their "Creating Jobs" section.  In the featured photo from the set of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, not one person in the picture was Black or of any other racial minority.  Sure, Black people were somewhere on the set as Ving Rhames has been a steady in the franchise.  Nevertheless, that's basically the picture of Hollywood: one that often excludes those who aren't White men.  More important, beyond Black people not being nominated  or winning in some of these supportive positions, they're not being hired as frequently.  In an industry that grossed nearly $12 billion in 2015 and nearly $2 billion already in 2016, the exclusion in all areas hits Black people two places where it hurts the most: 1) their ability to gain specialized experience and 2) their pockets.  That's what makes Hollywood racist: the power to say who gets to eat indoors and who gets the scraps that not even Fido wants while eating said rejections in the doghouse.

"AND THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE REMARK OF THE NIGHT GOES TO..."  So if getting at the lack of diversity in Hollywood wasn't enough to make folks shift nervously in their chairs, Chris Rock delivered one of the biggest blows to American society as a whole: "Things are gonna be a little different at the Oscars.  This year, in the 'In Memoriam' package, it's just gonna be "Black people that were shot by the cops on their way to the movies'."  At no time during Rock's monologue was the awkwardness more apparent.  In fact, it took a while before anyone applauded and that even seemed shaky.  However, Rock's "joke" about the number of Black people who have died due to police brutality over the past several years sheds light upon the bigger issue: the need to stress that Black lives matter at every level of American society in lieu of taking the dismissive Donald Trump stance that "all lives matter".  (I wish I had more time to write about that debacle, but I digress for now.)  Black lives matter when just riding down the street, playing in a park or being in their own neighborhood, regardless of the actual or perceived activities in which someone engages.  Black lives matter in the 2016 presidential election, particularly with issues such as unemployment, small business opportunities, education and mass incarceration will actually be addressed or just glossed over; heck, Black lives matter when it comes to not being disenfranchised at the polls.  Similarly, Black lives matter with equal opportunity in the entire entertainment industry to not just be the "dance, monkey, dance" Black people, but to actually be difference makers and help change the culture in front of and behind the camera.  It's not to say that other groups of people don't experience discrimination; as evidenced several times in this post, women continue to be left out of the equation--especially Black women.  Nevertheless, as Roland Martin says nearly every morning on NewsOne Now and on The Roland Martin Show, Black people cannot be afraid to speak up for Black issues or say the word "Black".


We are 76 years removed from Hattie McDaniel--a woman who appeared in over 300 films, but only got credit for about 80--becoming the first Black person to win an Academy Award for her supporting role in Gone with the Wind while still having to sit at a separate table.  We are 52 years removed from Sidney Poitier becoming the first Black person to win an Oscar for Best Actor in Lillies of the Field.  We are 28 years removed from Eddie Murphy's speech during his presentation for Best Picture when he firmly said, "Black people will not ride the caboose of society and we will not bring up the rear anymore."  Unfortunately, we are only 20 years removed from the 68th Academy Awards aka the "Hollywood Blackout" when only one out of 166 nominations went to a Black person.  So while there have been slight improvements, Black people, minorities and women are still at a noticeable disadvantage when it comes to quality and meaningful opportunities.  While no one expected Chris Rock to solve all of the problems of the Black community in 10-15 minutes, he concluded Black History Month with an artfully clever diatribe aimed right at Hollywood.  Whether people chuckled out of understanding or uneasiness, Rock manifested that the exclusion of Blacks from key opportunities that can help broaden the perspective of American culture is truly a comedy of errors.  As with the performances of Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar on two of the biggest stages in American entertainment, I was overall pleased with how Chris Rock used his platform to bring awareness to one of our many issues.  Besides, anybody who comes out to Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" should automatically get two thumbs up as well as strike fear in the hearts of the obstinate who choose to cling to their good ol' boy politics as usual.  I just wish that he would've dropped the mic like he always does at the end of his routines because there's truly nothing else that needs to be said.  Hollywood, you're on notice...again.