Firstly, I don't
quite see the point of boycotting the Oscars ala Will and Jada. I think awards shows are a great platform to speak your mind and represent yourself. By not showing up they are depriving themselves not only of the opportunity to tell the large audience that will be watching their thoughts on the matter, but also to represent and promote their own projects that weren't nominated.
That said, I understand where Jada is coming from and she is not the only one frustrated by the deplorable lack of diversity represented in shows like the Oscars!
I believe the #1 problem is that there are too few opportunities for people of color in Hollywood. Even right now everyone mainly mentions Straight Outta Compton, Beasts of No Nation and Creed as the films that should have been nominated in more categories and I just think... Really??? There are something like 50+ films nominated this year and only THREE showcase people of color in roles worthy of an Oscar?? And that's not even just on screen, but behind the camera as well?? That's insane to me, and I think it needs to be rectified ASAP.
Next, I think that Academy voters need to watch more movies. When the majority of movies with POC casts (that they seem to nominate for Oscars anyway) are about slavery, I think that says something about the mentality of the average Academy voter. White guilt, perhaps? And I just read an article today that talked about how Academy voters haven't necessarily even seen all of the films in a given category when they vote... Um, what?? How can you judge which film is best if you haven't even seen all the choices??
TV is making waayyy larger steps in terms of diversity; just look at recent shows like Sense8, How To Get Away With Murder, or Quantico, which showcase racially diverse casts and characters of different sexualities and backgrounds without having the single defining storyline of a character center around their so-called "minority" as though that's all they have to offer. I am not in favor of quotas, don't get me wrong, but it amazes me that even in programs that take place in 2016, it's assumed during casting that a character is white and straight unless otherwise specified, as though everything is a period drama from like the 1800s or something.
I loved how Viola Davis commented in her 2015 Emmys acceptance speech for Best Actress in a Drama, "You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there." That seems to be true for award shows across the board.
And that is my two cents.
