DC Trawler

Michael Caine Judges Actors By Individual Merit, Which Is Somehow Racist

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It’s 2016. Isn’t it about time a black person won an Academy Award?

Well, okay, black people have won Academy Awards.* But shouldn’t black people be nominated every time the awards are held? And don’t say, “Leave us alone, we picked a black guy already,” because that makes you sound like the 2016 Democrats.

Charlotte Rampling, who’s nominated this year for her role in a movie you haven’t seen, made the mistake of saying the #OscarsSoWhite boycott campaign is racist. Sure, it’s literally true that demanding concessions based on race is racist, but that doesn’t mean she should say it.

And now one of her fellow Caucasian actors has shocked the world by uttering another forbidden truth. As Christopher Rosen at Entertainment Weekly reports:

In an interview with Nick Robinson for BBC Radio 4, Caine was asked about “the argument going on in Hollywood at the moment, that not enough black actors – in fact, none – have been nominated for this year’s Oscars.”

“Yeah, but there’s loads of black actors,” Caine responded. “You can’t vote for an actor because he’s black. You can’t just say, ‘I’m going to vote for him. He’s not very good, but he’s black. I’ll vote for him.’ You have to give a good performance.”

Caine is absolutely right, of course. #OscarsSoWhite is demanding that Academy voters base their nominations on color, not talent. It’s ridiculous and irrational, because racism is ridiculous and irrational.

But in the Orwellian hellscape that is 2016, refusing to divide people by race is “racist.”

Etc.

Have any of this year’s nominees apologized yet? Sure, they may have worked hard to get where they are, and they may believe they deserve the praise they’re given, but shouldn’t they feel guilty just for being born? Shouldn’t they apologize for things they didn’t do? How dare they be so… so… white?!?

I made this suggestion last year, when the #OscarsSoWhite nonsense first took off:

So far, they haven’t listened. Come on, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: Do the right thing.

*Not Kevin Hart, but maybe next year.