The start of a new year in the entertainment industry is a time for awards shows galore. Artists, actors, producers, directors — all are celebrated in a slew of awards shows that draw millions of views on national television.

One of the most celebrated awards shows is the Academy Awards, or Oscars, in which the art of film is celebrated through awards such as Best Actor and Actress, Best Director and other prestigious honors. The show is a big red carpet event that draws in the most famous celebrities in the world, but this year could see a lot fewer faces than previous years.

The Academy recently came under fire after it was revealed that no actors or directors of color were nominated this year — again. Accusations of racism and a huge lack of diversity in the Academy led many to cry out on social media.

Prominent celebrities such as Will Smith, Spike Lee and Snoop Dogg refuse to have anything to do with this year’s awards show.

In a time where diversity is being pushed in almost every aspect of life, many believe the Academy, which is essentially a round table of old, white men who pick their favorite movies and actors, should catch up with the times.

Why is this a problem?

Granted, it could not hurt the Academy to diversify their lineup a bit. However, there does not seem to be any racism involved in this year’s nominations.

Depending on how seriously one takes the Oscars or any awards show in general, it seems as if many people simply do not care about this ordeal. It is trivial to say that the Oscars are just an awards show and do not have a massive influence — because they do, but at the same time, it is still just an awards show. Although the nomination process might be rigged or not diverse enough, it really does not matter who wins.

However, this is America, and we do have an issue with racial tensions here. No evidence has come out as to whether any of the Academy members are closet racists, but that is a possibility. I am no movie aficionado, and I have not seen many films this year, but I know that “Straight Outta Compton” was probably the most publicized movie about African Americans this year. That film is really the only prominently African-American film that got a decent Oscar nod.

This simply could be because there just were not that many good films with African-Americans starring in them this year. One would have to watch a lot of movies to figure that out.

The most convincing evidence I have seen showing that there is not too much of a problem with this situation is that African-Americans make up about 12 to 13 percent of the U.S. population, and over the recent years, about 15 percent of the major Oscar awards have gone to a black actor, actress or director. That seems to be pretty representative.

However, there is undoubtedly an issue in Hollywood with whitewashing and a lack of diversity, but boycotting the Oscars will not do too much to change that. Millions will still watch the Oscars and since they have already announced plans to diversify the Academy as soon as possible. Hopefully this will not be an issue next Oscars.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer and are not representative of The Slate or its staff as a whole.

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