Talking about Saturday Night Live with anyone these days is always an interesting conversation. Opinions of favorite hosts, sketches, and casts seem to ebb and flow for a bit until common ground is found and a love of the show from all sides finally shines through. In our opinion, that love comes from the show’s ability to shed light on what’s going on in the world and – even if it’s humorous – start a conversation about real issues.
Last night’s episode, hosted by mixed martial artist and actress Ronda Rousey, had its hits and misses as any episode does but one sketch in particular cut to the core of a controversy we’ve all been talking about – the lack of black nominees – or non-white nominees at large – in this year’s Oscars. There were plenty of great performances from so many people and the fact the nominations in every acting category went only to white people is really disappointing and has resulted in a lot of backlash to the Academy and Hollywood in general. Some say it was deliberate while others point to it as a sign of the systemic problem in the film industry that’s still more prevalent than a lot of people would like to admit.
Not shying away from the controversy – as the show had a very similar one not too long ago – SNL came out firing on all cylinders with a sketch that said everything we’ve been thinking about the Oscars. The “Screen Guild Awards” continually gave accolades to the extras and unimportant bit parts played by white actors in movies where the real talent was with the black main characters. This ranged from an unseen voice on the phone call during a tearful performance, a random white guy friend piggybacking in on a inspiring speech, and even someone accidentally walking into frame.
What do you think of the sketch? What are your other favorite SNL sketches where they point out real problems in the world? Let us know in the comments below!
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HT: The Hollywood Reporter
Image: Saturday Night Live