So if the Oscars in the future nominate a "token" black actor, there would be no boycott?

[davidn3600]

It seems to me all that will come from this "boycott" is tokenism.

The Academy not having very many blacks nominated is a symptom of a larger problem in Hollywood as a whole. Attacking the symptom is not going to solve the problem.

The studio executives, producers, directors, writers, casting/talent companies are all almost entirely controlled by whites. The Academy is simply made up of people mostly from these categories. So a boycott of the Academy awards is going to solve absolutely nothing. It will not effect the wallets of the big Hollywood decision-makers. The only type of boycott that will is a boycott of movies. You need to stop watching movies. Which will be a boycott easier said than done. But right now the people at the top are making massive loads of money under the current formula. They ultimately see no reason to change it.

[lame54]

1. I think you are missing the point...

Many believe that there are black performers who legitimately deserve to be on the list

Picking a black actor who has given one of the best performances of the year would not make him a token

[davidn3600]

2. But that is purely subjective

Lots of white actors and directors get snubbed routinely. An Oscar snub is routine in that town.

And everyone has different opinions and tastes in movies and acting. Award shows for what is essentially an art form is always going to have controversy because art is always judged in the eye of the beholder. Some people love Will Smith...but to be honest, I don't. I think he's overrated and never cared for his movies. That's just simply my opinion of an art.

And I am not surprised a movie like "Straight Outta Compton" got snubbed. It's not a Oscar-movie. The Oscars have a strange litmus test on the type of movies that would be qualified to receive a best picture award. Some movies are Oscar material, most are not.

[lame54]

5. the oscar choices are often challenged because it is objective but...

2 years in a row a black actor is not considered in any category is statistically against the odds

[Lizzie Poppet]

11. That's not an objective matter, though.

Moreover, the Oscars have always been to a large degree a matter of Hollywood politics. Yes, many deserving (in my view) performances by black actors have been ignored...far more, IMO, than mediocre ones that have been unjustly rewarded (hi there, Halle Berry...). But after this latest blow-up, you can bet there will be some added to the latter category. Hopefully that'll be offset by recognition of some in the former category, as well.

Of course, those stellar black performances are also going to have to come in an "Oscar bait" film. The handful of formulas for that are well-known in the industry and awards in the major categories almost never go to anything else these days.

[Depaysement]

3. That's pretty close to impossible

The talent pool for actors of color is . . . enormous.

[FLPanhandle]

4. Alas, from now on any black actor awarded the Oscar will be consider the "affirmative action" winner

That will be the public perception because of this.

[mainer]

7. The Academy isn't the problem so much as casting directors and studio execs

If there were more roles for black actors, there'd be more chances for great performances and nominations.

[marmar]

8. The problem with that logic is that it assumes there weren't any Oscar-worthy performances.....

...... by black actors. Look at the films released last year. Trust me. There were.

[narnian60]

9. Totally agree.

[Orsino]

10. It's more than an issue of who gets nominated.

A boycott ought to force cages in who gets a vote, and ultimately in who gets to make movies.

[pinboy3niner]

12. Academy Board Endorses Changes to Increase Diversity in Oscar Nominees and Itself

By MICHAEL CIEPLYJAN. 22, 2016

LOS ANGELES — Confronting a fierce protest over a second straight year of all-white Oscar acting nominations, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said on Friday that it would make radical changes to its voting requirements, recruiting process and governing structure, with an aim toward increasing the diversity of its membership.

The changes were approved at an unusual special meeting of the group’s 51-member governing board Thursday night. The session ended with a unanimous vote to endorse the new processes, but action on possible changes to Oscar balloting was deferred for later consideration. The board said its goal was to double the number of female and minority members by 2020.

...

Ava DuVernay, who was not nominated last year for her direction of the best picture nominee “Selma,” declined to comment on the changes, but tweeted the academy’s letter, and added, “One good step in a long, complicated journey for people of color + women artists.”

...

Stephanie Allain, a producer of “Beyond the Lights” (2014) and “Hustle & Flow” (2005) and a member of the academy, said she was elated, especially with the addition of three members to Board of Governors who, she assumed, would be women or people of color.

“The world is watching, basically, so what are we going to do?” said Ms. Allain, who is black. “Are we going to do the right thing? And I think that we have.”

...

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/23/business/media/oscars-diversity-academy-voting-rules.html?_r=0

Letter sent by the Academy:
https://www.oscars.org/news/academy-takes-historic-action-increase-diversity