Heh. I thought I was going crazy (0.00 / 0)

I tried to count them (before reading the full post) in my head and couldn't get to 10 winners.

Yeah it's a lot more acceptable to give an oscar for a dirty cop, good performance but not as good as his performance in Malcolm X, than it is to give one for a really scary black dude who has been reduced to "the guy who hated white people" by our history.  

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by: illlaw @ Sun Feb 24, 2008 at 12:15:06 PM CST

Oops is right. (0.00 / 0)

With four black winners in the last seven years, you predict that it will take 43 years to produce 5 more. Not a statistics major?

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by: Joe Felice @ Sun Feb 24, 2008 at 13:32:36 PM CST

I mean, come on (0.00 / 0)

The Cubs have won the baseball championships, what, 7 of the last 32 years, and you say they suck?  (NL championship -- 1876, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1885; World Series -- 1907, 1908)

Statistics much?

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by: Twin Planets @ Sun Feb 24, 2008 at 13:46:56 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Let's see (0.00 / 0)

About one out of 7 or 8 people in this country is black, so we should hope/expect out of the four categories of best (supporting) actor(ess) someone black would win about every other year.  Going back historically, clearly this was not the case.  Just looking at this century, though, I see four winners in eight years.  So, where's the problem?

On the other hand, there are slightly more Latinos in this country than blacks.  Let's see if there is an issue, there.  Now, I don't really follow Hollywood and am just going by sir names, but I see:

2000: Benicio Del Toro

Ah, that's it.

Perhaps, Latino representation is the bigger problem in Hollywood.

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by: Mark Matson @ Sun Feb 24, 2008 at 14:48:56 PM CST

There is no "bigger" or "smaller" problem (0.00 / 0)

It's a lack of representation across the board.  

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by: BlueLake @ Sun Feb 24, 2008 at 22:06:48 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Supporting actors... (4.00 / 1)

There've been considerably more black winners of supporting actor/actress

1939 - Hattie McDaniel in Gone with the Wind (yes, I know)
1982 - Louis Gossett, Jr., in An Officer and a Gentleman
1989 - Denzel Washington in Glory
1990 - Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost (Really??)
1996 - Cuba Gooding, Jr., in Jerry Maguire
2004 - Morgan Freeman in Million Dollar Baby
2006 - Jennifer Hudson in Dream Girls

For Latinos, we shouldn't forget Rita Moreno in West Side Story

In terms of nominations, since 2000, there've been a fair number -

2001 - Denzel Washington, Training Day; Halle Berry, Monster's Ball
2002 - Queen Latifah, Chicago
2003 - Djimon Hounsou, In America
2004 - Jamie Foxx, Ray; Jamie Foxx, Collateral; Sophie Okonedo, Hotel Rwanda; Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby; Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda
2005 - Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow
2006 - Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland; Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond; Eddie Murphy, Dream Girls; Jennifer Hudson, Dream Girls; Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
2007 - Ruby Dee, American Gangster

There's 20 nominations each year, so, from 2000-2007 there have been 160 total acting nominations.  16 of these have gone to black actors and actresses.  That's 10% - i.e., about what you'd expect based on the population.

There have been 36 winners in 2000-2006.  Of these, six have been won by African Americans - that's 17%, i.e., rather higher than the percentage of blacks in the overall population.

Obviously, this has historically been a problem, but it really does seem to be getting better.

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by: jlkenney @ Sun Feb 24, 2008 at 17:41:55 PM CST

Get Real (0.00 / 0)

The greater role and increased screen presence for blacks in movies has been quite impressive. Starting from comedy based film careers with Whoopi and Eddie Murphy, up through the Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Forrest Whitaker and Wesley Snipes. Between films like House Party, Spike Lee's, the new "Be Kind, Rewind" and others, there's been significantly more black influence in movie creativity.

Instead of this pretty poor, self-pitying list of best actors/actresses, you could have taken the chance to write about what blacks have done and are doing in Hollywood.

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by: Desider @ Sun Feb 24, 2008 at 23:47:09 PM CST

Halle Berry (0.00 / 0)

She was sensational in Monster's Ball and since has played a lot of pretty girl roles.  Much of the same might be said about Angela Bassett.  After What's Love Got to Do With It what is she doing?

Lawrence Fishburne did such a great job playing Ike Turner that he probably hurt his career.  

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by: David Kowalski @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 12:43:16 PM CST

Re: Diversity (0.00 / 0)

For the 2007 movies (2008 Oscars), "foreign" was the new "black."  None of the acting award winners were American.  Personally, I'd like to see more Asian and Asian-American actors in the running next year...

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by: elayneriggs @ Tue Feb 26, 2008 at 12:02:13 PM CST