The Oscars: This Means War, or at least it should.

The 2020 Oscar nominations were released yesterday, and well over some 48 hours later I am sick and tired, I am disgusted, and I am baffled, but mostly angry. I should explain the anger, or rather I want to. I am angry because I don't see this year's nominations as merely casual indifference, or woeful ignorance, but as a purposeful declaration of a social warfare of sorts. That may sound dramatic, and maybe it is, but I also dont believe there is much evidence to support much else considering what we've read and seen from many in the industry since April Reign started #Oscarssowhite. To be sure the Oscar's are just an old flabby over inflated pageant institution, but also it is an institution. An Institution invested in dictating canon. Sure we will always remember great films, but oscar noms and winners keep alive a tradition in storytelling that prioritizes white males as the inherent signifiers of greatness, of talent, of truth, and of purity in America cinema, and it is beyond clear to me that certain people from within the industry are tired of hearing from those outside their hegemony about the importance of different voices and more varied perspectives. You're not going to convince me that ( especially in this entertainment economy currently making its bones off the still mostly unpaid brand publicity offered by social media and its hashtags, fan castings, and memeification) that the academy board was unaware of the swell of disappointment and frustration hurled at their award season peers over their head-scratching omissions of the verifiably well received films, performances, and technical accomplishments of women and people of color this year. Especially when at least a couple of the films they declared worthy (Tarantino's Once Upon a Time, and Todd Phillips Joker) were as polarizing amongst the critical mass as they were. Especially while films like Lulu Wang's “The Farewell” , Greta Gerwig's Little Women, or Lorene Scarfaria's “Hustlers" received near universal praise and adulation. Critical praise should not be an isolated barometer, but in light of the wide crevice between these films it should count quite a bit. The Terry Gilliam's of the world are more than a few, and voices like his have been heard from the ranks of Oscar’s ranks very recently.

Todd Phillips “Joker” was the clear winner in this years oscar nods, despite being a polarizing film amongst critics upon its release

It could be said this may be a by- product of the academy's recent push to allow for films with more of a popular standing with mainstream audiences, but then while “Little Women”, and “The Farewell” never reached mainstream audiences (for a multitude of reasons that include distribution and marketing) why not the 150 million plus/over its 20 million budget “Hustlers”? The head of Bafta derided the lack of opportunity in the industry to defend the negligence of that institution. Hmm…you mean that institution who denied Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman their entire careers, and this year helped shut out Lupita Nyong'o, who gave arguably the performance of the year in Jordan Peele's “Us” - a film that didn’t quite receive the reception of his now seminal “Get Out”, but still far outpaced both Tarantino'sand Phillips films in critical regard, and wasn't far behind Once Upon a Time in Box office (especially when set against budget)? This is about several kinds of biases and prejudices. This was a clap back, or at least a stern stubborn affirmation of the previously held position of the last 100 or more years of cinema. Why else would one of their institutional peers hire someone of the constitution of the very non-asked for Ricky Gervais (whom mind you I somewhat like). Could be there was no one else…could be ratings, but neither of those are anymore solid than the possibility that Gervais was a representation of the animus of those tired of apologizing for what they feel are minor infractions, for being artist, for being taste makers, and as Terry Gilliam, and so many others have put it, for being white. There were too many categories, too many folk as close to objectively better than the chosen nominees, and that's before you get to the “like-clockwork” arrival of obvious miscues like the various Uncut Gems snubs. No actor, no director, no best picture nod(s) for a film that obviously made both an academic and social imprint on this year beyond most of the films they chose. The Oscars have long had a prestige bias, and that too is also coded, but the original language is so forgotten, so dated , so archaic that even its most ardent disciples don't ’t know what prestige is or means. Uncut Gems lack of nods is a case of a general lack of imagination and inspiration by the academy, and shows its age, but still mostly this feels like a pretty blatant repudiation of people of color, of women, of certain genres, and bias against certain types of performances, and stories. It's important to understand these things ( gender, genre, and racial bias) intertwine and intersect. Long held conscious and unconscious prejudices against various members of different sexual orientations, genders, and peoples are part and parcel of the biases against certain genres. Horror having a genuinely observable narrative obsession with femininity and empowerment, as well as masculine objection, rejection, and objectification around and about their bodies as postulated by folk like Laura Mulvey and Carol Clover, and also being arguably the most disrespected genre by both the gatekeepers of prestige and the Academy, cannot be reasonably construed as merely coincidence. Science Fiction, and action films have had a history of incorporating marginalized people throughout their cast and as leads in the narrative, long before drama which mostly insisted that if marginalized folk be presented it was in work or stories specific to their identity and not much else. Funny enough these same people who had no problem basing casting and story choices purely on rigid assumptions and definitions of identity take issue with the idea of identity politics based purely on identity. Whether Queen aliens, black oracle’s, sexual succubuses, slasher victims, psycho powered teenagers, over pressured asain males, possessed little girls, beleaguered wives or mothers, or women who dare object to motherhood, stories about women, gays, black folk, and people of color unencumbered by white male intruders, be they audience, characters, or directors have rarely been seen as worthy of the supposedly academic sensibilities of the academy as those made by white men, though the uber men villains of comic book films have (though both have thus far been iterations of the Joker ). The socially acceptable prejudices in white audiences towards black storytellers of color as to which depictions of what kind of black folks lead to nominations and wins are narrow, and many times guided by white hands with few exceptions. Slaves and struggling depictions of black folk will earn rave reviews, and most likely awards, but ultimately happy, or just average stories about everyday black folk less so. Dating back to Justin Lin and “Better Luck Tomorrow”, Mira Nair and The Namesake, all the way to LuLu Wang and The Farewell, and even to some extent the better received Parasite (Academy-wise) asain stories have been largely ignored , and same for many kinds of stories about Latinos, and worser still Native Americans. To blame the obvious industry wide problem of lack of opportunities is incomplete, lazy, and an insult to almost any filmgoers intelligence. Lack of opportunities doesn't explain why Bafta has famously excluded both Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman their entire careers. Lack of opportunities doesn't explain why “Kasi Lemmons's” American gothic classic Eve's Bayou was wholesale ignored in 1997. Why Julie Dash's Daughters of the Dust received a similar ghosting, or why Smoke Signals, or American Me, or the Joy Luck Club received none of the kind of wide eyed adulation so many mediocre white entries like The King's Speech, Amistad, The Last Samurai, or Crash received. This is because the lack of opportunities are interwoven with the covert and overt lack of respect for storytelling outside the white hegemonic institutional paradigm, and tellers that do not regard the sensitivity of white viewers or allow them a pathway to ownership of the lens of perspective. It’s why “ Driving Miss Daisy", “The Help”, “The Three Billboard's of Ebbing”, and “The Green Book” can consistently do so well during awards season, and why “Widows”, “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Dolemite is My Name”, “Queen and Slim”, “The Farewell”, “The Handmaiden” “Hustlers”, and more struggle so mightily, or receive various iterations of consolation prizes.

Lupita nyong'O's performance in Jordan peele's “us” bears many aesthetic similarities in choices and effect (though spiritually and conceptually it’s better imo) as Joaquin PhoeniX's joker, but received none of his acclaim come awards season.

There are most certainly prejudices beyond identity. Clear biases have existed for years towards action films since their inception into the mainstream production values of film. Mission Impossible: Fallout should have been an Oscar nominee last year, and any argument to the opposite will inevitably lead back to some version of an argument regarding low/high art, and prestige. For much of the same reason if I had my way so too should John Wick 3 be nominated as best picture this year, and I remain firmly convinced that films like Die Hard, or even Top Gun should've been best picture nominees in their day. Raucous comedies like Coming to America, CaddyShack, Friday, or the 40 year old Virgin are far too important to the American lexicon and popular culture, never mind being brilliant to have been ignored. Science Fiction films like Alien, The Road Warrior, Minority Report, and The Matrix are more than just their technical achievements, they were astonishingly directed, shot, acted films that offered far more than many of their dramatic contemporaries did to the culture and gravity of cinema. Most certainly Horror films like The Shining, The Babadook and Hereditary at the very least gave us legendary characters and performances the likes of which have rarely been seen in any genre, and yet none of them bore their performers any fruit come Oscar time. What is this, but the most extreme kind of prejudice?

1980's “The Shining featured two of the most harrowing and memorable performances of th 20th century, neither was nominated by the academy.

I’m not wholly on board with the dismissal of the entire institution (In as far as the idea of a celebration of the years best contributions to the medium) because I believe a ceremonious pathway to film canonization that allows a mass audience to be introduced to films they may have missed or been obstructed from seeing is both entertaining and important. The alternative way to answer in my opinion such a clear response to outrage culture as to lionize a movie in the Joker (who in many not so subtle ways acted as it’s own response to outrage culture and the subsequent imagined repudiation of white men) , is continued outrage followed by action the likes of April Reigns #Oscarssowhite . White supremacy in all its forms including artistic tends to count on apathy, and eventual exhaustion, so my definitely not solitary solution is continued outrage. Continued suggested and actual boycotts, less viewing of that show, and even more outrage after . The Oscar's needs to bust its whole ass on the uphill ice rink it created. If viewers and especially social media personalities hate watch and rebuke it online, nothing is gained, they got what they wanted. The ratings need to be an unmitigated disaster, the kind that gets folk removed. I remember ( before I was booted from Twitter) observing a detestable and rather lame occurence of men commenting under beautiful women's pics anything and everything but anything about them. It was ridiculous there, but here it would be welcome to anyone invested in change. Folks who move cinema online should talk about anything and everything but the Oscars on that night. The Oscars should not trend on that night. It should be as if it did ’t exist on one of entertainment's most important outlets. We need outrage that doesn't stop after the ceremony, outrage that begins at Sundance and Cannes. Outrage and action that acts as a collective Samuel L Jackson screaming “I dare you, I double dog dare you to disnclude us again!” Then in the words of my man “Kuiil” from “The Mandalorian” we will “Have Spoken". No one has to do this, and I get it if no one does, because hell there’s a lot of shit in the world and we could use some good old fashioned pageantry, but I be damned if it’s not exactly what the Academy has earned. Earned after years of giving its laurels to racists films, sexist men, and gross depictions of those different from their members, and especially most egregiously after suggesting Casey Aflac gave a better performance in Sad Manchester White people by the Sea than Denzel Washington on Spinal Tap “11” in “Fences" (Sorry I had to get that off my chest)

SING!! "These are a Few of my Favorite Things.... in 2018"

We are approaching the end of 2018, a year that has felt like it took two. Two years into one of the worst presidencies in American history, (which is saying a lot considering the history of the American Presidency) the days and months of the year lugged itself through horrific stories of continued injustice, apathy, ignorance, violence, as well as a “Venom” movie. All this to say nothing about my personal battles with finances in constant flux and on and off bouts of sadness that as a therapist told me still stem from my brother’s recent death. Simply put, it has been a YEAR. BUT it has not been without its moments, and as we close out on my favorite time of the year, (the Holidays) I wanted to reflect on some of my favorite things this year in the world of entertainment. From films and performances, to social media, music, and commercials. So without further ado…..

It's only a crazy dream until you do it. #justdoit https://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/tennis

Nike’s “It’s only Crazy until you do it” Serena Williams ad.

It’s been a year for arguably the greatest athlete in the history of sport. She returned to tennis seemingly never having lost a step, only to find herself at the center of a perfect storm of the sport’s politics, racism, and sexism. Nike a company I still somewhat despise, did its own part to show solidarity or at least loyalty to its athletes through word and work. The two combined to make what I think is one of the greatest commercials of all time, striking in it’s simplicity, profound in its heart. The bond the ad illustrates between father and daughter, (more importantly black father and daughter) the lack of toxic authoritarian disciplines and thinking from within it, the edifice of craft, hard work, love, ultimately bring us to the realization of the power of a dream materialized. It is more than inspiring, it’s empowering. Something I rarely believe visual medium actually accomplishes, but in the few cases where it does, can feel almost magical.

“Won’t You Be My Neighbor”

We live in very, very cynical times, maybe rightfully so. Having been subjected to story after story of people who on the surface seemed good , but used this curated favor to do evil, we are increasingly suspicious of “good people”and their existence beyond ulterior motives and agendas. So it was beyond refreshing to listen for an hour and a half to the story of a man who did good in as much as is humanly possible - for the sake of good. “Won’t you be my neighbor” as a documentary is well paced, it considers its subject well, and without undue bias, but mostly it’s just sweet, loving, kind, endearing, and needed..Much like the man at the center of it.

“Pose”

The bold, colorful, self defining, soap opera debuted on fox and just a few short minutes into episode one announced itself as one of the most entertaining/important pieces of art this year. Not only a wonderful commentary on identity and the nature of what it actually means to be family, “Pose” told us the stories of the most marginalized of us all through the language of television, informing those of us outside of those identities of their experiences. And it did it with flare, with riveting narrative devices, and with the heart of revolution. Beyond that, “Pose” stood out this year to me as a form, a hint of what expressionistic art could be in a television world more and more dominated by realism.

Teyana Taylor “K.T.S.E.”

An album that was routinely dismissed by critics and fans alike turned out to be one of my favorite R&B offerings of the year. Very fair and earned criticism of Kanye West (even as it related to his handling of Teyana’s album) unfairly mired “K.T.S.E.” in unfair criticism. Taylor’s album (inverse of the most popular criticism against it) is a complete album to me. I often measure this by taking the title of an album as a statement of intention and seeing if the album maintains that core sensibility throughout, and Taylor’s album does just that. K.T.S.E. does not keep that same energy throughout in a staticky/strict sense of the phrase, but by maintaining the attitude behind the phrase. Once you understand that, even a seemingly out of place song like “WTP” feels a lot more in place. K.T.S.E. also breaks up the monotony and the stranglehold of what is sometimes endearingly, sometimes disparagingly referred to as “whisper singing.” From the opening intro “No Manners”, its violins sliding over its soul sample, with Teyana’s vocals stepping in calmly but confidently asserting her love and unapologetic desire for her husband, I was aware I was listening to something a lot closer to what R&B used to sound like than anything from a lot of my other favorite contemporary R&B crooners. There’s soul in the production and there is soul in Teyana’s voice, she runs at the intersection of a Rihanna/Daniel Caesar , and whereas most of R&B now is mostly about making a vibe album, which homogenizes its practitioners in favor of reminding us the audience a feeling or a moment, Teyana’s album commits to delivering both a vibe, and a real sense of who she is as a person. When I finished the album I left wanting to get to know Miss Taylor that much more, because of what she told me on the album, and HOW she told it to me.

“Inside the Pink”

I’ve never been much for Podcast, being that I mainly enjoy my information through visual means, and mediums, but a few podcast have managed to captivate and retain some space in my "scattegories-like brain. One of them is the very newly released “Inside the Pink” podcast co-hosted by Uchechi Chinyere, and Ayesha K. Faines. A podcast about the experience of women from the inside out, first two episodes have been bout “pleasure” and “blood”, and run the gambit from entertaining anecdotes to eye opening bits of women’s history. Only two episodes in the show seems to have found a footing most episodic anything’s don’t find until much later in their run. Inside the pink is something unique out there if not mostly for its two host’s incredible knowledge, and the interesting intersection of their beliefs. Not only between their persons but between their religions and their academia. The way they explore those spaces in a way that makes it incredibly accessible to the layman without condescension, and while being thoroughly entertaining is astounding. It also doesn’t hurt that each of them has a voice that could melt plutonium, so theres that.

“Film Twitter”

What has been deemed “Film Twitter” is a broad, vast collective of film lovers from all over the world. Hailing from various disciplines within the confines of filmmaking, art, criticism, and beyond, this space has been a safe haven for me as well as an education. I gravitate towards critics like Angelica Jade Bastien, (@angelicabastien), Matthew Zoller-Seitz, (@mattzollerseitz) Sheila O’Malley, (@sheilakathleen) and Candice Frederick, (@ReelTalker) but there is also those who speak to their experiences trying to make it within the industry like @cynfinite, (top right) or make distinctive connections between film and life like @kyalbr. I have learned about films I might never have been made aware of otherwise, treated to entertaining polls and questions, enraptured by anecdotes that made me feel much less alone in the world, pushed forward by tons of encouragement, and inspired by the presence of these people, a great number of who I wasn’t able to mention here, and might never have been able to meet otherwise. It’s been one of my favorite and most frequented places in social media this year, and the most lovely, and delightful of discoveries, rarely ever as exasperating to a newbie like me as it seems to be to others.

The Haunting of Hill House Ep 5 “Bent-Neck Lady”

As I wrote this, I remembered exactly what episode this was, and while I could easily put the entire show on this list, (seeing as how it was the most easily accessible TV memory for me this year) “Bent-Neck Lady” is the major reason it is the most accessible. The episode follows probably the shows most likable character Nell recounting her life both backward and forward in flashbacks, and vignettes, leading ultimately to the cause of her death alluded to in the very first episode. The reveal which discloses the identity of the ghost that has haunted her since childhood was as tragic as it was shocking. Director Mike Flanagan’s narrative choices are masterful, and actress Victoria Pendretti would easily be on my Emmy list for the astounding physical work she did portraying Nell’s crippling sleep paralysis, her emotional strain, and shock with subtlety, deference to the truth, and vulnerability. Because of the work of not only these two, but the editor, the ensemble cast, and the cinematographer, something as beautiful as it was sad and penetrating was created, and the last few minutes were the most shocking thing on television this year this side of the final minute of “Sharp Objects”.

Kids See Ghosts- “Reborn”

Decidedly the best track off of one of the better albums of the Kanye “Assembly line” release schedule earlier this year “Reborn” was really kind of an emotional landmark for my year. Cudi’s beloved crooning is the center piece of a song that features some of Kanye’s better production, and also some his his best, most introspective lyrics in some time ;

“Very rarely do you catch me out, Y’all done especially invited guests, me out, Y’all been tellin’ jokes that’s gon’ stress me out, Soon as I walk in, I’m like “Let’s be out” I was off the chain, I was often drained, I was off the meds, I was called insane. What a awesome thing, engulfed in shame. I want all the rain, I want all the pain, I want all the smoke, I want all the blame””

All in all “Reborn” is an anthem, one that when played loudly enough rattles the copper rust of despair off one’s bones, and leaves me feeling exhilarated and open to new possibilities, if only for a short while. It is a song so moving , so meaningful, inspirational in just a simple chorus, and a few bars, that in a year of so many lows, and so much despair for me, Ive often been moved to tears while exclaiming its uplifting refrain “keep moving forward”. In fact, I can feel myself welling up while writing this.

Tom Waits performance in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs “All Gold Canyon”

Tom Waits performance , much like the vignette that it occupies, much like the film the vignette appears in - The Coen Brothers “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” - is deliberate. It’s layered, and those layers are formed and then stacked very leisurely and neatly before you. It’s a puzzle of sorts , not so much in that there is a mystery to be solved, but that the complete picture is a mystery to you until the end, and that picture, well, it sticks with you. Waits performance was one of my favorite things of this year. I enjoyed watching him lumber around carrying that lived in, world weary weight in his body and in his expressions. Paying attention to the subtle ways in which informs us that though this man is lonely he is not sad. Muttering to himself without giving into the kind of dramatic flair that distracts from the authenticity of the intent, which is to show the audience this man has probably been alone quite some time, and quite possibly at this quite some time, but not necessarily that he is mentally unstable, which would look more like the muttering he performed as Renfield in 92’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”. A lot of Buster Scruggs is absurdist in nature, extremely technical in its execution, deliberate in its pacing, but as Coen films tend to be , overstated acting wise (That’s not a bad thing in a lot of Coen films, though it grates me sometimes ). But Waits here (who can deliver ostentatious acting with the best of them) is understated, he and the vignette want to lull you into feeling the tedium of his work, to lull us into underestimating him just as the thief does, and in the doing wove a very natural spell over me, that along with the natural scenic and majestic beauty of the land he prospects (Thank Bruno Delbonnel for that) engraved its name on the bark of my best memories from 2018.

“The Contrast Podcast”

Created and co-hosted by married couple Sidney (Sunni) and Michael (Snax) Orisa “The Contrast’s” greatest quality is its realness, its authenticity. In a highly curated social media world where most conversations about love, marriage, relationships, sex, and finance are steeped in capitalist, materialist, gospel of prosperity language, here is a podcast from a middle class-ish couple that makes the struggle plain. I have never seen a couple, not even the beloved (For good reason) Will and Jada be so willing to exercise their demons, their hang ups, their insecurities in real time. It is sometimes uncomfortable, and regularly messy, and truly thats where the gold of this show is. Sidney and Michael are willing to disclose and sus out seemingly anything from taking a s*** to their own displeasure with each others idiosyncrasies and the harm they sometimes unwillingly or willingly inflict on each other. Doing this in the moment, in real time, as we listen is incredibly brave, and incredibly relatable. There is something really refreshing about listening to anyone in this day and time speak comfortably and without any seeming inkling of socially taught shame about financial problems, confidence struggles, and dinner at Red Lobster. Its not in the past, it’s present day, it’s now, and you come away from their podcast high, not in a temporary way that I think some “self help” advocates produce - ambition steeped in inadequacy - but in a way that sticks because you realize that someone else is going through a lot of what you are, in proximity to the place you are in, rather than from on high.

“Black Panther”

What was billed by black audiences as “The blackest event ever” lived up to the hype not only in terms of the film itself, but in the reaction by black audiences to the film and the experience. In fact, in my opinion, “Black Panther” the movie was nowhere near as indelible to me as “Black Panther” the experience, and the movie was pretty f*****g good. Every memory I have from the film is enhanced by the accompanying memory of the very black audience reaction to said scene. The work, the technical expertise, the storytelling, the politics, the women of Wakanda all meshed together with the memories outside of the film like the “M’baku challenge”, tons of black people in african garb, and the sound of Kendrick Lamar blaring out of seemingly every vehicle driven by black people in Downtown Los Angeles, Compton, and various other parts of LA I travelled, formulate in me a glow that still reverberates throughout my body. Black Panther was the natural progression of the persistence, and insistence of so many black people (especially those in social media “Black Twitter”) to see ourselves represented. The promise fulfilled from a continued legacy of unapologetic blackness, this latest iteration finding its power online, and using capitalism to encourage profiteers to see the value in the endeavor. The result?…One of, if not the greatest Marvel film ever, and the greatest movie experience I’ve had since I was a child.

Toni Collette in “Hereditary”

Look, I’m rooting for Glenn Close . She’s overdue, and her performance in “The Wife” is the only thing anywhere near the vicinity of Toni Collette in “Hereditary” the latest and probably best horror offering from A24 yet. But if I’m being honest with myself I know who the real winner of of this year’s best actress Oscar should be. Collette’s work in this film is an all-time great feat of acting. It’s the best performance this year period for me, pay attention to her reactions, especially those in the now infamous dinner table scene, or the instantaneous shock that sets in once she tells her son “she never wanted him”, or the progression of the body language in the gym scene, the way each facial expression, each accompanying gesture explicitly relates to a complicated emotion. Her character Annie, does not want to be there, she does not want to talk, but she needs to talk, it almost erupts out of her, she cannot help herself, and Collette’s body reiterates that to us. It’s a performance so lived in, so organic, so natural, it borders on seeming like possession. It is a cavalcade of unique choices, choices and expressions unique to Toni Collette, the kind that usually make for the rare occurrence where a role finds the one actor meant exactly for it. All Toni Collette did in this film was create in Annie Graham, one of the great women in horror, and one of the greatest horror performances ever. It’s a performance dipping in genius, and mastery, and it is the one thing I remember most about 2018 in entertainment. *Slow clap for Toni.