The Weekend's Most Impassioned Awards Show Speeches Were Not at the Oscars
Sunday's Academy Awards were marked by a slew of powerful, politically charged speeches. Patricia Arquette advocated for equal pay, Laura Poitras championed freedom of speech, John Legend spoke about the oppression of black men 50 years after the march depicted in Selma, best picture winner (and Mexico native) Alejandro González Iñárritu called for respect for immigrants, and The Imitation Game writer Graham Moore devoted his speech to awareness of depression and suicide.
But even before Hollywood's biggest and brightest—or as Oscars host Neil Patrick Harris put it, "whitest"—night of the year, two other industry awards shows set a high bar for politically -infused acceptance speeches. They may not have been as glamorous or as widely viewed as the Oscars, but the Film Independent Spirit Awards and the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards, both held Saturday in Los Angeles, saw impassioned acceptance speeches about the need for diversity in Hollywood.
For good reason: Minorities directed just 12.2 percent of major films and nabbed 10.5 percent of lead movie roles in 2011, despite accounting for about 36.3 percent of the U.S. population, according to a 2014 report by UCLA’s Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies.
In case you missed the live broadcasts on IFC or OWN, these three must-see videos will catch you up on the night's most memorable speeches.
Lupita Nyong'o, Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards
While presenting the cast of Orange Is the New Black with the Vanguard Award, 12 Years a Slave star Nyong'o gushed over the show's intimate and individualistic portrayal of "so many different black women" who "fall in love, stand up for their rights, discuss the merits of white Michelle Williams, and sometimes just have fun." She professed her love for the show with the impressive cadence and swagger of an esteemed slam poet: "I am a die-hard, true-blue, stay-up-until-midnight-waiting-for-the-next-season-to-drop, can't-get-enough-of-it Orange Is the New Black fan."
Danielle Brooks, Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards
While accepting the Vanguard Award along with her Orange Is the New Black cast mates, Brooks, who plays Taystee on the show, spoke out about why it's not easy to be a black female actor, or a "black-tress," as she referred to herself. "There's not so many roles for us, and a lot of the time it's like, 'You're too big, you're too small, your hair is too curly or too straight, you're not woman enough' in some cases," she said. Brooks' transgender costar, Laverne Cox, also onstage to accept the award, plays transgender inmate Sophia Burset on the show.
"But one thing I've learned about being on Orange," Brooks continued, "is that we are enough, just the way that we are. And we don't have to change for anyone, you know? People…connect to the core of these characters, and because of that, they see themselves."
Justin Simien, Film Independent Spirit Awards
Accepting the award for best first screenplay for Dear White People, Simien described in his speech why he wrote the script: "I didn't really see my story out there in the culture. I didn't see myself reflected back at me in the films that I loved or even the stories that resonated for me, so I tried to put myself in the culture."
Simien then put out a call to action for others who share the disillusionment he felt back in 2005. "If you don't see yourself in the culture, please put yourself there, because we need you. We need to see the world from your eyes."
After an MSNBC article about the film drew racist comments—proving his point—Simien continued campaigning in defense of the movie on Twitter on Sunday, using the hashtag #WhyIMadeMyMovie.
Original article from TakePart
