Will Ethnicity Affect The Oscars?

I know it's sort of an on-and-off subject of the Oscars, but once in awhile ethnicity comes into play when people do and don't win Oscars.  Had Steven Spielberg not directed "The Color Purple" I'm convinced the film would have won Best Picture that year (as well as a bunch of other awards).  By the time Halle Berry won her Best Actress Oscar in 2000 there was word that a black person was long overdue for another Oscar win (the last won to win was Whoopi Goldberg for Best Supporting Actress in"Ghost").  Berry I can understand winning, but Denzel Washington for "Training Day?"  Hey, I love Washington, but that was NOT one of his more memorable movies!  In 2003 when three actors were favored to win Oscars (of which two did) it was purely for quality work, so sometimes the craft plays a crucial role in things.

This year is shaping up to be ethnically political.  First up we have "Precious" that is a Best Picture favorite.  The movie in limited release has gotten rave reviews, is making very good money, and it has the combined support of Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry.  This would be good merits on the films chances as it is, but then you have to factor in that a movie starring mostly black people and (more importantly) that are about the black culture has yet to win.  "The Color Purple" lost, a good portion of black people find "Driving Miss Daisy" to be offensive, and great movies about black people like "Do The Right Thing," "Malcom X," and "Dreamgirls" weren't even nominated.  With all that in mind, "Precious" stands out to me as being a favorite to win the top prize (though Best Director I'm not as sure).

Denzel Washington in his Oscar-winning role for "Training Day."

And folks, don't get me wrong: "Precious" is one of the best films of the year and I would have little problem with it winning.  The only thing I'm contemplating this is because it's been a sore spot for many that a movie made by black people and starring black people has yet to win Best Picture.  So the sudden success of such a movie that has award potential makes this a big one for people who have such concerns with the Academy.  However that's not the main reason I'm writing this article.  I'm writing because recently I saw a wonderful movie called "Skin" directed by Anthony Fabian.  Now "Skin" is a small movie that was released under-the-radar, but I'm sure this movie will be discussed in the public very soon.

I also believe that should the movie catch on with the public then Sophie Okonedo and Sam Neill will be favorites to be nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.  The story is based off the true story of Sandra Laing, a girl born to white parents in South Africa but was classified black because of her darker skin.  Her parents were not liberal.  Though they loved their daughter very much they never saw her as black, and her father in particular had PROBLEMS with black people!  Her story is almost so surreal it's difficult to believe.  Should this film catch on race will be a big discussion point for many people, and should it get big enough it will probably trickle into the Oscar race.  It's happened before and it will happen again.  I hope it doesn't though.  Nothing ruins the award race like discussions of ethnicity, and no topics ruins the awards more.

Sophie Okonedo as Sandra Laing in "Skin."

Because once these discussions start and they spiral out of control you see people, scripts, and films being awarded/not awarded Oscars for reasons other then quality.  Right now with the new ten rule the race is looking interesting, and "Precious" does seem like a logical choice for the big prize, but if a better movie is released I don't want their to be pressure on the Academy to award "Precious" just because a black film has yet to win this award.