Oscars 2016: Show tackles race controversy

Hosting the Oscars is always a high-pressure job. For Chris Rock, who emceed the 2016 ceremony, there was more at stake then whether his jokes would land.
Rock, one of the most famous black comedians in the world, was hosting during a year when race - specifically, the lack of diverse talent nominated for awards - was at the forefront.
For the second year in a row, no black actors or actresses received nominations.
Films showcasing black actors, directors and screenwriters were largely ignored - despite what many critics saw as award-worthy efforts in films like Beasts of No Nation, Straight Outta Compton and Creed.
The nominations spurred a viral hashtag - #OscarsSoWhite - in which activists and moviegoers took to social media to bemoan the lack of diversity. It also lead to controversial internal reforms within the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body that oversees the Oscars. The group has changed voting standards to include younger, more racially diverse members at the expense of older members.
Prominent African-American celebrities like Spike Lee, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith announced their plans to boycott the ceremony.
So viewers - and those following along on social media - were eager to see how Rock would address the controversy. He could not be accused of side-stepping it.
"I'm here at the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the white People's Choice Awards," he said to start the show. "You realise if they nominated hosts, I wouldn't even get this job. So y'all would be watching Neil Patrick Harris right now."
His jokes received a mixed response from those watching at home, and some uncomfortable laughter from the show's live audience, especially as he seemed to imply a lack of representation at awards shows was not a serious issue.
"Why now?" he asked, noting that for 71 of the 88 years in which an Oscar ceremony was held, there were no black nominees.
"Say '62 or '63... black people did not protest," he said. "We had real things to protest; you know, we're too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won best cinematographer."
Some felt these critiques were too dismissive - in fact, people did protest the lack of diversity at the 1962 and 1963 Oscars - while others were impressed that the grassroots activity around #OscarsSoWhite managed to so strongly influence the show.
"Why would you expect Chris Rock to show up and suddenly be Angela Davis?" asked the sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom on Twitter. "You changed an entire disclosure. [Why] does it matter if Chris got jokes? You. Won."
But as the monologue continued, Rock pressed harder for more inclusion in film-making.
"We want black actors to get the same opportunities as white actors," he said. "Leo gets a great part every year," he said, referring to Leonardo DiCaprio, who would go on to win best actor. "But what about the black actors?"
Rock did not shy away from the topic once the monologue wrapped up. He introduced Michael B Jordan, who played the title role in Creed, as a "should've been nominee". He brought onto the stage Stacy Dash - a black actress who has spoken critically of the boycotts and protests - naming her the director of the Oscar's minority outreach programme.
One of the biggest laughs of the night came from a spoof imagining how films nominated for best picture could have included black characters - two of which involved former Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg pushing a mop. Rock played a black astronaut stuck on Mars who received much less attention than Matt Damon did in The Martian.
On a more serious note, the president of the Academy, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, addressed the crowd late in the evening to make a plea for more inclusion.
"Oscars celebrate the storytellers who have the opportunity to work in the powerful medium of film. With that opportunity comes responsibility," says Boone Isaacs, who is black.
"Our audiences are global and rich in diversity and every facet of our industry should be as well."
The broadcast also included previously-recorded footage from Lee - who attended a basketball game rather than the ceremony - from when he received an honorary award in November. In it, he discussed the need for more diversity in Hollywood.
Issues of race and inclusion permeated the entire Oscar telecast, right down to the song played over the closing credits - Fight the Power by Public Enemy.