Oh, my… Ominous silence in response to my “Blue Oscar” chart, except for one [male] friend who wrote: “I don’t think women should block vote, whether it be a film director, political candidate, or whatever…”
It’s painful to read the statement “just vote with your heart for the films, performances, and technical accomplishments that you really believe are the best,” interpreted as telling women they should “block vote,” especially since (1) Kathryn Bigelow is already so far ahead in the handicapping that no “block voting” is required in her case, & (2) I gave no specific recommendations in any category.
My goal was to help explain the mechanics: Why is Oscar always Blue? Oscar is always blue because the process of selecting Oscar candidates systematically eliminates female POV. But now that only 5 candidates remain in most categories, if 1/3rd are the voters are women, then female AMPAS voters actually have an opportunity to affect the outcome. They don’t have to “organize” to do this; they simply have to understand the basis of the “cumulative factor” so they won’t be “seduced” by it.
For the record, I think the primary goal of moving from 5 to 10 Best Picture candidates was simply to increase TV audience. But consider: It’s no secret women are more interested in “OscarBowl” then men are (something obvious simply by comparing SuperBowl versus OscarBowl advertising). Nevertheless, the films actually in contention in recent years were rarely films most women felt reflected their own lives & experiences… Why? Because “women hold up half the sky,” but Oscar is way too Blue!
