Another year, another very, very white Oscars. Though Creed, Beasts of No Nation, Straight Outta Compton, and Chi-Raq were some of 2015’s most critically acclaimed films, none of the black artists who made them are to be found among the Academy’s nominees.
Still, as The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah and Roy Wood Jr. note above, said films’ snubbing can be very easily explained: They all lacked the few vital ingredients the Academy looks for when recognizing black art. For instance: a Negro spiritual. Or: a mention of slavery. Or, best of all, moving sequences that reinforce just how badly blacks suffered in America forty, fifty, and a hundred years ago. Come for the sharp, scathing takedown of Academy pandering; stay for the Oscar-tailored trailer for Straight Outta Cotton.
