Despite being the actor with the greatest total box office gross of all time (over $27 billion worldwide), Samuel L Jackson only won his first-ever Oscar award last weekend in a non-televised ceremony.
The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in the film industry. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious and significant awards in the entertainment industry worldwide.
Samuel L Jackson has appeared in more than 150 films throughout his lifetime. His notable credits include Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Deep Blue Sea, and Die Hard with a Vengeance, to name a few. He was nominated for the best supporting actor at the 1995 Academy Awards for his role in Pulp Fiction.
It’s difficult to understand how such an esteemed actor could win the prestigious award close to the end of his career. It cannot be an issue of the number of movies because then actors like Lupita Nyongo wouldn’t have won an Oscar after one movie (12 Years A Slave).
Is it an issue of race?
At the time of the #OscarsSoWhite uproar in 2015 and 2016, about the lack of nominees of colour, the Academy revealed that of its 6,000 members, 93 per cent were white and 76 per cent were men. The median age was 63.
The Academy announced it would double the number of women and minority members by 2020 to foster a more diverse environment.
Who determines the winners?
In 2021, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles had 9,487 voting members as of mid-January, according to its website.
Academy membership is divided into 17 branches of actors, directors, producers, costume designers etc. Candidates must be active or otherwise have “achieved distinction” in the industry.
Applicants must be sponsored by two Academy members representing their branch.
Oscar winners and nominees are automatically considered for membership and do not need sponsors.
Applications are reviewed once a year in the spring by the Academy’s Board of Governors, which has the final say on who joins the elite group.
Members used to enjoy voting rights for life but since 2016, “voting status” has been limited to 10 years, and is renewable, to avoid having voters who are no longer active in the business.
Lifetime voting rights only come after three 10-year terms. Those not active become “emeritus” members who cannot vote.
Members of each of the 17 branches pick the nominees in their area of expertise. The actors’ branch — the largest voting group — submits nominations for the acting categories, directors submit nominations for best director and so on.
Based on their voting systems, it seems that winners are chosen by masters of the entertainment industry. That says a lot about what Samuel L Jackson’s peers think about him.
Not making the cut over the years means that even though we might think his work was worth recognition earlier, the elite board at the Academy Awards may not share the same sentiments. Are the nominations completely bias-free? What criteria does one use to nominate?