Oh god, the whole freaking movie was racist IMO. "The Help" was a freaking white woman. Ugh. Does no one see how awful this book was? The whole thing makes me so uncomfortable. The way that everyone was patting themselves on the back for giving Octavia Spencer the Oscar was so cringe-inducing...the standing ovation...when really they were just applauding themselves for being magnanimous enough to give a black woman an Oscar. Ick ick ick.

I am not the only person who feels this way, am I?

And, yeah Paltrow receiving an award for Shakespear in Love was crappy. Shakespear in Love winning over Saving Private Ryan was a joke at its worst. People just cannot take these awards seriously. Perhaps Viola deserved the win, I don't know, maybe she did maybe she didn't. Is Hollywood racist. Most definitely. However, that still does not equate that her failure to receive the award was due to her race and not Hollywood's tradition of Hollywood politics. If Viola deserved the win this year, Hollywood will make up for it in another year for a performance for which V Davis does not deserve to win. Just look at Pacino, Denzel, Newman, Golberg, and others.

Anonymous wrote:Actors and actresses get robbed all the time at the Oscars.

Paltow over Cate Blanchette? That's when I realized it was all about politics and PR. That was the same year Dame Judi Dench got Best Supporting Actress for her 7 minute role in that movie. She didn't get the award for that movie. She got the award because the Academy voters realized how long overdue she was.

I think I have always known it was BS politics, but it was crystalized when Whoopie Golberg was overlooked for best supporting as Celie in Color Purple. She played the heck out of that role in CP, but received the award for her acting in Ghost. Heck, she played herself in Ghost and no acting was required. I think that the Academies realized that Whoopie was overlooked for her powerful performance in the Color Purple and attempted to make up for it in the latter movie. The entire boring thing is just a bunch of people giving a big party to self-congratulate themselves anyway.

PP here. And besides, Viola should be sighing in relief. That Best Actress curse is very real. She narrowly avoided it.

Actors and actresses get robbed all the time at the Oscars.

Paltow over Cate Blanchette? That's when I realized it was all about politics and PR. That was the same year Dame Judi Dench got Best Supporting Actress for her 7 minute role in that movie. She didn't get the award for that movie. She got the award because the Academy voters realized how long overdue she was.

No. She wasn't robbed. She was not entitled to it. All of the actresses nominated gave amazing performances.

am I the only one that hated The Help? I liked the book ok-not my fav but ok. I couldn't make it 30 minutes into the movie-boring!

Anonymous wrote:Oscar voters overwhelmingly white, male

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/academy/la-et-unmasking-oscar-academy-project-html,0,7473284.htmlstory

I think this is the answer. Most voters only vote in their category (i.e. sound editors only vote for the award in sound editing), but everyone votes in the acting awards. Most voters are old white guys that probably didn't like the Help, which seems like a chickflick. That probably hurt Viola Davis, because voters aren't likely to vote for actors in movies they didn't like. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of them didn't even bother seeing the movie, especially if they are busy working on a movie right now. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch didn't see either movie and voted for Streep based on reputation.

Didn't take the time to read everyone's comments, nor did I see the other movies, but when I watched The Help, I couldn't help think Viola's performance was worthy of an Academy award, and I don't see how anyone can say otherwise. Not that it should matter, but as a white male, I think she was robbed. You just don't see those kind of performances that often. To say it wasn't worthy of an Oscar is wrong any way you look at it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm AA too and disagree PP. The movie industry racist and sexist industries I've ever been part of and I'm no Al Sharpt

Black man here. So Hollywood made a movie about AA maids. It was celebrated, received multiple Oscar nominations, made a lot of money, won best support actress but since Viola Davis didn't win Best Actress, its racist? I'm not trying to say that there isn't racial and gender bias in Hollywood. But using Viola Davis not winning Best Actress is not a reason to scream racism. Save that for something more important.

Crying racism at insignificant events (like the Oscars) belittles the true claims that "regular" people have in their everyday lives. It's like the "Boy who cried wolf".

For my AA friends that have been toiling for years out in LA for them it's not insignificant or crying wolf - it's just more salt in the wound. They care deeply about how AAs are portrayed but they can't get their stories told. Look at all the garbage freaking George Lucas went through to get Red Tails made. It's incredibly difficult for minorities to be recognized in the movie industry - you can't compare it to any other industry or field.

Re: Does anyone think Viola Davis was robbed of her Oscar?

Yes, if the Oscars are based on a quota system like the college admissions.
No, if the award is based on merit. Meryl was just much better. Acceptance!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well I'll just throw my hat into the ring of AAs adding their opinion.

There is racism in Hollywood, the Oscars are racially biased, but I don't think Viola not getting this Oscar was because of racism. I'm glad she didn't win, actually, because I think the reason so many people love The Help is for racially prejudiced but subconscious reasons.

AA here. That's a great one! Maybe The Help was a reference to what you need.

Your post really adds to the discussion.

Meryl is IMHO the best actress of our time. I hardly think meryl winning means Viola Davis was "robbed". Meryl has lost far more times thsn she has won to lesser actresses and lesser performances. The academy also alway favors actors performances who portray real people.. Both male and female.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well I'll just throw my hat into the ring of AAs adding their opinion.

There is racism in Hollywood, the Oscars are racially biased, but I don't think Viola not getting this Oscar was because of racism. I'm glad she didn't win, actually, because I think the reason so many people love The Help is for racially prejudiced but subconscious reasons.

AA here. That's a great one! Maybe The Help was a reference to what you need.

But The Help is a great movie! I posted earlier about Rooney Mara. I've seen The Help 3 times and NEVER fell asleep. Once by myself then on a plane and with family. 3 times and Viola Davis was good but not great. Octavia was great! Stole the show. She was nominated for supporting but took over the movie-felt like the lead. Sure Streep was a sentimental favorite but she could have come off like a Sat night live parody or The Queen in Alice in Wonderland.

Anonymous wrote:Well I'll just throw my hat into the ring of AAs adding their opinion.

There is racism in Hollywood, the Oscars are racially biased, but I don't think Viola not getting this Oscar was because of racism. I'm glad she didn't win, actually, because I think the reason so many people love The Help is for racially prejudiced but subconscious reasons.

Thank you for saying this. I feel the same way, but as a Caucasian woman, have felt that it wasn't politically correct enough to say. Loved Viola Davis's' performance, but just felt that there was something wrong with the movie. Never read the book.