Oscars race row: Judge actors on their quality – as the academy strives to do

Film lovers everywhere will hope that when the awards are announced, they are based on merit alone

Sir Michael Caine, who believes Britain should leave the EU unless there are "extremely significant" reforms. (PA)

Asked on the Today programme what he made of the latest Oscars race row, Sir Michael Caine said the following: “There’s loads of black actors. In the end you can’t vote for an actor because he’s black. You can’t say: ‘I’m going to vote for him, he’s not very good, but he’s black, I’ll vote for him’. You have to give a good performance and I’m sure people have. I saw Idris Elba [in Beasts 0f No Nation]… I thought he was wonderful.” Is there anything to disagree with here? No. Over the past several days, many white actors of great renown have wondered aloud whether or not the Academy Awards are indeed racist. Some have called for a boycott.

It is disappointing that many of the lists are all-white. More should be done to spread the benefits of dramatic arts to poorer communities in countries such as Britain and America, where a disproportionate number of people are from ethnic minorities. But to extrapolate from this to a boycott of the world’s most famous awards ceremony goes too far.

Racism means discrimination on the basis of race. The Oscars should discriminate on different grounds: quality in dramatic performance. That is what the academy seeks to do. To accuse it of racism is (ironically) to perpetuate the very culture that those who prize great acting should seek to destroy. That is the sentiment that the British actress Charlotte Rampling – herself nominated for Best Actress for a fine performance in Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years – sought to convey yesterday. Film lovers everywhere will hope that when the awards are announced, they are based on merit alone.