“The Butler” And Other Black Movies Snubbed In Oscar Nominations

Movies such as “The Butler,” “Fruitvale Station,””Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom” and “12 Years A Slave” gave us high hopes for this year’s Oscar nominations, but that hope quickley turned into disappointment. With the exception of “12 Years A Slave” and “Captain Phillips,” black movies and thespians were basically shut out of this year’s nods.

Chiwetel Ojiofor received a best actor nomination for “12 Years A Slave” and newcomer and former limo driver Barkhad Abdi got a nod for best supporting actor for his role as a high jacker in “Captain Phillips.”

Surprisingly Lee Daniels’ “The Butler” was completely shut out of this year’s nominations. The movie starred Forrest Whitaker and Oprah’s triumphant return to the big screen. She was a critical darling for her portrayal of Cecil Gaines’s wife. Not so surprising, but still disappointing was that “Fruitvale Station” was also snubbed in this year’s nominations. It seems Hollywood would rather recognize a guy who falls in love with his computer operating system rather than tackle the rawness of a black man gunned down by police in 2008. It’s not as if black men are still targets for both police and armed civilians. Are they?

The Oscars will air live on March 2 at 7p EST. Ellen DeGeneres will host this year’s awards.

See the top categories on the after the gallery on the next page.

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Best picture

“American Hustle”

“Captain Phillips”

“Dallas Buyers Club”

“Gravity”

“Her”

“Nebraska”

“Philomena”

“The Wolf of Wall Street”

“12 Years A Slave”

Best actor

Christian Bale, “American Hustle”

Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”

Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Chiwetel Ojiofor, “12 Years A Slave”

Best actress

Amy Adams, “American Hustle”

Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine

Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”

Judi Dench, “Philomena”

Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County”

Best supporting actor

Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”

Bradley Cooper, “American Hustle”

Michael Fassbender, “12 Years A Slave”

Jonah Hill, “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best supporting actress

Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine”

Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle”

Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years A Slave”

Julia Roberts, “August: Osage County”

June Squibb, “Nebraska”

Best director

Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”

Steve McQueen, “12 Years A Slave”

Alexander Payne, “Nebraska”

David O. Russell, “American Hustle”

Martin Scorsese, “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best original score

“The Book Thief”

“Gravity”

“Her”

“Philomena”

“Saving Mr. Banks”

Best original song

“Alone Yet Not Alone,” from “Along Yet Not Alone”

“Happy,” from “Despicable Me 2”

“Let It Go,” from “Frozen”

“The Moon Song,” from Her”

“Ordinary Love,” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”

Full list available here.