Sunday night contained a fair amount of surprises, some fun choices (Spike Lee, Ruth Carter, Olivia Colman), and some questionable (you know exactly which ones I’m talking about). It seems like this discussion happens every year, but it feels like this year has a bit more engaging of a backlash due to the ultimate winner.
A lot has been said about Aziz Ansari as of late, especially since a year ago when allegations were made against him. So, as a result, it was natural to initially feel a little disconnected. And y’know what? He’s okay with that. He understands. But also, he just wants to set things right, put things on an equal playing field. Because what happened on the opening night of his L.A. run was not just comedy, but a sprite lesson on how to think critically, to get people to finally start questioning things at face value.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let’s take a look at how lucky we are this year to have so many “firsts” among the nominations:
It was May, 2006, in Indio, CA when the landscape of live music performance changed. Two Frenchmen cladded in robot attire were carted to the Sahara dance tent where they would put on their first show of the new millennium. No one had actually seen them in their new personas before, only in promotional material, but as they made their way to the tent, with the crowd chanting “DAFT PUNK, DAFT PUNK” heard from a mile away, they finally took the stage to a starving audience after a thirty-minute delay, and continued to blow everyone’s minds and the world with the most psychedelic LED light show ever produced.
As you may have heard, the Oscar nominations were revealed a few weeks ago, leading to a splendid surprise of many firsts. First Marvel film nominated for best picture, first time two foreign film directors are nominated for best director since ’76, first time a filmmaker has been nominated for both director AND cinematographer in the same year… but also – Netflix’s first nomination for anything… at all, nevertheless being nominated for best picture. Finally, the streaming giant that has gone against every precedent and normality that traditional Hollywood films participate in – box office numbers, theatrical windows, etc. – has achieved the status of “Best Picture nominee.” But it begs the question: why do they want it so bad?