September 9, 2020

"Today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced new representation and inclusion standards for Oscars® eligibility in the Best Picture category, as part of its Academy Aperture 2025 initiative. "

"The standards are designed to encourage equitable representation on and off screen in order to better reflect the diversity of the movie-going audience. Academy governors DeVon Franklin and Jim Gianopulos headed a task force to develop the standards.... For the 94th Oscars (2022) and 95th Oscars (2023), submitting a confidential Academy Inclusion Standards form will be required for Best Picture consideration, however meeting inclusion thresholds will not be required for eligibility in the Best Picture category until the 96th Oscars (2024)."

An announcement from Oscars.com.

How hard will it be to meet these standards?

The first standard applies to the cast. You just need one of the "significant" actors to be Asian, Hispanic/Latinx, Black/African American, Indigenous/Native American/Alaskan Native, Middle Eastern/North African, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, or "other underrepresented race or ethnicity."

What's a "race or ethnicity" that's not underrepresented?  Jewish? Italian? Irish? But even if you don't meet that criterion, you can have the "Main storyline/subject matter" "centered on an underrepresented group," and the list includes women!

The second standard has to do with the "creative leadership and project team." Similar categories and options. If the head of makeup and the head of hairstyling are women, you've done enough.

The third standard is about "industry access and opportunities." Here we are talking about "paid apprenticeship and internship opportunities." It's not clear whether you can meet this standard by simply filling these slots with women, because the words "and" or "or" are not used, but the groups that the apprentices and interns must be "from" are: "Women, Racial or ethnic group, LGBTQ+, People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing."

The fourth standard is labeled "audience development." But this isn't about what audience the movie is aimed at. It's about the "in-house senior executives" in "marketing, publicity, and distribution."

So, lots of details to be attended to, but only if you want to be eligible for a "best picture"  nomination. I guess that some really small movies that turn out to be great will be excluded from contention because they didn't check these boxes on the way in and that big places will hire lawyers to do the box-checking for them and to deal with whatever litigation threats arise from all the illegal race and sex discrimination that they will deliberately undertake.

From a longer perspective, what's in it for us, the potential audience for movies? I don't know when if ever we're going back to the movie theaters, but this doesn't have anything to do with whether what's on the screen will be worth looking at.

An interesting omission: Nothing about transgender people.

ADDED: You only have to satisfy 2 of the 4 standards to be eligible. And I shouldn't have said "Nothing about transgender people," because they're in "LGBTQ+."

113 comments:

wendybar said...

I already quit Hollywood years ago....this would make me quit them all over again. I don't need their virtue signaling divisiveness. Just give us good movies which they DON'T anymore.

Kai Akker said...

"what's in it for us, the potential audience for movies?"

I would have said nothing zero zip nada, but that would be too cynical. Clearly this is something very definite in it for us, the audience!

Boredom.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

These are the same people who gave that preachy pantload Crash Best Picture.

Temujin said...

I'm looking forward to the remake of Harrison Bergeron.

R C Belaire said...

Hollywood is still making movies? Who knew?! There are more movies already made that I've never seen to last the rest of my life.

Rob said...

How to make stupid politically correct awards even more stupid and politically correct. But the self-congratulatory back-patting is going to be unwatchable.

Masscon said...

A modest suggestion...how about we reverse course and go in the opposite direction. Absolutely no tracking of race, sex, or religious characteristics permitted in any public or private records. As individuals, we can observe what we observe but no one is treated any differently from a public policy perspective.

How long until we dump this current fractious policy of dividing us by how we were born and dividing up the spoils for the "winners" and "losers"?

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Oscars? Who cares? Trump is nominated for Nobel peace prize. Hollywood toils and fritters about the skin color and ancestry of the off-screen characters and making their principal character decisions on even more superficial characteristics than before.

Old way: she looks good on film and can emote convincingly so audiences like her.
New way: she checks enough boxes so audiences will have to learn to like her.

Yeah. That’ll work fine!

Birkel said...

My streak of not caring about the Oscars will be extended.
Now with New and Improved reasons!

Kevin said...

They think this will protect them?

Hamilton has black actors playing white people spitting rap lyrics and they’re still cancelling Lin-Manuel Miranda.

rehajm said...

Now that the studios make only two kinds of movies- 'comic book blockbusters' for the China market and 'everything else' - I'm not sure what the incentive is to comply. Maybe invites to the parties, or something...

Netflix likes to make movies where EVERY underrepresented group is represented, so long as they are all having sex with each other...

Rob said...

And of course BIPOC’s will complain it’s entirely inadequate.

tim maguire said...

this doesn't have anything to do with whether what's on the screen will be worth looking at.

Is that true? It seems to me it dilutes the incentive to make compelling movies and, as such, story-telling quality will decline further. This is an anti-movie-going-public development.

"The standards are designed to encourage equitable representation on and off screen in order to better reflect the diversity of the movie-going audience."

Has anybody, anywhere, developed an actual fact- and reality-based argument as to why this is important? There are a limited number of areas in society where I can imagine a tangible benefit to having the decision-makers reflect the public they serve. But it's treated like it is per se good ("diversity is our strength!"), something for which I have never seen evidence presented. It's just claimed as a self-evident truth.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

"An interesting omission: Nothing about transgender people."

Isn't the T in LGBTQ+ for Trans people?

Will Cate said...

"Nothing about transgender people"

I thought that was covered under the Swiss-army-knife acronym "LGBT+"

Robert Edick said...

They found a new way to become more unwatchable.

stevew said...

This sounds very silly to me, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over how they set the rules for giving out awards and patting themselves on the back. This is a bit like MLB specifying that every team have representation at the All-Star game.

Now, if they can just produce some good and interesting movies again.

Rory said...

Again, just cut them loose. 100 million people on the coasts get their own lunatic asylums. The rest of us reestablish Justice for the next hundred years in the middle of the continent.

Jamie said...

Art is SO much better when it's hemmed in by meaningless rules.

Chris said...

So now it's all about skin color, race etc. How long before they take down MLK's statue? Doesn't matter anymore if a movie is good, all that matters is if it checked the right boxes. How is this any different from soviet movies?

Eleanor said...

This reminds me of the Bechdel Test, which some people used to judge whether women are represented fairly in works of fiction. The basics were did the work, movie, tv show, book, have at least two characters who were women, did they interact with each other, and did they talk to each other about something other than men and sex. There was no prize for meeting the test. About half of films meet the criteria. On average those films that do perform better financially than those that don't. Not all films that are considered "chick flicks" can pass, and not all films marketed to men fail.

Bill Owens said...

So, not best picture.

Dan in Philly said...

The Netflix show Hollywood presents old Hollywood controlled by the more or less evil and hypocritical capitalists being challenged by those who are it as a vehicle to enact social change. Putting modern values into historical shows is nothing new, but it does reveal the mindset of the modern Hollywood gang.

Another old lawyer said...

The Academy understands that the non-woke have largely stopped watching or caring about the Oscars. This is a move to shore up the remaining audience. In doing so, it's following in the footsteps of giants - Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and increasingly Jimmy Fallon. Oh, yeah, and Spinal Tap. The Oscar's appeal has become more selective, and this is just embracing that audience.

Unknown said...

Has anyone figured out which part winners would pass and which wouldn't?

Amadeus 48 said...

Does this mean “Gone with the Wind” is in?

iowan2 said...

This is absolutely the worst arrangement of deck chairs I've ever seen.

David Begley said...

In my “Frankenstein, Part II” my main character is made from body parts so that should count for something. The villain is Charles Edward Saville, III. He’s a racist, rapist, war criminal and wife beater. Margaret Saville has a club foot. Her brother is a closeted gay. And, of course, a young Frau Althouse makes an impressive cameo!

I’m a white conservative and Catholic lawyer in Nebraska so that is a severely underrepresented group! I’m sui generis for Hollywood.

And I’m not changing my script! I’ll still win!

Fernandinande said...

Nothing about transgender people.

They're covered under "cognitive disabilities".

MikeR said...

"Nothing about transgender people". Yeah, because transgender people are really rare.

Jersey Fled said...

I propose a token Eskimo in each picture.

Todd said...

So they have decided to commit seppuku, good riddance...

Lurker21 said...


Welcome to the Year of Taking Everything Too Far.

Most people don't want to be the oldster who complains about all the interracial couples in commercials or the pedant who objects that there weren't any Black aristocrats in the English peerage in Jane Austen's day, but by taking things too far, Hollywood, the ad agencies, the media, the big corporations, and the politicians are making more and more people think and feel that way.

rhhardin said...

"Staffed with a casting couch" would work as a promo line. Forget best picture awards.

AllenS said...

What about a nice set of tits? Doesn't that count for something? It used to.

Chris said...

Blogger Amadeus 48 said...
Does this mean “Gone with the Wind” is in?

Next up, will be the stripping movies of their previously won Oscars. First on the block: Gone with the Wind. Hattie McDaniel could not be reached for comment.

Harold said...

It's like the Oscars are trying to make themselves even less relevant to movie goers.

Michael K said...

Fortunately, there is a movie collection going back to silents that are better than anything Hollywood has made the past 25 years. No need to see the new Soviet Movie industry.

clint said...

Looking at the list of Best Picture winners over the last couple of decades, it's striking that I've seen almost every winner from the '80's, '90's, and early '00's. And I liked a lot of them. (And the box office numbers suggest that it's not just me.)

Of the last ten winners, I've seen two and liked one. (The King's Speech from 2010.)

It feels like the new rules are just making it official.

David Begley said...

There’s a great honeymoon sex scene in my movie. Frankenstein is definitely +; if you know what I mean.

Birches said...

I really enjoy Begley talking about his screenplay. I've never said anything, but I think I should say thanks.

Static Ping said...

So was this a Xi credit score thing or what? I'm not sure he would care, as long as they keep thanking the hardworking patriots working in the concentration camps.

David Begley said...

Maybe I can turn my Frau Althouse character into a lesbian, but that wouldn’t be authentic. And Meade would probably drive to Omaha and beat me up.

I do have an Irishman in my script. Does that count for something?

David Begley said...

I do have an Arctic scene. Maybe I can stick an Eskimo in.

P.S. All of this stuff about my script is true. Laslo read it and will confirm.

Bob said...

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Unknown said...

This will be the template for all movies. I suppose My Dinner with Andre might have been a better picture if Andre were replaced with Morgan Freeman

jaydub said...

"Nothing about transgender people."

Well, of course not because Black Lives Matter. Trannies, not so much. Which begs the question: why are there not any requirements to work BLM themes into the criteria? How about something like:

Best film representation of a Black convicted felon in the act of resisting arrest.

Best special effects employed in the torching a minority owned business during a race riot.

Best supporting cast for Antifa fomented violence during a BLM protest.

Best obfuscation of Antifa role in riot planning and execution by a cable news network.

Best display of race based obsequiousness by a cable sports network or Democrat politician.

Most specious movie script delineating Trump culpability in worldwide slave trade.

There are lots of possibilities to make the Best Picture award more accurately reflect the reality of BLM politics. It's surprising the movie studios haven't already got there.




David-2 said...

Hilarious this is reported at the same time it is also reported that Hollywood is casting more "light skinned" actors in movies to better appeal to China's audiences: NYPost article - you can read the paper here.

mikee said...

Oscars are an annual advertisement for the film industry, made by the film industry, and nothing more. If you want honest movie reviews, go to Rotten Tomatoes.

Stephen said...

Corporate boards and now Academy Awards? I’m eager to see diversity standards applied to activities that are really important, like cardiovascular surgery—too many Chinese and Indians and not enough blacks and Hispanics, and plumbers, where I’ve never had a woman show up to fix my clogged main line.

Leland said...

How about having someone on the cast that meets the criteria of "essential personnel"?

hawkeyedjb said...

How about some diversity in the role of courtroom judge? According to Hollywood, 100% of judges in America are black women. How did a group that represents 6% of the population come to so completely dominate one profession? The NBA is whiter than the courtoom.

mikee said...

I, for one, thought having extremely-caucasian-to-the-point-of-being-English Bilbo Baggins as a minor character in Black Panther was a nice touch, as was having Scatman Cruthers appear briefly in the otherwise lily-white "The Shining." This is what they're talking about, right?

rcocean said...

I'm sure the "other ethnic minority" is a way to shoe-in Muslims and Jews into the approved minority category. Which of course, is absurd. But no more absurd than the demand that LBQtxyz's get included. Jews and Gays are the two most over-represented groups in Hollywood. Every studio head is Jewish (3% of population) and the number of Gay/Lesbian actors/directors is off the the charts. And always has been.

BTW, how many Americans understand that Hollywood is a Global industry and get 60% of its money from Overseas? They never attack Communist China because they get 25% of their money from China. Its interesting you can tell people this, and especially if their Boomers, it doesn't register. Hollywood isn't making movies just for 'muricans. EVERYTHING they do is done with an eye on the overseas market.

virgil xenophon said...

Lurker@7:46AM/

In the same vein several days ago someone commented here that the white majority doesn't necessarily think of themselves as "white" as they rather simply regard themselves as "Americans" and that the real danger to the Civic Culture will come when they are forced to begin to think of themselves tribally as "white" first and foremost...

Static Ping said...

The first dirty non-secret is the general movie going audience does not really care much about the Best Picture. The studios care a whole lot as they specifically make and market movies to win awards, but what the general public buys tickets to go see are a different animal that only occasionally crosses over. The disconnect got so severe that they expanded the number of nominees for Best Picture so as to toss in a few movies that ordinary people would have actually seen or at least heard about but with the understanding that they have zero chance of winning. (As an aside, if the Best Picture was really about the best movie made that year, it would be won by genres other than drama every once in a while. When was the last comedy winner?)

The second dirty non-secret is Hollywood is doing this already. Unfortunately, this has created a lot of mediocre to bad films that come across as "diversity at all costs" exercises. For example, the latest Star Wars trilogy was clearly hijacked by Kathleen Kennedy, who was more interested in "girl power" than telling a good story or keeping some control over her bickering directors. There is a recurring problem in films featuring a female hero, the Disney Star Wars trilogy included, with said hero having basically no flaws - the infamous "Mary Sue" - resulting in no character development or struggle or anything that makes a movie interesting other than lots of special effects. (This also sometimes results in ignoring interesting characters, because they are straight white males and therefore "uninteresting.") Diversity by making your movies the equivalent of a self-insert power fantasy fan fiction from a 12-year-old girl is not progress unless your goal is to prove that diversity and good movies are mutually exclusive.

William said...

I sometimes go to Shakespeare in order to escape political correctness. In Shakespeare's world, bastards are pissed off at their bastard status and act like bastards. Edmund in King Lear is nothing like John Snow in GOT. A twisted exterior is the outward sign of a twisted interior. If God made you defective, then that's the divinity that shapes your end. People aren't ennobled by their suffering, and women, save when they're looking to realize true love and hump their well born lover, are properly respectful of the patriarchy. Shakespeare has got some great stuff.....Political correctness has infiltrated the casting, however. Caliban and Othello are now almost exclusively played by Black actors. (Isn't it kind of racist to cast Caliban as Black? Why not use a white actor in a MAGA hat? Make Ariel Black. He's oppressed by Prospero too.) In general, when you have someone mistreated by the system, then they look to cast a Black actor in that part. ....Twelfth Night offers some good opportunities for those in the cross dressing community. It would be kind of interesting to have Viola played by a transgendered actor. I'm surprised it hasn't been done already.....Idle thoughts while I sip my morning coffee.

MountainMan said...

Along with the NBA and NFL, Hollywood, with one foot already in its owns grave, decides to make the hole bigger and deeper.

My wife have been streaming lots of movies and series while in isolation during the pandemic. The on-purpose mis-casting of so many roles in recent historical dramas has become laughable, pariticularly the use of black characters in European period pieces where none would have existed. The forced inclusion of gay, lesbian, transgender, and even gender non-binary characters generally add nothing substantial to a story, they just satisfy the producers desire to say "Hey, look how inclusive we are!"

I have gotten so tired of it that I got a subscription to "The Great Courses Plus". We have recently streamed "The Black Death" and "The Founding Fathers". I can highly recommend both series, not only were they chock-full of interesting stories but they were very entertaining.

mikee said...

Daniel Day Lewis, in My Left Foot: doubleplus ungood or not?

Unknown said...

When will someone finally address the tyranny of which letter comes first in LBQT42?
-willie

rcocean said...

Hollywood has been practicing this sort of diversity forever. Jews were cast as Indians and Cowboys, or Vikings, Knights, and Nazis. Blacks are always cast as judges, doctors, and computer experts. Gays are always the "wacky neighbor" or best friend. In 1930s and 1940s the most over-represented minority in the Academy Awards were the communists. Meanwhile, point to the last time we had an overtly Black or Gay villain. Hollywood has always been careful not cast any Jew or Black in an unsympathetic role. The nasty, evil Characters are almost always white, and overtly conservative or chistian, often played by an English actor.

mikee said...

Daniel Day Lewis, in My Beautiful Laundrette: Doubleplus good, or not?

mikee said...

Daniel Day Lewis, in Last of the Mohicans: Russell Means and Wes Study of course win the movie for their climactic fight scene, but doubleplus, or just plus, good?

mockturtle said...

In Ford v Ferrari there were no social justice sermons, no contrived diversity, just a stimulating look into competitive realm of auto racing featuring a highly gifted and eccentric driver. [The ending was a bit lame--it should have ended at his fatal crash]. Though nominated, it didn't win any Oscars other than film editing and sound editing. In the future, there will have to be a 'social justice message' and 'diversity'to qualify for any awards. Welcome to the New Cultural Revolution.

mikee said...

Daniel Day Lewis, Phantom Thread: God I laughed and laughed. Tripleplus good.

And yes, you can go through DDLs entire body of work and judge it by these new rules and realize: f**k the Academy for its blindness to art.

Mike Sylwester said...

People in other countries who watch American movies and television shows must believe that most judges in the USA are Black females.

mikee said...

DDL: Gangs of New York. As a descendant of Scotch/Irish/Dutch heritage, I say burn this film.

henge2243 said...

"Today the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences shot itself in the head while standing on the ledge outside a 45th floor window after ingesting 3g of heroin."

MountainMan said...

@mikee: Last of the Mohicans - doubleplussgood. One of my favorite films of the past 40 years.

Mike Sylwester said...

The Smithsonian cable television network has a documentary series called Air Disasters, which uses actors to play real people who investigated airplane crashes.

In recent years of watching this series, I have become more and more surprised at how many people who investigate airplane crashes are African-Americans.

Dave Begley said...

One of my best scenes from "Frankenstein, Part II."

INT. LONDON - COFFEE SHOP - THE WHALE - DAY

Robert Walton is drinking coffee at a four top table with his
male lover. Booker and Murray invite themselves into the open
chairs and in a rough manner.

JOHN BOOKER
Good day to you, Mr. Walton.

ROBERT WALTON
My lawyer told me not to talk to you.

JOHN BOOKER
He did now, did he? But did you tell
lawyer Kennedy that you are committing
crimes against nature on a daily
basis? Capital crimes, don't you know?

ROBERT WALTON
I have no idea what you are talking
about. I'm a law abiding gentleman and
a scholar.

Walton's lover gives Walton a look of betrayal and shock.

ROBERT MURRAY
We have sources. Unnamed sources.

ROBERT WALTON
Your sources are lying.

JOHN BOOKER
What would a London jury think of a
man of your age and position in life
not being married. Highly unusual,
wouldn't you agree?

ROBERT WALTON
Bachelorhood is not a crime.

JOHN BOOKER
Tell us where the Creature is and
we'll leave you and your friend alone.
Quid pro quo.

ROBERT WALTON
I demand that you two leave my table
at once. I have strict instructions
from my lawyer not to speak to you.
(beat)
Inspector Dugan agreed that your
harassment would stop. A cold case.

JOHN BOOKER
We no longer work for Dugan. We work
for ourselves.
(beat)
We are the law unto ourselves.

Booker and Murray then take both coffee cups and calmly pour
the contents into the laps of Walton and his male lover. The
two of them sit still and don't react.

JOHN BOOKER
You two better change your trousers or
you'll catch your death of cold.

Booker and Murray stand up and throw both coffee cups into
the fireplace.


DDB. In 1796 England, homosexuality was a capital crime. But the thing is if someone accused another of the crime and the defendant was acquitted, then the accuser got the death penalty. An early version of loser pays.

I really do love this scene especially the line, "We are the law unto ourselves."

Ralph L said...

Frankenstein is definitely +; if you know what I mean.

Two dicks, or one of each?

Ampersand said...

Thank heavens that we will soon clean up the sinkhole of heteronormativity and white supremacy that is contemporary Hollywood.

Todd said...

David Begley said...

Maybe I can turn my Frau Althouse character into a lesbian, but that wouldn’t be authentic. And Meade would probably drive to Omaha and beat me up.

I do have an Irishman in my script. Does that count for something?

9/9/20, 8:03 AM


If lesbian does not work, how about "bi-curious"? You could frame it as reliving the college days?

Mr. O. Possum said...

Fifty years from now the movies (as in going to a place to see images projected) will be over and done with as a medium...just as vaudeville, AM radio, traveling tent-show circuses vanished. Same with almost all newspapers and "newsstand" magazines, and our grandchildren will ask us, "What was it like to go to the movies?"

Greg The Class Traitor said...

From a longer perspective, what's in it for us, the potential audience for movies?

Crappy, politicized movies that aren't worth watching.

Pre Covid I was regularly organizing "go out to the movies" nights. I guess I won't be doing that any more

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

Get a Plex account and obtain whatever you want. There is so much material worth watching from when film was a respectable and accomplished art form that Hollywood can close up shop right now and it doesn't matter. Explore Letterboxd which will help you build your watch lists. Enjoy the art of film on your own terms. The last new movie I watched was, I think, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and it'll likely be the last. I don't need comic book movies for the 85 IQ set and I don't need correctively cast remakes of decades-old terrific movies.

Last week my Alamo Drafthouse reopened and we went to see an old favorite, Donnie Darko. 2001. Have tickets to see Drive. 2011. It's worth watching just for the craftsmanship of the elevator scene, but also for the exploration of such retro themes as a man's desire to protect a vulnerable woman. Thinking of dragging the husband to A Clockwork Orange but it might be a bit much for him. It's an interesting choice for the lefties who run AD to trot out in this time of flirting with "the old ultraviolence." The last thing I watched from my Plex library was Badlands which somehow I had never seen. Sissy Spacek is a Czech Texan; I hadn't realized that previously. I'm 1/4 Czech and am a naturalized Texan so this pleases me. :)

LakeLevel said...

Another one bites the dust: Pulitzer, Nobel, Hugo etc. have all become unreliable indicators of merit due to leftist takeover and imposition of extreme virtue signaling over quality. Buh-bye Oscars.

Rory said...

"I have gotten so tired of it that I got a subscription to "The Great Courses Plus"."

How to Listen to and Understand Opera is terrific.

TrespassersW said...

"Tokens! Get your tokens! Can't make a movie without tokens!"

Bruce Hayden said...

“ It's not clear whether you can meet this standard by simply filling these slots with women, because the words "and" or "or" are not used, but the groups that the apprentices and interns must be "from" are: "Women, Racial or ethnic group, LGBTQ+, People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing."”

The secret there is that Jews, Gays, and Blacks are already over represented in front of the camera, and the rest of the business is still, very much, dominated by Jews. Harvey Weinstein anyone? Amazing how many Jewish actors there have been all along. As for gays, we play a guessing game with my partner’s soaps which is to guess the sexual orientation of many of the younger male actors. It’s in the lips - what she calls “gay lips”. Extremely often, when I look them up, sure enough, they are listed as having a significant other of the same sex. She is not very politically correct, and will suggest that if she had to kiss those lips, when the gay guys are playing straights, kissing women, as they often do, she would worry about where those lips had been.

I noticed that the FBI show on CBS with the big Muzzie as a lead character has at least been paused for the interim, with Live Island now being run between NCIS and FBI: Most Wanted on Tuesday nights. I thought that using a very visible Muslim in that role was interesting. They also appear to have more females in prominent parts, including a dark Black woman and an East Asian. It’s spinoff, Most Wanted, has realmAmerican Indians playing a number of important parts, including as the daughter and brother in law of the main character. I actually like that part of the show.

Dave Begley said...

Ralph L:

Think of the scene from "Young Frankenstein" where Madeline Kahn sings out after she and Peter Boyle do it.

From my script:

MARGARET FRANKENSTEIN

I'm looking forward to many more performances like last night.

DDB. I also borrowed a line from the Althouse commentariat about married sex being "icing on the cake."

AlbertAnonymous said...

Remember when we didn’t keep score in T ball and everybody got to play and bat, no positions just stand out there somewhere. Then we all got snacks, and trophies! And the parents patted Everyone on the back for being so good? “Great job Trevor!” “Way to go Caleb”.

Ugh. We’re all children stuck in this BS world.

chuck said...

The Hugo awards in science fiction effectively went that way a long time ago. My experience is that if a book gets a Hugo it isn't worth my time. OTOH, the newer Dragon Awards are increasing in popularity and can bring good new stuff to my attention.

Sam L. said...

But, dammit, when will EVERYBODY get a participation trophy?????

Roughcoat said...

Goodbye to realistic war movies. *sigh*

E.g., Saving Private Ryan, Das Boot, White Tiger, 1917, Dunkirk, etc., etc., etc.

Roughcoat said...

The Chinese would not consider an unkind depiction of Japanese people to be racist and would undoubtedly flock to theaters that featured movies showing these buck toothed sadists inflicting misery on the innocent and their children.

Actually, that would be a fairly accurate portrayal of the Japanese in China during the Sino-Japanese War.

Roughcoat said...

Does this mean more or fewer "Magical Negro" movies?

Joe Smith said...

This is a microcosm of our Marxist future...endless bureaucracy and a shit product in the end.

Welcome to Utopia.

I hope the Chinese have the GPS coordinates of Hollywood & Vine.

RonF said...

virgil xenophon said:

"the real danger to the Civic Culture will come when they are forced to begin to think of themselves tribally as "white" first and foremost..."

It was said of Trump's victory in 2016 that for years the Democrats have been exhorting people to vote according to the racial or ethnic group they belonged to and were then shocked when the largest ethnic group in America finally decided to do just that.

PM said...

That's Step 1.
Step 2 is remaking previous Oscar™ winners with proper casting.
Por ejemplo:
Denzel as Tom Joad
Jodie Foster as Mother Joad
Tesla Pick-up (w/broken window) as The Truck

Jupiter said...

"You only have to satisfy 2 of the 4 standards to be eligible."

That's racist! And sexist. Will that do?

Ralph L said...

Daily Mail: 'Can you imagine telling Picasso what had to be in his f**king paintings!' Kirstie Alley hits out at the Oscars over new 'representation and inclusion' rules for Best Picture

n.n said...

Diversity dogma denies individual dignity, denies individual conscience, normalizes color quotas, color blocs, and affirmative discrimination.

"LGBTQ+"

The transgender spectrum.

Roughcoat said...

The "Young Frankenstein II" schtick is tedious.

Wilbur said...

I was watching the Miami local news at noon, just to see when the rain here is going to stop. Unusually, I forgot to mute it after the weather was finished.

I heard the two news-reading chicks read their teleprompter about this new Hollywood thing. The white one then proceeded to inform the audience how wonderful this is and how great "diversity" is. OK. Then the black chick intoned "Yes. Hollywood needs to look like the rest of America".

I couldn't help but wonder if she would say that about the NBA. Or does "diversity" only work in one direction? I guess we'll never know.

Keep streaming those movies - the DNC needs the money.

Clyde said...

I think the amount I care about the Oscars can now be expressed in negative numbers. They want to make Hollywoke only a purveyor of politically correct social justice agitprop. Then they'll say we're anti-intellectual when we don't go out to see their agitprop in theaters. Screw them!

Martin said...

I would care, if I cared about any of these awards: Oscar, Emmy, Tony, Pulitzer, National Book Award, Nobel Peace Prize, you name it), but they are just insiders patting each other's backs in a ritual that would embarrass chimps grooming each other. All this does is add another layer of obfuscation between the original purpose, to recognize quality or important achievements in the field, and what they have become.

n.n said...

Or does "diversity" only work in one direction?

Diversity is politically congruent ("="). That is to say it is a fundamental doctrine and belief of the Pro-Choice, selective, opportunistic quasi-religious ("ethical") philosophy.

Mark said...

So, quotas, quotas, quotas, quotas, quotas, quotas.

Or, in other words: tokens, tokens, tokens, tokens, tokens.

Progress.

Clyde said...

Mike Sylwester said...
People in other countries who watch American movies and television shows must believe that most judges in the USA are Black females.


If those people in other countries watched American television commercials, they would think that our racial composition was similar to South Africa. The same phenomenon is occurring in magazine advertising as well. My favorite one is the State Farm commercial with the black guy pretending he's the famous black athlete. Meanwhile, the new black "Jake from State Farm" tells everyone not to accept imposters! I'm glad that I'm not a white commercial actor or photo model, because right now, they aren't getting much work.

n.n said...

I would care, if I cared about any of these awards: Oscar

First, they came for the actors, but diversity [dogma], denial of individual dignity, denial of individual conscience, normalization of color quotas, color blocs, and affirmative discrimination is a progressive condition.

Dave Begley said...

Roughcoat:

It is "Frankenstein, Part II." Skip my comments if you like. When it wins the Oscar for Best Picture, you'll be sorry that you didn't recognize my genius.

Roughcoat said...

I don't care about the Oscars.

Valentine Smith said...

At this rate LGBTQ++++ and all oppressed minorities will reach full employment by 2024 and all in the sports and entertainment industries! (If those industries survive.)

What will they have to revolt against then?

Joe Smith said...

@Jamie

"Art is SO much better when it's hemmed in by meaningless rules."

What Jamie said is the best thing I will read about this anywhere.

These whiny little brats prattle endlessly about art and being artists.

When did a true artist give a fuck what anybody else thinks?

It's like giving Van Gogh a color-by-number and asking him to stay within the lines.

This is proof that they are nothing but no-talent whores who will do anything for money.

Original Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Original Mike said...

I can't think of anything less consequential.

William said...

I won't watch Oscar show, but I'll continue to criticize their choices and pay attention to the riper moments that make the next day's news. I think that standing ovation for Roman Polanski was a teachable moment for all Americans......I also subscribe to Great Courses. I'm pretty much a dilletante and only pick certain lectures in the course. Here's something interesting I just learned about Turks and their siege of Vienna in 1683. The extensive fortifications that surrounded the city of Vienna were built with funds supplied by the ransom of King Richard the Lionhearted. He was held by the Duke of Vienna, and that's where the money went. According to the lecture, it was a huge sum and paid for a lot of walls. King John and the Sheriff of Notingham have come in for a lot of criticism for the taxes they imposed to pay this ransom, but, in the end, the money went for a good cause. So let's hear it for King John and the Sheriff of Notingham and no more of this Hollywood propaganda for that proto-Commie Robin Hood. We're not being told the full story.

Ralph L said...

When Franz Josef tore down Vienna's walls nearly 700 years later, did he send England a refund?

Nichevo said...

Hollywood has always been careful not cast any Jew or Black in an unsympathetic role.


RC, you're really not looking for a debate in the sense of allowing your mind to be changed but I immediately thought of Ben Gazzara in Roadhouse. In what way is he not a true Scotsman? We also have David Schwimmer as Captain Sobel in Band of Brothers. Yes, that's two, but I'm sure that reflection would produce many more.

As for blacks, I don't know where you would bound that kind of stuff but most everybody in the movie Superfly was unsympathetic. And most of them were black. Oh, and as I've just been yelling at my digital assistant, how about Live and Let Die?

Maybe you just don't watch enough movies.

glacial erratic said...

Well, this will certainly improve the quality of the product.

SensibleCitizen said...

US settlers were majority Anglo Saxon -- meaning of English descent, or of the Germanic tribes that invaded England in 12th Century.

Today, Anglo Saxon descendants constitute about 15% of American ethnic groups. Are they minorities?