1. Read the following article about the 2016 Oscars ceremony and the topic of racism, and then answer the questions. (Adapted from http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/feb/29/chris-rock-at-the-oscars-youre-damn-right-hollywoods-racist )
Chris Rock at the 2016 Oscars: 'You're damn right Hollywood's racist'
Oscars host Chris Rock opened the show on Sunday night with an opening monologue that tackled the controversy about the lack of black acting nominees head-on. “Is Hollywood racist?” he asked. “You’re damn right Hollywood’s racist.” Rock qualified his comments by saying that the industry was not “burning cross racist ... it’s a different type of racist”.
However, Rock also mocked Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, high-profile boycotters of the event. To a roar from the audience, Rock said: “Jada got mad, she said she’s not coming. Doesn’t she have a TV show? Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties – I wasn’t invited!”
Rock had begun his monologue by pointing out that he could “count at least 15 black people” in the opening montage, before welcoming viewers to the Oscars, “otherwise known as the White People’s Choice awards”. Rock added, in a reference to last year’s host: “If they nominated hosts I wouldn’t even get this job so you’d be watching Neil Patrick Harris right now.”
The comedian went on to make direct reference to the many calls for him to resign in protest from the hosting job. Rock joked: “I thought about it really hard but they’re not going to cancel the Oscars because I quit, and the last thing I need is to lose another job to Kevin Hart.”
Rock added that it was strange so much controversy had attended this Oscars when, presumably, many of the previous ceremonies had been all-white. “It’s the 88th Academy Awards which means this whole no-black-nominees thing has happened at least 71 other times. You got to figure that it happened in the 50s, in the 60s, one of those years Sidney [Poitier] didn’t put out a movie, and black people didn’t protest because we had real things to protest at the time. We were too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won best cinematographer. When your grandmother’s swinging from a tree it’s really hard to care about best documentary foreign short.” Referring to the wave of protest against police brutality against black people in the US, Rock added that, this year, the In Memoriam section should be “black people that were shot by the cops on the way to the movies”.
He joked that the Oscars could have specific black categories, saying: “You have men and women, there’s no real reason for there to be a man and woman category in acting – it’s not track and field; you don’t have to separate them. Robert De Niro’s never said, ‘I have to slow this acting down so Meryl Streep can catch up.’” Rock sarcastically suggested one of the new categories: “Best black friend – Wanda Sykes for the 18th year in a row.”
Rock concluded: “We want opportunity – give black actors the same opportunities as white actors. That’s it. Leo gets a great part every year. What about Jamie Foxx?”
a. Watch the video available on The Guardian website of this article and underline the sentences you hear. There is one that was not included in it.
b. Find the following synonyms at the text:
i. Presenter:
ii. Challenged:
iii. Ridiculed:
iv. Apparently:
v. Hanged:
vi. In sequence:
c. Transform the following quotes into reported speech:
i. “Is Hollywood racist?” he asked.
ii. Rock added, in a reference to last year’s host: “If they nominated hosts I wouldn’t even get this job so you’d be watching Neil Patrick Harris right now.”
iii. Robert De Niro’s never said, ‘I have to slow this acting down so Meryl Streep can catch up.’
2. Watch the following extract of the 12th Academy Award ceremony in 1940, when the actress Hattie McDaniel won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for “Gone with the Wind”, becoming the first African American to win an Academy Award. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7t4pTNZshA)
Fay Bainter: (…) and, really, specially Hattie that I’m chosen to present this particular plaque. To me it seem more than just a plaque of gold, it opens the doors of this room, moves back the walls and enables us to embrace a whole of America. An America that we love, an America that almost alone in the world today recognizes and pays tribute to those who’d given their best, regardless of creed, race or color. It is with the knowledge that this entire nation will stand and salute the presentation of this plaque, that I present the Academy Award for the best performance of an actress in supporting role during 1939 to Hattie McDaniel.
Hattie McDaniel: Academy and Motion Pictures, Arts and Science, fellow members of the motion picture industry and honored guests. This is one of the happiest moments of my life. And I want to thank each one of you who had a part in selecting me for one of the awards. For your kindness, it has made me feel very, very humble. And I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything that I may be able to do in the future. I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race, and to the motion picture industry. My heart is too full to tell you just how I feel. And may I say thank you. God bless you.
3. Compare both speeches and discuss your opinion on the matter of racism in Hollywood.
b. Find the following synonyms at the text:
i. Presenter:
ii. Challenged:
iii. Ridiculed:
iv. Apparently:
v. Hanged:
vi. In sequence:
c. Transform the following quotes into reported speech:
i. “Is Hollywood racist?” he asked.
ii. Rock added, in a reference to last year’s host: “If they nominated hosts I wouldn’t even get this job so you’d be watching Neil Patrick Harris right now.”
iii. Robert De Niro’s never said, ‘I have to slow this acting down so Meryl Streep can catch up.’
2. Watch the following extract of the 12th Academy Award ceremony in 1940, when the actress Hattie McDaniel won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for “Gone with the Wind”, becoming the first African American to win an Academy Award. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7t4pTNZshA)
Fay Bainter: (…) and, really, specially Hattie that I’m chosen to present this particular plaque. To me it seem more than just a plaque of gold, it opens the doors of this room, moves back the walls and enables us to embrace a whole of America. An America that we love, an America that almost alone in the world today recognizes and pays tribute to those who’d given their best, regardless of creed, race or color. It is with the knowledge that this entire nation will stand and salute the presentation of this plaque, that I present the Academy Award for the best performance of an actress in supporting role during 1939 to Hattie McDaniel.
Hattie McDaniel: Academy and Motion Pictures, Arts and Science, fellow members of the motion picture industry and honored guests. This is one of the happiest moments of my life. And I want to thank each one of you who had a part in selecting me for one of the awards. For your kindness, it has made me feel very, very humble. And I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything that I may be able to do in the future. I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race, and to the motion picture industry. My heart is too full to tell you just how I feel. And may I say thank you. God bless you.
3. Compare both speeches and discuss your opinion on the matter of racism in Hollywood.
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