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In an interview with Margaret Hoover on ‘Firing Line’, Richard Dreyfuss claimed the new Oscars diversification standards make him “vomit”. The actor, who won an Academy Award for his role in “The Goodbye Girl”, expressed how the Academy should focus on the quality of work rather than the ethnicity of the movie and/or actors. His comments sparked a heated debate, with many calling his opinions outdated and insensitive.
Discrimination, he called it. Dreyfuss believes that the new diversification standards discriminate against white actors and filmmakers. While inclusivity in the Academy Award has been long called upon, many have defended Richard’s freedom of speech, and others called it ignorance towards diversity.
As the Oscars stated, films that do not represent minor communities in their films will not be eligible for Best Picture nomination. While it is true to focus mainly on the quality of talent when it comes to award shows, no one opts for a completely white cast anymore, as it will take away from the depth of the characters and/or premise. Let’s take a look at what Richard Dreyfuss said and the uproar it started.
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Everything We Know About The Controversy
Richard Dreyfuss strongly believes that creativity and artistic talent should not be decided by today’s “moral” idea. He claims that no one’s really risking hurting people’s feelings and that no one can “legislate” that nonetheless. “You have to let life be life,” said Richard, adding that there is no group in the country that deserves to be catered like that.
With the intention of giving more opportunities to under-represented groups, the Academy Awards initiated four rules for a film to be eligible for the Best Picture nomination. However, only 2 of those rules need to be fulfilled. The four standards are explained as:
- increasing on-screen representation, themes, or narrative
- ensuring diverse leadership and department heads
- provide industry opportunities to the under-represented population
- expanding representation in audience development
These under-represented groups include women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities.
Dreyfuss made things worse when he defended Laurence Oliver’s (a white man) blackface in Shakespeare’s Othello. Praising Oliver’s acting in the play, he proceeded to say, “Am I being told that I will never have a chance to play a Black man”, basically implying he supports blackface and sees nothing wrong with it. He believes actors should be able to play any role they desire, irrespective of their backgrounds.
When Hoover brought up the history of slavery, racism and discrimination, Dreyfuss emphasized that there shouldn’t be any sensitivity around those topics because it’s “patronizing”. He mentions that people are too sensitive and can’t handle their feelings hurt and no industry should cater to that. I hope Mr. Dreyfuss knows that slavery and racism go beyond “hurting people’s feelings”.
Critics say this new feature is just a political move to regain the lost Academy Awards viewers and followers after it received backlash for having a 99% of white employees in every management department. With Dreyfuss against this movement, you would expect him to speak out on the controversies surrounding black people, such as the #BLM movement. However, Richard hasn’t issued any statement in support of it, nor has he spoken out about it.
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I support Oscar’s initiative to include more talent from different backgrounds and give them a chance to achieve success. Though Richard’s statements support merit over inclusivity, we cannot deny that the entertainment industry needs to do more to ensure all voices are heard. Don’t you think varied perspectives in the film-making field will only make the films more in-depth? Let us know what you think of this controversy!
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