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Scott Mendelson: Why Ava DuVernay’s ‘Selma’ Oscar Snub Matters
The Oscar nominations were announced this morning. There will be plenty of analysis regarding good surprises and bad surprises, and I may dip my toes in later today. But the most egregious omission is the sadly not-entirely-surprising absence of Selma’s Ava DuVernay from the five contenders nominated for Best Director. To the extent that one can be “angry” about a certain filmmaker not being nominated for a major award that honors the best in filmmaking, I am angry. I am angry both because she deserved a nomination. I am angry because if the legacy of DuVernay’s Selma becomes shaped by its Oscar-season controversy, I fear that it will affect the artistic opportunities afforded to its African-American female director in a manner different than if Selma would have come under fire under the directorial lens of a white male filmmaker.
https://twitter.com/FeministaJones/status/555738055165108224
https://twitter.com/arieswym/status/555730129457250304
Ms. DuVernay directed one of the very best films of the year and has been lauded and celebrated accordingly for the last two months and yet she was shoved aside for at least a few contenders who were nowhere near as celebrated. There is a real chance that this terrific and towering achievement that highlights the profoundly heroic and blood-stained work of those who worked with and for Martin Luther King Jr. during the “Civil Rights Era” will be forever defined by the notion that it wasn’t nice enough to a powerful white guy in a supporting role.
More here
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https://twitter.com/baratunde/status/555736887273717761
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https://twitter.com/Luvvie/status/555751057284820993
https://twitter.com/Luvvie/status/555755619743838208
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https://twitter.com/root_e/status/555738419905986560
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https://twitter.com/theonlyadult/status/555737965066850307
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https://twitter.com/TheObamaDiary/status/555741317578625025
https://twitter.com/TheObamaDiary/status/555738746650648577
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https://twitter.com/Awkward_Duck/status/555742165662728193
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https://twitter.com/mychalsmith/status/555728610007719936
https://twitter.com/mychalsmith/status/555728999515947009
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https://twitter.com/andreagrimes/status/555733349205942272
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https://twitter.com/mckinneykelsey/status/555724949428916224
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https://twitter.com/jbouie/status/555728096205488128
https://twitter.com/jbouie/status/555729044906721280
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https://twitter.com/jbouie/status/555723318863855616
https://twitter.com/jbouie/status/555724784794083328
https://twitter.com/jbouie/status/555725234901618688
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https://twitter.com/BillWeirCNN/status/555724146198720512
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https://twitter.com/CNNLADavid/status/555722621216518145
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The Obama Diary 
1??
Thanks, NW!!
Congrats Allison 🙂
Superior selection, as always, NW!!! TY!!
You’re welcome, Bob.
You’re welcome, Allison.
Furst?
1st!
MY SON LEFT THE TUNDRA TODAY…PRAYING HE HAS A SAFE TRIP….I AM CONSIDERING LEAVING THE TUNDRA…IT IS JUST TOO COLD HERE ANYMORE…:)
I hope Hollywood and the Academy are feeling uncomfortable this morning.
You know the Academy is like Congress. Shame doesn’t enter their world.
Just outstanding Nerdy, a brilliant compilation in response to this travesty. Thank you Legend.
Thanks, Chiparoooo.
‘Travesty’ – That’s the word. Just saw a tweet featured on HLN (TV station) that the 1940s Oscars were more diverse than the 2015 Oscars. That’s ugly, despicable, nauseating.
1940? Good gawd almighty. It’s just so hard to know where to start with all of this, but the omission of Ava DuVernay really tops it all – but then, she had two major things going against her, being black and female.
Even ‘The Lego Movie’ got snubbed for Best Animated Movie. That’s craaaaaaazy. It was amazing and also had a memorable song.
Love the director’s response.
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/555728579464413184
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/555743685111848960
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/555741628493619203
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/555739915120820225
Nerdy, in the end Ava DuVerney’s future and the potential for other movies like ‘Selma’ to be made will rest more on the money it earns than the Oscar. If people go in great numbers, if it becomes required viewing for students, if it slowly builds momentum at the box office, and if the dvd sales are high that will bring in future projects. Unfortunately, money truly does talk in the film industry and she has managed to deliver a superb film on a very small budget, which means the profits should be good.
By the way, I happened to see the movie, “Belle,” and I must say that Gugu Mbatha-Raw has one of the most beautiful faces I’ve ever seen on a movie screen.
Perfect. Perfect. Perfect.
Thanks, Jackie.
I’m buying it to show my high school students when I discuss the civil rights era.
Well they did say that they were going to take their country back.
Great tweets! Thanks, lots of Retweeting this AM!
You’re welcome.
Thanks for retweeting.
This is Unbeatable, NW. Great Job!
Triplets! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ for
Allison, 57andFemale and Don. Congrats.
Thanks.
Already in Progress…..1-15-15 at the WH Podium LIVE with Josh “The Voice” Earnest
RIGHT WING PUNDITS HAVE SPENT THEIR TIME HATING THE IDEA OF HAVING AN AFRICAN AMERICAN PRESIDENT WHO IS INTELLIGENT,DIPLOMATIC AND EXTREMELY WELL QUALIFIED TO HOLD THE POSITION…THEY HAVE BUILT THEIR PUNDITRY ON BIGOTRY,RACISM,SELF CONSUMPTION,GREED AND DIVISION…A HOUSE DIVIDED SHALL NOT STAND ON THEIR KIND OF SAND!…THEY THEMSELVES WILL MEET THE DESTNY OF A SEWER LINE…ONLY…THEY’LL BE LOOKING UP!
Well, meta, I’m glad the Harvard media center chief identified the problem. Now we need a solution.
What is this Terror Raid In Belgium on CNN about? I just saw Breaking News?
RAID ON TERROR CELL…SO FAR…2 DEAD…ONE INJURED!
Genius POTUS going where the audience is
Not demanding that one and all come into His world
Eager to meet folks where they already are.
Much like the tiara photo—-POTUS will come into your space and speak to you in a way you will be comfortable.
If I was a religious person I might guess that this is how a deity come to earth might act amongst his people..
You are so right! He has made himself the most accessible President that I can remember.
The WHPC are juveniles with idiotic and delusional tendencies.
A TeaNNers was reported to have asked this…..
Totally genius. Realize this will never ever happen in another US Presidency. my beloved President is amazing
and this is because he knows that the MSM will not deliver the message..or if they do it will be distorted…how many Americans would know about any of the proposals if he left it up to the media…so he took his message to We the People…and the MSM can’t stand it…
Our president learned from bitter experience to go around the GOP/media message machine and go directly to the people. The positive coverage he got in Arizona, Tennessee and Iowa from his SOTU previews was biggest reason he took these trips.
THIS IS THE BEST WAY FOR PBO TO BYPASS THE GOP….AND HE LOVES TO BE OUT AMONG THE PEOPLE…AS LONG AS THE SS DOES A TOP NOTCH JOB…OR I’LL SUE THEM!
THISSSSSSSSS!…
Jackie are you planning to attend the Progressive Summit
https://twitter.com/baratunde/status/555781641957023744
Now this is Great News.
Finally I hear something about this brave man who stepped up and saved lives. I have been listening and have heard NOTHING from MSM but crickets about this man and about Ahmed the policeman because probably it doesn’t fit MSM’s “fear paradigm”. Be afraid of the muslim man. Don’t focus on anything that uplifts.
If ONLY Respectable Journos here in USA will be bold enough to do what this French Journo did in France…….Fox is the Cancer and it has metastasized.
Great video – sent it to FOX HATE NEWS
Another indication of the inmates having taken over the asylum:
#LOLGOP
Women are disposable to the GOP
They Know that following PBO is a loser—why put a male in that position?
Oh my effing god:
https://twitter.com/jkfecke/status/555815349032345600
LOL LOL Spiraling the drain with the crazy and the lame
No brains No ideas No hope for the GOP
Why don’t the GOP let the Congressman who went and spoke to David KKK Duke white supremacists group? Ernst shall be interesting.
I’m sure Mitt Romney will be happy to do the response.
Marco Rubio, Bobby Jindal, ex-Gov. McDonnell, Michell Bachmann.
I WONDER IF SHE IS GOING TO SERVE THOSE UP DEEP FRIED…YOU KNOW…ROCKY MOUNTAIN OYSTERS. SOMEBODY BETTER TELL RUSTY IF HE’S AROUND JONI…BETTER TUCK THOSE IN WHILE ON THE BARSTOOL!
Can someone explain to me why we can’t put coal miners to work building renewable energy?
The answer is Owners…mostly GOPers and GOPers in office……=$$$$$$$$ made selfishly by the few Rich men.
The worst crime is that they convince millions of workers that there is no employment for them if they don’t take the risks of pulling coal out of the ground and burn dirty fuel.
That is so true, 57. A friend from West Virginia says that coal miners are never made aware of alternatives nor are there any entities–either state government or business–that make any attempt to change the status quo. There are no efforts at retraining and miners are led to believe that the only possible future and livelihood for them is in the mines, no matter how unsafe.
It is only by keeping Americans stupid that the GOP retains/gains power. It is outrageous.
Manufacturing businesses understand that styles, trends and items change – they are prepared to re-tool. Sure, they don’t always want to do it, but it is in the fabric of modern business that re-tooling is part of growth and longevity. It defies any logic to me that – once it is proven that something like coal is dangerous for the workers, dangerous for the environment, and that there are alternatives – that the industry doesn’t remake itself building what is better for the planet and the people. Germany, for God’s sake, will be all solar by 2020. Other countries are producing all of their electricity with renewables. WE HAVE ALTERNATIVES – and there are jobs to be had and fortunes to be made by doing the right thing. Why is this even a discussion?
THE ONLY TEMPERATURE RUSTY TOAST EM’ AND ROAST EM’ IDENTIFIES WITH…IS THE SOUND OF ICE CRACKING ITS WAY THROUGH A FOUNTAIN OF LIVER BILE…AKA…BOURBON…BRANDY…RIPPLE…WHITE LIGHTNIN’…BOONES FARM AND THE DROOL FROM THE BARTENDER’S NAPKIN! THEN HE JUMPS INTO HIS TURN ME ORANGE SALON MACHINE…NOW THAT’S CLIMATE CHANGE!
WHPC is still asking about this? Wow
The absence of genuine scandals involving the Obama administration forces the MSM/GOP to create these fake scandals and milk them till they are bone dry. All this obsession about “optics” is really about the media not being able to get over the optics of a Black man in the White House.
Short rant alert:
If you are saying that the Paris events are the French 9/11
Obviously you weren’t in Lower Manhattan smelling—for weeks—-what 3,000 burned bodies is like.
Many make these comparisons of events because it is easy and doesn’t require critical analysis. Others make them to get some attention or in an attempt to score cheap political points (like PBO’s 1001 “Katrinas”). Best to ignore the stupidity.
http://twitter.com/TheObamaDiary/status/555825166065106944
I refuse to acknowledge that anything at all about the Oscars matters. Art aimed at the lowest common denominator is generally crap and that’s what these back slapping sessions turn into. It’s marketing superseding talent. It’s the same reason that I don’t watch any of the iterations of ‘America’s Next Vacuous Teeny Bopper Music Star Who’s Never Touched an Instrument’.
Get Off of My Lawn!!!!
I NEVER WATCH ANY OF THAT STUFF………………..NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!
Knowing the demographics of the voting members of the Academy seals the deal.
I noticed the BS back when they completely snubbed Steven Spielberg for “The Color Purple” and pretty much all his other work up until they fell all over him for “Schindler’s List”. White savior, indeed.
Biggest Oscar blunders for me were Samuel L. Jackson not winning for his role in Pulp Fiction and Denzel not winning for his portrayal of Malcolm X. On the other hand, I don’t think Halle Berry was deserving for her role in Monster’s Ball.
I totally agree with you about Denzel in Malcolm X, but I thought Halle Berry did a great job in Monster’s Ball.
Did you ever see Spike Lee’s documentary “4 Little Girls” about the church bombing that killed four young girls attending Sunday school? That movie and Malcolm X are, imho, Spike’s best films.
What??? Halle tore my heart out with her sensational portrayal. Maybe it’s a woman thing.
It must be;) Same as my love of the movie Pulp Fiction has proven to be a “man thing”. I have always said that movie is my generation’s Citizen Kane.
As I sat in the theatre watching her heartwrenching scene in the hospital, I spoke out loud “oh that’s an Oscar, right there” and months later she’s making history holding that trophy.
I agree, locke. The Academy Awards have always been about self-congratulations and box office. Some of the “wins” over the decades have been absurd and the pompous self importance of the whole event is revolting. I always admired Kathrine Hepburn for ignoring the whole thing, even when she won.
Hey Jackie! I agree. I understand that it isn’t unusual that academy members don’t even see the nominated films. They send someone else and get their report. That’s what I heard anyway.
I also want to say that as much as Denzel transformed himself in Malcolm X, I knew wasn’t going to win for that role. A powerful Black man who told white america exactly what he thought of them. Never was going to happen. I agree with you about Halle however. There are so few roles out there for Black actresses. It burns me that that they win for portraying such stereotypes. I try to look past that and look at the work. It is difficult.
The Oscars never have excited me. I refuse to watch the program.
The one time I watched the Oscars was he year Amadeus won. That tells you all you need to know about me!!!
I recognized only three of the nominees…..I am so not with it 🙂
Haven’t watched the Oscar much over the years myself, but you certainly have me beat with Amadeus! I don’t normally watch awards shows at all. They pretty much bore me. I’ve only seen one of the nominated best films and this isn’t the first time that’s happened.
Industry awards ceremonies:
hilarious…..
Will never forget Rowan’s roles in 4 Weddings & a Funeral and Love Actually 🙂
Two of my faves. 😀
omg – so funny!!
Selma was wonderful film, and the cast were amazing. David Oyelowo performance was so good in the film that he made it look so easy. I can’t wait to see him and Lupita Nyong’o in the film adaptation of Americanah. I hope they tap Ava DuVernay to direct it.
It’s important to note that Selma was the second most critically acclaimed film of 2014 (second only to Boyhood).
Ernst is the GOP’s sacrificial lamb.
She has no future to endanger
GOP has learned not to expose its Princes to loser spot of coming on after POTUS
THIS!!!
https://twitter.com/Our4thEstate/status/555858932191604736
OMG hahahahahaha
*SCREAMS*
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Sir Bob? You are the BUSINESS!!!!!!
You rock!
Thank you Vicki and NW 🙂
He. Is. AWESOME.
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/555862109385281536
http://www.kitv.com/news/fundraising-for-future-obama-library-picks-up-pace/30744172
The Twitter in Hiatus?
Technical Difficulties?
Or is it Moi?
Haven’t had any Twitter difficulties, knock on wood.
I’m on a laptop Windows IE.
Good Evening TOD 😉
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/15/liberia-ebola_n_6481136.html
MONROVIA, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Liberia, one of the three West African countries worst hit by Ebola, could be free of the virus by the end of next month after success in curbing transmission, the government said on Thursday.
“There are 10 confirmed Ebola cases as of the 12th of January 2015 in the whole of the country,” Deputy Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah, who heads Liberia’s Ebola taskforce, said.
“My projection is that, if we do everything possible, we can reach zero by the end of the February.”
Liberia said this week that only two of the country’s 15 counties still had Ebola cases.
The worst epidemic of the virus on record has killed more than 8,400 people and infected some 21,200 in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea since it was detected in March, according to WHO figures.
More than 3,500 of the dead were from Liberia.
/////
Keeping my fingers crossed, wishing and praying for the 3 most affected nations in West Africa: Liberia, Sierra Lone and Guinea.
The American Slimie media was predicting millions by the end of next year……..
that’s millions infected and dead because Obama fault……
That is wonderful news!! And our President had a big hand in that success with his intervention of US military to create field hospitals.
Infrastructure is so critical.
While GOP believe that words are actions.
Another notch on PBO’s belt to refute #EbolaOutbreak “scandal.”
😀 😀
Presented by Ted Cruz and David Duke. A song by the KKK choir.
Twitter is working again…..for Moi…..
Sending {{{{{ ❤ + Prayers }}}}} to the Champ and Family.
Please get well soon.
AWEsome …simply AWEsome set of tweets…that tell the story …but also show the push back….
Forward>>>>>
Thanks, PF.
Dr Be Carson is about to be thrown under the bus by his so called supporters……
ISIL/Daesh has something in common with the Founding Fathers? Their Will to die for their cause? Please, do proceed, Doctor.
I forgot the link, oops.
Haha……Ben Carson’s incipient political career is about to go down in flames. He wasn’t ever ready for prime time, not even in the GOP.
https://twitter.com/Lib_Librarian/status/555870486849011713
Isn’t it impressive that ISIS are willing to die for their beliefs? They also are willing to cut your stupid ass head off too for no reason. How impressive is that?
President Ben Carson…..No way in hell.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Didn’t Bill Mahar say the same thing about the 9/11 murderers and got booted off teevee?
Maher said they were Not Cowards.
HE GOT A STANDING OVATION.
Why are RWNJs so anti-American?
To compare a nationless gruesome cult to our revered Founding Fathers? And to get a standing ovation? Is this a license for beheadings by the “Don’t Tread on Me” believers?
Last year’s Congress voted down the USA FREEDOM Act (“Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ending Eavesdropping, Dragnet-collection and Online Monitoring Act”) in November, which would have enacted the NSA reforms announced by PBO earlier last year.
This tells you how much deep s*%t we’re in.
Need to get some lawsuits going, pronto!
yowza
Now he meets with David Cameron. The man never stops!
i wonder how the meeting went…how much cooperation will he get from the so called “progressive” DEMS
By the way, if your wife is an “actress” with a stripper name (Candy], you’re automatically disqualified. We will not have THAT following the title of FLOTUS. Sorry, nope. Not gonna happen. Go home, Ben!
Thanks for playing Bumbling Buster Bingo!
Lots of updates, via RTs, in the sidebar …
David Cameron is noticeably slimmer. Looking good—not easy to do alongside our dreamy President.
Mark was not invited.
New post.
http://theobamadiary.com/2015/01/15/a-tweet-or-two-210/