CHILD AGAINST ADULT; FAIR OR FOUL?

The Academy Awards (a.k.a. The Oscars) is the oldest award ceremony for the international film industry and since 1929, more than 10 child (from birth before puberty) actors and actresses has been nominated for Best Actor/Actress in Leading Role and Best Actor/Actress in Supporting Role. The nominees were...

JACKIE COOPER

He was nominated as Best Actror in Leading Role during the 4th Academy Awards (1931) for his main role in the movie 'Skippy' at the tender age of 9. But he lost the award to Lionel Barrymore (58 years old) for the movie 'A Free Soul'. Somehow, he was the first child to break the world record as the first child to be nominated in The Oscars and the second youngest so far.  

QUVENZHANÉ WALLIS

She was nominated as Best Actress in Leading Role during the 85th Academy Awards (2013) for her role as Hushpuppy in the movie 'Beasts of the Southern Wild'. Being at the age of 9 during the time, she was the third youngest ever nominated for The Oscar but lost the award to Jennifer Lawrence (23 years old) as Tiffany Maxwell in 'Silver Linings Playbook'.    

 JUSTIN HENRY

He was nominated as Best Actor in Supporting Role during the 52nd Academy Awards (1980) for his role as Billy Kramer in the movie 'Kramer vs Kramer'. He is the second youngest ever nominated for The Oscar at the tender age of 8 and the first for the category of Best Actor in Supporting Role, but lost the award to Melvyn Douglas (79 years old) as Benjamin Rand in 'Being There'.

 HALEY JOEL OSMENT

At the age of 11, this boy was nominated for Best Actor in Supporting Role during the 72nd Academy Awards (2000) to grade his remarkable performance as Cole Sear in the movie 'The Sixth Sense'. But he lost the Award to Michael Cane (66 years old) as Dr. Wilbur Larch for the movie 'The Cider House Rules'. For the record, he was the second youngest to ever be nominated for the category.

 BRANDON DEWILDE

For his role as Joey Starrett in the movie 'Shane', he was nominated as Best Actor in Supporting role during the 26th Academy Awards (1954) at the age of 11 years old. But he lost the award to Frank Sinatra (39 years old) as Private Angelo Maggio for the movie 'From Here to Eternity'. 

 MARY BADHAM

She was 10 years old when nominated as Best Actress in Supporting Role during the 35th Academy Awards (1963) for her role as Jean Louise 'Scout' Finch (To Kill A Mockingbird). But she lost the award to Patty Duke (17 years old) who played the role as Hellen Keller in the movie 'The Miracle Worker'.

QUINN CUMMINGS

Played as Lucy McFadden in the movie 'The Goodbye Girl', she got nominated as the Best Actress in Supporting Role during the 50th Academy Awards (1978). Sadly she lost the award to Vanessa Redgrave (41 years old) who played the main role in the movie 'Julia'.

ABIGAIL BRESLIN

She was nominated for the Best Actress in Supporting Role during the 79th Academy Awards (2007) for her role as Olive Hoover in the movie 'Little Miss Sunshine'. But she lost the award to Jennifer Hudson (26 years old) who played as Effie White in the movie 'DreamGirls'.

PATTY McCORMACK

She was nominated as the Best Actress in Supporting Role during the 29th Academy Awards (1957) for her horrifying role as Rhoda Penmark in the movie 'The Bad Seed'. But instead of her, the award went to Dorothy Malone (32 years old) who played as Marylee Hadley for the movie 'Written in the Wind'.

With those children as nominees competing against adults for both category (Best in Leading Role and Best in Supporting Role), all of them lost to grown-ups. I was not so sure if they were fairly judged (as adults or as children who'd being professionally-acclaimed actors/actresses like adults), but putting them in the same category with grown-ups was surely a silent cruelty. Because among many of them (children!) being nominated in The Oscars which has been held for 86 times now against grown-ups, only these two kids won the Academy Awards to beat the adults...

TATUM O'NEAL

Out of the impossible at the age of 10, she became the first kid to ever garnered an Oscar for Best Actress in Supporting Role during the 46th Academy Awards (1974). Thanks to her role as Addie Logins in the movie 'Paper Moon'. She beat all the grown-ups; Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil (The Exorcist), Candy Clark as Debbie Dunham (American Graffiti), Madeline Kahn as Trixie Delight (Paper Moon) and Sylvia Sidney as Mrs. Pritchett (Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams). Since then, she was never nominated again in The Oscars although she's still acting professionally with her latest movie released was 'She's Funny That Way' as cameo.  

ANNA PAQUIN

At the age of 11, she was the second youngest to ever received an Oscar and the second youngest for the category of Best Actress in Supporting Role during the 66th Academy Awards (1994). Thanks to her role as Flora McGrath in the movie 'The Piano', she won the award to beat up the grown-up actresses; Holly Hunter as Tammy Hemphill (The Firm), Rosie Perez as Carla Rodrigo (Fearless), Winona Ryder as May Welland (The Age of Innocence) and Emma Thompson as Gareth Peirce (In The Name of the Father).Today, you might know her as Rogue in the 'X-Men' movie franchise but to the Academy Awards, so far, that was her only Oscar (although she did being nominated in other movie/TV awards ceremonies and won a few).  

Now, let us rephrase the Academy Awards for children against adults and how all of sudden the committees found it was unfair to see their acting talent being judged alongside the grown-ups. So during the 7th Academy Awards (1934), an award ceremony only for young actors/actresses (under the age of 18) was established. For what reason? Either for pity or for the sake of other young talents which were out on nomination for the real Oscar, the Academy Juvenile Award/Honorary Juvenile Award has awarded 12 young actors/actresses but let me mention only these kids who were still before puberty...

SHIRLEY TEMPLE

6 years old honoree in grateful recognition of her outstanding contribution to screen entertainment during the year 1934. She was the first to ever received the Honorary Juvenile Award and had been acting in more than 30 films since age 3 before made an exit in year 1949. She who had just passed away in February 10 this year (2014), is much remembered for her role as kid in a movie and hardly as grown up.  

MARGARET O'BRIEN

Being the honoree at the age of 8, she started acting since the age of 4. Still alive today (during this article is written) at the age of 77, that was the only award she received from the Academy Awards. But to be fair to the film industry, she's still actively acting (prior to demand).  

CLAUDE JARMAN, JR.

He's 80 years old today, and started his acting career by the age of 10 (during the fifth grade) and being honored as the Oustanding Child Actor of 1946 for his role as Jody in the movie 'The Yearling' when he was 12. He continued acting in 10 other movies before decided to work behind the scenes after the final film, 'The Great Locomotive Chase' as Jacob Parrot in 1956.

IVAN JANDL

This kid was pretty much special as he was a Czech and never got the chance to received his award as the honoree (by the age of 12) because he couldn't get the permit to fly to the United States in year 1948. For his role as Karel Malik in the movie 'The Search', beside the Oscar, he also won The Golden Globe Award for Best Juvenile Actor. He was recorded to have 2 more Czech films in his profile before land a job with radio station. At the age of 50 (1987), he died from complications of diabetes in Prague.

JON WHITELEY

His role as Harry in the movie 'The Little Kidnappers' has awarded him as the honoree of Academy Juvenile Award at the age of 10 in 1954. After acting in 5 films (1952-1957), he quit acting to further study and is now a respected art historian at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England. He wrote his Doctorate on French painter Paul Delaroche. He published a book on the Ashmolean's Stringed Instruments in 2009, and is working on a catalog of the later French paintings in the Museum. In May 2009, he was made a chevalier (knight) of the French Order of Arts and Letters.

VINCENT WINTER

Winning as the honoree at the age of 7 alongside his co-star (Jon Whiteley) from the movie 'The Little Kidnappers' in 1954, this Scottish boy had been acting in 9 more films before landed his behind the scene talent as Production Manager for hit movies like 'Superman' (II & III), 'Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom' and 'The Color Purple'. He also became Assistant Producer for a few productions before he died in Chertsey, England, as a result of a heart attack.

So there you have them kids! Any of them above 12 years that received the Academy Award, I've considered them a teenager and well considered already a grown-up to be able competing with adult. Unless my indication here is juvenile, than I might consider those up to 18 years old or maybe 21. The biggest issue right now is how transparent did the committee of the Academy Awards upon children talents in acting when compared to the adults? How did the juries decide the child actors/actresses to be more talented than the grown-ups? What are the criteria to define a children (before puberty) is a far better actor/actress as compared to their eldest (after puberty)? As acting take a major control in psychological performance of a person, how a children translate a character as compared to how an adult translate theirs? Most importantly, why there was a period of time, The Oscars had this Juvenile Award? The question remained until it is answered with logical reasons despite of all the fame beyond the legitimate art of acting based on puberty or otherwise.   

Meanwhile in Malaysia...

Recently the Anugerah Skrin ke-18 (ASK2014) awarded a 7 years old kid, Puteri Balqis the title of 'Pelakon Wanita Terbaik Drama' (Best Woman Actor in Drama) which is pretty much an issue for the local acting industry. The problem is simple, the definition of the word 'wanita' which is translated as 'woman' that referred to someone who is able to give birth (from puberty until menopause), which any less than that is considered a child. In the common fact of biology, most female (translated in Malay as perempuan/Kaum Hawa) will reach puberty by the age of 10 (or above) and by right Puteri Balqis is not even yet close to such period. Then, this very talented child is again nominated for Asian Television Award 2014 in the category of Best Actress in Leading Role (Aktres Terbaik dalam Watak Utama) which some Malay medias again quoted as 'Pelakon Wanita Terbaik'. My concern right now is how the Malay media (as ASK2014 itself is organized by Media Prima, a media tycoon), really utilize the Malay language to its proper use (or definition) and how Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka (DBP) should reworks on the Malay language by redefining the word 'aktres' as pelakon perempuan (female actor) instead of pelakon wanita (woman actor) when referred to Kamus Dewan Edisi Ke-4. But most importantly, in any talent awards, it is best to open a new category specialized only for children (or else Juvenile!) and let other categories for adults competed among themselves, grown-ups! Because kids has got to be kids... among themselves.    

DONE... ^_^"