In a surprise twist akin to those found in popular white culture staple “Game of Thrones,” the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards recognized roles played by non-white actors.
When the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences revealed the nominees for this year’s awards ceremony, many noted a record breaking 24.6 percent of acting nominations went to non-white actors.
“I didn’t even know we had that many black actors,” said critic James Poniewozik.
By the time Jimmy Kimmel was forced to relinquish his hosting duties, a whopping total of 4 non-white actors had won acting awards. This is 400 percent more than the number of non-white actors awarded at this year’s
Academy Awards.
With 22 nominations, FX’s “The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” walked away with 9 wins — including two awards for black actors Courtney B. Vance and Sterling K. Brown.
Series producer Ryan Murphy offered insight on his casting decisions.
“I had this revolutionary idea,” Murphy said. “Maybe we could cast actors who were actually the same ethnicity as the characters they were portraying.”
This strategy differs from normal Hollywood procedure. Typically, tan white actors portray diverse characters.
“I only won last year because people thought I was a white person in blackface,” said previous Emmy winner Viola Davis. “I was like, ‘Gotcha!’”
Murphy’s method paid off with last night’s sweep and FX ordering a second season of his hit anthology series. With another season on the horizon, Murphy is confident lightning will strike twice.
“Season 2 will deal with Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans,” Murphy teased. “Basically, everyone’s black besides Louisiana’s governor at the time, Kathleen Blanco.”
Likable white actress Julia Roberts is the rumored favorite for the role of Blanco.
Last night’s achievements are being celebrated by non-white figures throughout the entertainment industry. Star of ABC’s hit political drama, “Scandal,” Kerry Washington, shared her excitement.
“It had me thinking maybe I could finally tell all of the white people who watch ‘Scandal’ that I’m black,” Washington said. “But I don’t know. We all saw how they turned on Beyoncé when she did that this year.”
“It was like ‘Single Ladies’ never happened,” Washington said. “They got their revenge, though, by giving ‘Grease: Live!’ an Emmy over ‘Lemonade.’”
John Gavin Harp is a 21-year-old mass communication
senior from St. Francisville, Louisiana.

Gallery • 1 Photos

Courtesy of Flikr