Oscars 2020: AMPAS is slower than molasses

About last year’s Oscar ceremony I wrote: “Since the height of the #MeToo movement some are under the impression that things are changing in Hollywood. Last night’s big Oscar winners are more evidence that very little has changed in Movieland.”  (SEE: Feb. 25, 2019, post) It looks like I will be writing the same thing about this year’s ceremony, or about the best picture winner at any rate.

The nominees for best picture this year are: a story about one man (Joker), a story about two men (Ford v Ferrari), a story about two men (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), a story about three men (The Irishman), a story about many men and bad Germans (1917), a story about a boy and bad Germans (Joio Rabbit), a story about crazy Asians (Parasite), the end of a heterosexual marriage—how ironic—(Marriage Story) and a story about women (Little Women).    
The Academy has a long history of rewarding filmmakers who tell stories about two men (e.g. The King’s Speech, Rain Man, Midnight Cowboy) and stories about many men (e.g. The Hurt Locker, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Platoon, Patton, Lawrence of Arabia) so it is not surprising to see just one movie about women in this year's list of best picture nominees. The Academy is what it is. What this list shows is that it is still disinterested in women’s voices and stories. Thankfully female viewers are getting louder and louder about the Academy’s unwillingness to change.

​© 2020 Alline Cormier