The Academy Award nominations were announced last Tuesday, and so officially begins the time of year when celebrities dispense with the normal routine of being merely famous in favor of being both famous and self-congratulatory.
I'm hard on movie stars and their institutions, but really I have a soft spot for movie awards. It may be an odd offshoot in my interest in politics. Campaigning for movie awards has that same combination of self-confidence, posturing, and, if you're lucky, a cliffhanger conclusion.
Often, the stars and awards shows themselves take a decidedly political tone. In 1973, Marlon Brando declined the Academy Award for Best Lead Actor because of Hollywood's discrimination against Native Americans. Camryn Manheim dedicated her Golden Globe in 1999 to every senator who voted against the impeachment of President Clinton.
Usually, these not-so-subtle ploys don't have much of an impact. "Dances with Wolves" notwithstanding, I imagine that Hollywood continues to treat Native Americans poorly (Brando's second Oscar continues to go unclaimed, for whatever that shows). And it's unlikely that any senators had a change of heart to claim a piece of Manheim's trophy.
The best political messages, I think, are the subtle ones. Last year, for example, African Americans won the lead trophies, a first in the history of the Oscars. This year, the bag is a bit more mixed. An African American is nominated for Best Supporting Actress, though Queen Latifah's show-stopping "When You're Good to Mama" number has more to do with the accolade than her race.
But the biggest gains were for Latinos. Two Spanish-language films broke into two top categories -- original screenplay and director -- and Frida, a movie about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, came away Tuesday with five nominations (To give some perspective, the second "Lord of the Rings" installment received six, including Best Picture).
It's easy to see facts about diversity in the Oscars, but I also think that saying they prove diversity is difficult to do. The Oscars themselves aren't necessarily exclusionist or discriminatory, but they're only reflective of the movie industry. Instead of lambasting the Oscars for taking so long to recognize minority actors, we should encourage Hollywood to produce films with good parts for minority actors.
What the success of "Talk to Her" (nominee, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay), "Y Tu Mama Tambien" (nominee, Best Original Screenplay) shows is that when a movie is well-made and well-received, it can receive award nominations, regardless of the color of its cast. If we as movie-goers encourage this opening of the field, when trophies are given, we will give new meaning to the term "acceptance speech."
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