Kendra Brea Cooper
The 2015 Oscar awards were about confrontation. People took to the stage to discuss more than films- they challenged racism, sexism, homophobia, and other social issues. But the real deal comes after the show in the form of public discourse and critical thoughts that stem from the night's events. Here are 8 very important articles about this year's Academy Awards.
"Creative Commons/Geoff Banks When #OscarsSoWhite started trending on Twitter last month, it wasn't just about the overwhelmingly white pool of nominees. People used the hashtag to call attention to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' structural problem with its voters. As Vox recently reported, the vast majority of Oscar voters are white men in their sixties."
Although this is more about what the Oscar's left out rather than what happened during the night, it's a great article in so many ways. Not only does it give you what was pushed to the side by a huge cultural institution like the Oscars, it also directly criticises it.
"Many of us expected the Oscars to open up a conversation about our nation's identity, but it's unlikely that we expected the conversation to be about immigration, Mexicans and cultural diversity."
Some say #Sean #Penn was "just kidding", but there are social consequences that come with the things we say, and our free speech and privilege might hinder the freedom of others just through an utterance. #Iñárritu expressed himself during his acceptance speech and it was great.
"Jay Smooth is the host and founder of New York's longest running hip-hop radio show, WBAI's Underground Railroad, airing since 1991 and recently cited by Chuck D as home to "the best hip-hop convers... In this installment of The Illipsis, Jay Smooth turns a critical (side) eye to the Academy Awards."
What is good?Jay Smooth uncovers the realities of injustice, and it's not what you think. He reveals the hypocrisy of the Oscar awards, and the responsibility of keeping yourself in check....all in just over 5 minutes.
"With her words on Sunday night-whether intentional or not (and personally, I believe it was unintentional)-Patricia Arquette gave voice to a system of structural erasure that has been the gold standard in the feminist movement since well before Sojourner Truth stood up and declared "Ain't I A Woman?"
Sometimes good intentions (see Jay's video above) can have problematic consequences. While Patricia Arquette was calling for equal pay and rights, she wasn't careful with her words. Language is revealing and important.
"Patricia Arquette took home an Oscar for her performance in "Boyhood," and her acceptance speech brought the audience to its feet (and inspired Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez to freak out in the best way possible). "We have fought for everybody else's equal rights," she said."
More thoughtful criticisms on Arquette. Note: These are not attacks, they are criticisms, and we need thoughtful criticisms for a just world.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images Besides all of the Common and John Legend goodness-the performance! those speeches! David Oyewolo's* tears!-the most popular Oscar topic on my Facebook timeline is #Patricia #Arquette.
This article discusses Arquette's speech on the stage, and her elaboration back stage. She had a little more time backstage, but it didn't really get better.
"Not a single person of color was nominated in any of the acting categories of 2015 Oscars. There also wasn't a single female director, screenwriter or cinematographer nominated. It seems that the response to this--and a few other mishaps--made the Academy finally recognize that they're not hiding their diversity problem very successfully."
They tried to joke about it, cover it up with conversations, and divert attention elsewhere.
"John Legend and Common's "Glory" from Selma just won an Oscar for Best Original Song. Legend and Common gave a wonderful, heartfelt, important speech. "Selma is now," Legend began. "The struggle for justice is now. The Voting Rights Act that they fought for fifty years ago is being compromised right now in this country today.
John Legend and Common took the stage and gave the speech of the night.
Pop culture and all that ideology sitting in the blind spot. Also crafts.
