With the Oscar date nearing, February 24th, the Academy finally released this year's nominations. Many people were pleasantly surprised to see that Marvel’s Black Panther and Netflix’s Roma made the cut for Best Picture. Both movies received critical acclaim last year, with Black Panther as one of the highest grossing films in 2018.
Both Black Panther and Roma are considered as forces to new frontiers in the Oscars due to their cultural and historical significance. Black Panther was praised for its cast that mainly included people of color and its success at the box office. Not to mention, it is the first superhero and Marvel title to be nominated for best picture. On the other hand, Roma, has garnered a lot of success despite belonging in the less popular, black-and-white genre. Many Netflix users loved the movie for its unique subject and international appeal. Overall, these two movies have attracted the attention of many due to the stories they portray and their representation of people of color.
The Oscars has been criticized many times before for failing to recognize films that deviated from the traditional, “issue-oriented dramas” that mainly showcased white actors. In the past, people have popularized #OscarsSoWhite hashtag in protest of the awards institution. So, the Academy’s recognition of movies that made an effort to represent people of color in film has been long awaited. Personally, despite the Academy’s problematic past, I find it gratifying that amazing movies such as Roma and Black Panther finally get the recognition that they deserve. The Academy still has a lot of influence in show business and the nomination of such diverse movies can only pave way for more representation in Hollywood.
Questions:
- Why did the Academy decide to nominate Black Panther and Roma for Best Picture despite them being unconventional options?
- Why did these movies garner so much support?
- How will the nominations of these movies affect the masses? Hollywood?
- Should Black Panther and Roma be nominated for Best Picture?
I think with the #Oscarssowhite trend from a couple of years ago, movitiated the Oscars committee to try and diversify their nominees. Black Panther being one of the highest grossing films of the year, it would be hard to ignore its impact. I believe if the Oscars did not nominate these films, they would probably receive heavy backlash from the public. Black Panther is seen to many people as more than just a film because it is one of few movies that have an all African American cast that is nominated. I think more movies and Hollywood are more willingly to have more diverse casts, for example, there was a movie with an all asian cast for the first time in 20 years. I believe that these nominations will lead to more nominations that represent different cultures.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jane that the whole ordeal with the oscars being super white is probably something that pushed for more diversity in the nominations. I do think that these films have a lot of merit on them because they are great movies and the stats definitely show they deserve to be nominated with Black Panther being the highest grossing film of 2018. I think a big part of why they are getting a lot of support because these movies are big strides for representation in the media, and having awards to these empowering movies creates the reason that movies with diversity can succeed. I think with these nominations and the success of other American films with a diverse cast encourage more representation. Personally, I think we are in the right direction, but I would like to see movies with representation that aren't solely focused on their minority status so that diversity becomes more of a norm and not just for a film.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do believe that better representation in the film industry is important, I do not believe that nominating Black Panther for the Oscars was done out of consideration of furthering social goals. Black Panther was unarguably a good film, but outside of its unconventional minority filled cast, it was nothing exceptional. It's great success can be better attributed to challenging social norms rather than groundbreaking cinematography. Therefore, the Oscars nominating Black Panther for Best Picture seems to be more of a political move in order to appear socially progressive. Even though I am a bit cynical behind the motivation of the Oscars nominating Black Panther, I do still believe that the action will result in a positive change in better representation in the future for movies. Seeing more and more movies with a diverse cast become mainstream and gain wide acceptance is a sign of Americans being more welcoming of its diverse cultures.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you, I think that Black Panther was an amazing movie, but it did not have the sophistication as other films in the past that were nominated for Best Picture. The novel was made for the masses, not typical of the movies that are usually nominated for this category. I also believe that nominating Black Panther was most probably more of a political move rather than in recognition of the cinematography. However, this does not take away from the social relevance and over all amazingness of the film.
DeleteThe Academy decided to nominate Black Panther and Roma for Best Picture because of the significance its had in challenging largely white movie casts in Hollywood. Therefore, I think it is being nominated so the Oscars can seem more progressive and stop the "OscarsSoWhite" hashtag. I hope that Hollywood will simply include more African American's in their movies because it just goes to show how behind we are if a mostly African American cast needed to be hired to backlash against their current norms. These 2 movies garnered so much support because they were able to hire a mostly African American cast and create a very successful movie. I believe the nominations will affect Hollywood and will hopefully incorporate more African Americans in their movies. I believe that both the movies should be nominated for Best Picture because of the ratings they received and the effect they've had on Hollywood and multiple cultural communities.
ReplyDeleteI think the movie Black Panther was nominated for Best Picture because it achieved so much box office successes. When the film was first released at the beginning of last year, the film itself racked up a total $1.344 billion within 2 months. The content of the film itself and the story behind it attracted audiences everywhere to the point where it was nominated for Best Picture. I think this movie garners so much support because it featured actors and actresses who represent a minority in the United States. The film brought something different that is very different than all the other Marvel movies which already rack up a lot of attention. I hope that these movies will impact Hollywood and society through creating a new sense of equality and acceptance.
ReplyDeleteI somewhat agree with Caitlin. I think that Black Panther was a fantastic film which was monumental in African American representation. I do believe that because of the need for minority representation in the film industry certainly gave Black Panther a big boost which made it have such big representation. Again it was a great movie, but was it on par with some of the other movies that have won Best Picture like Titanic, Moonlight, 12 Year a Slave, etc.? It is very subjective and controversial. Honestly, I didn't watch Roma, but I heard it was a very good. I would honestly not be angry if either won. The Academy was saying something about their nominations though since about half have focused on a minority. Even if they weren't trying to, since it has created a conversation, there will probably be at least a tiny bit of change. I'm hoping to also see some more asian representation too!
ReplyDeleteThe Academy decided to nominate Black Panther and Roma for Best Picture because they were hugely popular films that were very successful at the box offices. I agree with Caitlin that the Academy’s decision was also partially a political move to make the Academy seem more socially progressive, but nevertheless, the two films still were extremely successful, had great cinematography, and deserved the nominations. To answer the second question, the two movies gained so much support because of their attempts to represent people of color in the media, especially since minorities have had such little representation in the film industry. Not only did Black Panther and Roma open the doors for African Americans in the film industry, but it will continue to inspire other minority groups. Hopefully, these two movies will make Hollywood more inclusive and garner more support for minority actors and actresses.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Academy nominated Black Panther and Roma for Best Picture because they were popular films. I think Black Panther had a boost in popularity because of its representation in minorities (which should be the case in all films none the less). I think the nominations of these movies will affect Hollywood by having more minorities represented in movies and shows due to the great feedback about Black Panther. However, I cannot speak on the impact of Roma as I have not seen the movie and do not know entirely what it was about. I think these two movies and their nominations will make Hollywood more aware of the need to be inclusive and represent minority groups.
ReplyDelete