People Are Asked How Many Blacks Actors They Can Name In Wake Of ‘Racist’ Academy Awards [Video]

Tony Rock of All Def Digital hit Hollywood Boulevard to question pedestrians on Black movies and Black actors. Their “Man on the Street” skit comes right before the 88th Academy Awards.

As shown from the video uploaded by All Def Digital, Tony Rock questioned common pedestrians walking along Hollywood Boulevard. Rock asked two specific inquiries among those he questioned. The first was to name at least three Black actors in Hollywood. There was a catch, however, and it was none of the three would include Will Smith, Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman. Such a question may come off as difficult if one were to stick to the mainstream movies. However, some who were questioned were able to mention actors outside of the three such as Shemar Moore, Forest Whitaker, Chris Rock, and even Tony Rock himself.

To be fair, the question may have been designed to throw off those questioned because there are numerous famous Black actors, and some of them are in the news right now. Samuel L. Jackson, Raven-Symoné, Oprah Winfrey, Andre Braugher, Idris Elba, David Oyelowo, Katt Williams, Eddie Murphy, Eddie Griffin, Martin Lawrence, and Ice Cube. It just happens Will Smith, Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman seem to appear in more popular movies collectively than the others mentioned.

As for the second question, pedestrians were asked to name their favorite Black movie. At this moment, Straight Outta Compton would have been the favored, and for some the only, choice. Unfortunately, Black movies are often pigeon-holed as low budget or made by Tyler Perry. As a result, amazing movies like the movie adaption of Dreamgirls and Notorious are overlooked.

Pertaining to this question, one lady actually mentioned a movie that can be considered an oxymoron for favorite Black movie, The Help. To be fair, The Help is one of the best movies to ever come out at the time. It won awards at the 84th Academy Awards, African American Film Critics Association Awards, BET Awards, 65th British Academy Film Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and others. However, the content of the movie, which is based off the book, is about Black maids during Civil Rights era in the 1960s.

Nevertheless, the video by All Def Digital was strategic in its release, right before the 88th Academy Awards. For those who do not know, the popular awards ceremony is in the limelight for “being so white.” According to Los Angeles Times, many in the Black community are boycotting it because apparently, only white actors and actresses are among the chosen few in the top categories for the second year in a row. As a result, the popular and controversial hashtag, #OscarsSoWhite, has made a reappearance on social media circles.

The “Man on the Street” video of Tony Rock questioning pedestrians walking along Hollywood Boulevard about Black movies and Black actors became a viral hit. Uploaded on February 27, 2016, the video now has over 217,000 views with over 5,300 of those viewers liking it. The video so happens to currently be on the #PopularOnYouTube list, sitting comfortably as the fourth most popular video on the video streaming community. Given the fact it is only a day old, this video will most likely stay on top, but will probably lose steam within the aftermath of the 88th Academy Awards

[Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]