Have you heard the news?  All 20 Oscar nominees in the acting categories are white!  There’s even a Twitter hashtag called #OscarsSoWhite.  Now Spike Lee, Jada Pinkett Smith, Viola Davis, Michael Moore, and other race-conscious glitterati have announced that they will not be attending Hollywood’s most prestigious ceremony on February 28.

What message does this send to the nominees whose exceptional work is supposed to be celebrated by all?  Is everyone else at the awards ceremony now expected to take his cue from race-baiting crybabies and forgo congratulating this year’s winners?

To make matters worse, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who is black, had the audacity to say that she was “heartbroken and frustrated” over the lack of diversity among this year’s nominees.  For the second year in a row, too many whiteys were voted in by the Academy’s reported 6,261 voting membership, of which the majority is supposedly white, though its overall composition remains unclear.  Because of this, the Academy members have already been called a bunch of racists.  But is this really all there is to the story?

As is the case with all propaganda, especially in Hollywood, you have to read between the lines.

Are this year’s nominees worthy of Oscar nods?  Of course they are, as long as you take into account the fact that each year somebody has to win, regardless of how good or bad the choices are.  But that’s not the question everyone should be asking.  The right question is, “Why isn’t anyone crying foul over the lack of quality performances overall, which is the real point?”  Nevertheless, race-conscious elites can’t help but just hold up diversity (aka color) as a moral virtue, even though their diversity is based on a superficial attribute that has nothing to do with the value of an individual’s talent.

“You can’t vote for an actor because he’s black,” said two-time Oscar-winning actor Michael Caine.  And as director John Singleton put it, “there are only so many slots” for nominations.  Singleton earned a Best Director nomination for Boyz n the Hood (1991). 

Then there’s British actress and Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling, who said all this protesting of white nominees is “racist to white people.”  Naturally, this sent liberals into their default meltdown mode.  That’s because her comments contradict P.C. “truth.”  In an effort to silence her, the perpetually outraged pummeled Rampling with all sorts of mob vitriol, inducing her to do a little backpedal and claim she was “misunderstood.”

Academy president Isaacs has promised “big changes” that will include “an ambitious, global campaign to identify and recruit qualified new members who represent greater diversity.”  Qualified?  In other words, expect more social engineering shenanigans in Hollywood.

Perhaps Isaacs and the rest of the race-conscious glitterati should try to expand their own narrow vision of diversity, which is deeply at odds with treating individuals like individuals, each with a unique mind, talent, and dedication.  This would be a good first step to maintain the integrity of the Oscars, let alone the Academy.  Otherwise, what’s the point of giving out awards?

As for the Oscars ceremony itself, not only are celebrities boycotting, but Al Sharpton has asked Americans to “tune out” from watching the televised Oscars in protest.  Here’s a real news flash: Americans started tuning out a long time ago – not because of the lack of diversity, but because of the lack of entertainment.  People are no longer interested in watching self-absorbed elites use the Oscars as an opportunity to jump on their personal political soapboxes and spew out their twisted Hollywood values.

Take two-time Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning actress Viola Davis.  She has encouraged this year’s Oscar host, Chris Rock, to take advantage of his position to make “a social statement about change.”  Needless to say, we can always count on a real racist like the flagrant Chris Rock to do just that, complete with all the #OscarsSoWhite jokes imaginable. 

Hmm…no thanks.

Kimberly holds a doctorate in cultural anthropology.  She is the author of a forthcoming book, a behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood’s race politics.  You can find her writing about Hollywood, education, and culture at SnoopingAnthropologist.com.