I tweeted some Thoughts about the Oscars yesterday, so I just thought I’d collect them here. They are not by any means a manifesto, but more so my attempt to just work out how I feel about all of this. Of course, you’re welcome to leave your own Thoughts in the comments if you feel so inclined! (But I won’t be sad if you don’t–I know this conversation is happening in several places.)
Some random early morning thoughts on the Oscars…
— Randy Ribay (@randyribay) January 22, 2016
We are all inclined to identify with the familiar. If the voting body is vastly white and male, that’s who’s likely to keep winning.
— Randy Ribay (@randyribay) January 22, 2016
And then that perpetuates the idea that white males are superior directors/writers/actors, etc. So they keep getting awards AND best jobs.
— Randy Ribay (@randyribay) January 22, 2016
And, even more insidious, it keeps messaging to the world they are objectively superior.
— Randy Ribay (@randyribay) January 22, 2016
And while I’m rambling on the subject, I’m not sure how I feel about the separation of male & female actor awards.
— Randy Ribay (@randyribay) January 22, 2016
I know it forces mostly male Academy to acknowledge females, but doesn’t it just perpetuate the false idea that there are only two genders?
— Randy Ribay (@randyribay) January 22, 2016
And in their current form, presenting male actor awards directly before best picture every time reinforces ideas of male superiority.
— Randy Ribay (@randyribay) January 22, 2016
That’s all for now. I’ll just leave those here. Time to go to work.
— Randy Ribay (@randyribay) January 22, 2016
All valid points. Like politics, I think we’ll see change when the old white guys die off.
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