If the Oscars were all about diversity, why the crude Asian joke?
By Jessica Contrera
February 29, 2016 at 12:12 AM
It seemed we were talking about diversity about every five minutes at the Oscars.
Chris Rock opened his monologue by saying he’d never be the host if he had to be nominated for the job. We all got the joke — Chris Rock is black, and for the second year in the row, not a single actor nominated for an Oscar was black.
But they also weren’t Asian or Latino. Representation is a problem in Hollywood for all minorities, but all night long, the show’s jokes focused almost entirely on the problem as it pertains to black people.
During a sketch in which Rock altered top movies to include actors of color, he chose Whoopi Goldberg, Leslie Jones and Tracy Morgan. Stacey Dash wished everyone a happy Black History Month. Kevin Hart joked, wasn’t it about time they put him in the front row?
There was a lack of diversity in the lack of diversity. This became most apparent when Rock brought three Asian children to the stage, posing as “bankers” from finance firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
“They sent us their most dedicated, accurate and hard working representatives,” he said. “Please welcome Ming Zhu, Bao Ling and David Moskowitz.”
Chris Rock presents children representing “accountants from PricewaterhouseCoopers.” (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)
“If anybody’s upset about that joke, just tweet about it on your phone that was also made by these kids,” he continued.
And many people were upset, because the only mention of Asians was a stereotype about their smarts and a light-hearted reference to child labor.
There was even less attention on Hispanic actors, who are twice as under-represented as black actors at the Oscars, as Washington Post writer Dan Zak pointed out in this examination of why diversity is complicated in Hollywood.
Over the past 30 years, there were 17 nominated performances by Hispanics — if you include foreign film stars such as Demián Bichir (Mexico) and Catalina Sandino Moreno (Colombia) — and that’s way out of step with the general population trend of the United States:
Alejandro Iñárritu summarized the way many audience members were feeling when he took the stage to accept his Best Director award. Iñárritu, who became the first director to win two years in a row since 1950, said now is the time to make sure there is so much diversity, it no longer matters.
“What a great opportunity to our generation, to really liberate yourself from all prejudice and this tribal thinking and make sure for once and forever that the color of skin becomes as irrelevant as the length of our hair.”
Host Chris Rock kicked the show Sunday off with a sharp monologue about #OscarsSoWhite. Black people did not protest [at previous awards shows]. Why? Because we had real things to protest at the time. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)Rock devoted nearly all of his irreverent opening monologue to the subject of race. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)Screenwriter Josh Singer, left, and screenwriter-director Tom McCarthy accept the best original screenplay award for "Spotlight." (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)Screenwriter Charles Randolph, left, and screenwriter-director Adam McKay accept the best adapted screenplay award for "The Big Short." In his acceptance speech, McKay warned the audience, "if you dont want big money to control government, dont vote for candidates that take money from big banks, oil or weirdo billionaires. Stop!" (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)"Clueless" actress turned Fox News correspondent Stacey Dash made a surprise appearance on stage, exclaiming, "Happy Black History Month!" She made controversial statements previously saying that Black History Month should not exist. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)Sarah Silverman came on stage, admitting that she was going to say whatever came to mind, which included claiming she slept with James Bond. Next, she introduced Sam Smith, singing a song from "Spectre," the latest in the Bond film series. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Actress Alicia Vikander accepts the best supporting actress award for "The Danish Girl," beating out Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rachel McAdams, Rooney Mara and Kate Winslet. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)"Mad Max: Fury Road" swept up awards early for costume design, production design, sound editing, sound mixing, film editing, and makeup and hairstyling. Here, costume designer Jenny Beavan accepts her award. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)"Us Mad Maxers are doing okay tonight," Margaret Sixel said as she picked up another Oscar for the action movie in the best film editing category. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)Host Chris Rock introduced these presenters as "Rachel McAdams and the should've been nominee Michael B. Jordan." (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)Emmanuel Lubezki accepts the award for best cinematography for The Revenant." It was his third consecutive Oscar. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)Chris Rock sells Girl Scout cookies to the audience. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)Mark Rylance accepts the best supporting actor award for his role in Bridge of Spies. He beat out Sylvester Stallone, who was favored for his reprisal of Rocky Balboa in Creed. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)Louis C.K. introduced the winner of best documentary short by saying, "These people, all they've got is this Oscar and they're going home in a Honda Civic. ... It's going to give them anxiety to keep it in their crappy apartment." Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won the award for "A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness." (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)Producer Jonas Rivera, left, and director Pete Docter accept the award for best animated feature film for "Inside Out." (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)Vice President Biden got a standing ovation as he introduced a performance by Lady Gaga of "Til It Happens To You," from the film "The Hunting Ground," about sexual assault at universities. (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)Lady Gaga sings her Oscar-nominated song "Til It Happens to You." (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)Jimmy Napes, left, and Sam Smith accept the award for best original song for Writings on the Wall from "Spectre." "I stand here tonight as a proud gay man, and I hope we can all stand together as equals one day," Smith said. (Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)Brie Larson accepts the award for best actress for the drama Room." (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)Actor Leonardo DiCaprio gets a standing ovation as he accepts the award for best actor for his role in "The Revenant." (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)"Climate change is real it is happening right now," DiCaprio said in his acceptance speech. "It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating." (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)Alejandro G. Inarritu accepts the award for best director for The Revenant." "What a great opportunity to our generation, to really liberate ourselves from all prejudice and this tribal thinking, and make sure for once and forever that the color of the skin become as irrelevant as the length of our hair," he said. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)The cast of "Spotlight" reacts after winning the award for best picture. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)The production team and cast of Spotlight celebrate winning the award for best picture. "It's time to protect the children and restore the faith," producer Michael Sugar said during his acceptance speech. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)"Buy some Girl Scout cookies. Black lives matter," Chris Rock said to conclude the show. (At right, actor Michael Keaton, part of the cast of Spotlight.) (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)
Photo Gallery: Memorable moments from the 2016 Academy Awards