Click HERE for Newly Revised ‘08 Oscar Impact Chart.
I heard a very interesting segment on NPR this AM, an interview with Matt Miller about his new book The Tyranny of Dead Ideas. Miller explicitly endorsed the main message in President Obama’s recent Inauguration Address: let’s drop the rhetoric, figure out what actually works, & plan our future accordingly. I agree.
Many, many people are contacting me now to explain “the rules;” suggesting that if I only understood “the rules,” then I wouldn’t be concerned, surprised, or upset about the fact that SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE’s credited co-director hasn’t been nominated for any Best Director awards. If only it were that easy!
I fully understand “the rules,” thank you very much, but here’s my point: if current rules produce abysmal results, then I think the powers that be need to examine their rules & make appropriate changes. Stop & consider the actual numbers: do YOU really want to defend the fact that over 99% of all individuals ever nominated for a Best Director Oscar have been male??? Is this really a fact that YOU think should be simply ignored, now, at the end of the first decade of the 21st Century???
This is not a joke, folks, this is a fact! In 80 years of Oscar history, 99.25% of all nominations for Best Director have gone to men. Furthermore, 99.25% of all nominations for Best Director have gone to white men. (John Singleton was nominated for BOYZ N THE HOOD in 1992, & Ang Lee was nominated in 2001 for CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON & in 2006 for BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.) Furthermore 100% of all Oscar-winning Directors have been men, & 98.75% of all Oscar-winning Directors have been white men. (Ang Lee broke the color barrier when he won in 2006.)
If this is the system YOU are defending, then I suggest you give serious thought to buying a copy of The Tyranny of Dead Ideas. Me? I will continue to fight this by asking AMPAS to examine its rules, identify sources of hidden bias, & make necessary internal reforms. If YOU agree, then please write to AMPAS & tell them so. If you do NOT agree, then please give me better reasons than same old, same old, because The Tyranny of Dead Ideas will never sway me.
