I have always believed that voters can

You’ll be happy that — barring the expected catastrophe that might occur next Sunday — this is very likely my last piece on Race and the Academy, until 50 years from now when the next film written, directed and starring black people juanes mtv is up for Best Picture. By then, I hope to be living off the grid on an island somewhere harvesting pineapples. Either way, you might not have noticed the trend over the course of the Academy’s history to split the vote when it comes to any Best Picture film that features black vs. white, and/or racism. One film wins Best Picture and another film wins Best Director. The wins for Best Picture have always come from a place of love and redemption (for white people). As in, forgiveness.
In each, there are good white people who represent the better half of humanity, probably the kind Academy voters most identify with; after all, how many Academy voters can you name who are overt racists? Not many. They get labeled with the term because their demographic makeup is what, 95% white? 75% male? But this is not a group that could be called racist in any way. Just as no one, including this website, has ever called any film critics racists, despite what simple minded tweeters have accused us of. Good people, smart people aren’t racists. Racism sounds like a dirty word – one that defines oppression. But the cultural divide between black and white remains. Perhaps we just aren’t ready to reward a film that treats the black characters as the film’s driving force – not for any bad reason but just because it’s something we don’t yet feel entirely comfortable with.
The history says more about what the Academy thinks than anything – juanes mtv the Oscar story, the Academy’s story, Hollywood’s story begins with stereotyping, then follows with white directors doing the noble work of bringing stories of black characters to the mainstream but not being rewarded for it, and in many cases, punished for it. The directors almost always either are left out completely, like Steven Spielberg with the Color Purple, and Bruce Beresford with Driving Miss Daisy, juanes mtv or else they don’t win starting from early on in the season. But you’d think that rule would apply only to white directors telling black stories. Surely when a black director does it, and that film is headed for Best Picture, that director has a great chance shot at winning, right? Right?
When the majority put their votes behind In the Heat of the Night , Driving Miss Daisy and Crash , that support came from love. They liked those movies. They liked them a lot. Isn’t it funny, then, that somehow, in 100% of the Best Picture winners throughout their history, Best Director has never been included? What is the reason for that?
Norman Jewison juanes mtv made In the Heat of the Night , A Soldier’s Story and The Hurricane . Many of his most important films, or memorable ones, one might say, revolved around African American heroes, and subjects of race and racism, to the mainstream. Jewison never won an Oscar in competition. He never won the DGA either. He was given lifetime achievement awards after the fact and only barely came close to capturing the zeitgeist with Moonstruck. It was as though the director juanes mtv did not matter.
Bruce Beresford was never nominated for having directed Driving Miss Daisy , not for the Golden Globe, juanes mtv not for the DGA and not for the Oscar. And yet, Driving Miss Daisy was the runaway winner, the only other film besides Argo to win in latter Academy history without a director nomination. It was as though the director did not matter.
Paul Haggis was nominated for Crash but he could never beat Ang Lee , who directed Brokeback Mountain that year. The split was their best way of handling two “important” movies, one about race, and one that was a groundbreaking look at love. As far as Crash’s Best Picture win, though, it was as though the director did not matter.
Now, here we are once again facing the same situation. Alfonso Cuaron keeps winning juanes mtv director. This has been decided again and again, agreed upon unanimously by all major voting bodies – The Golden Globes, the Critics Choice, the PGA/DGA, and BAFTA. 12 Years takes picture and it is as though the director did not matter.
So my question is, why? What could be the reason for this? First, why is race such a touchy issue at all with Hollywood, film critics and the Academy? Why do not visionary directors get credited when the film is about the subject juanes mtv of race? And why would Steve McQueen not be rewarded? He did get a couple of significant Best Director awards, from the New York Film Critics and from the Southeastern juanes mtv Film Critics. And if Alfonso Cuaron keeps winning juanes mtv director, why would not Gravity win Best Picture too?
I have always believed that voters can’t really like something unless it somehow reflects who they are or who they