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| A sight that Hollywood seems to hate: inclusive women behind the scenes. This is Mudbound's crew: editor Mako Kamitsuna (bottom left), makeup Angie Wells (far left), Oscar nominated cinematographer Rachel Morrison (third from left), Oscar nominated Dee Rees (middle), composer Tamar-kali (right) and sound engineer Pud Cusack (far right). |
The Oscar nominations were a slew of typical suspects.
Firstly, unsure why Meryl Streep is up in the running. The now 21x Oscar nominee shouldn't be nominated every year. She is a great actress, but voters are obviously dismissing other solid performances in order to shoe her in. Some of them probably didn't even watch The Post. They're like, "oh it's Meryl, let's just find the other four." And Margot Rob? Really? Looks like we'll be seeing Tonya Harding's ass on another red carpet.
Although it is laudable that the Best Lead Actor race features two black men: Roman J. Israel's Denzel Washington competing for his third Oscar (out of eight nominations) and Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya, it is disappointing that there are five white women vying for Best Leading Actress nominations-- which is business as usual. At this appalling point, it is laughable that Halle Berry is still the only black woman who has won in the eighty year history. Black women can always garner a support and have better chances of acquiring that win. And white women rarely speak on this injustice.
However, the most exciting news is that Dee Rees is the first black woman to be nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for Mudbound, a gritty drama that deserves more kudos, having been shut out show after show this season. It is heartbreaking that there is no Best Director for Rees or Best Picture honor for Mudbound. The writing credit is still a huge, momentous victory-- which means the voters have taken notice of the compelling narrative, impressive dialogue, and winning direction. Speaking of other commendable milestones.....
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| Congratulations Mary J. Blige on making history. |
Plus, the Best Director (the most diverse range it has ever been though there's room for improvement)and Best Original Screenplay both feature Get Out's Jordan Peele and Ladybird's Greta Gerwig.
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| Octavia Spencer continues dominating the Best Supporting category. |
The various opinion pieces about black people needing to let go of obsessing over Oscar nominations and wins for our heroes, for ourselves is understandable. They contain high levels of disgust, asking if the Oscars themselves are how filmmakers should reach. Yes, admittedly the Oscar has always been a white man's institution. The white man vouches for who he likes. Yet, at the same time, can we not argue for validity? There is value for a film lover, a black film lover at that, to see their favorites succeed at not just getting their films shown onscreen (which remains a huge hurdle especially for black women). To be honored by their peers, by older white voters, is an ugly kind of beautiful. Sure, those voters tend to adore black people set in stereotypical roles. Good films come and go. Most will never be Oscar nominated. That doesn't lessen their integral contribution. We shouldn't say that just because so and so was nominated/won an Oscar that they "made it." The arresting fact that the work was delivered played its part already-- and that's what we should all congratulate in the end. Regardless of whether any of 2018's nominees actually receive the win, it is a nice honor to receive, not necessarily the most important thing to take away.
It is amazing that James Franco isn't nominated. Unfortunately, the bad blood over Casey Affleck remains and will be a putrid occasion for the woman who wins Best Actress in a Leading Role.
After each awards show this year, it is sad to note that the #MeToo and #TimesUp is for everybody save for black women.
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