The Oscar nominations came out this week. I have not seen any of the films! I don't see as many movies as I used to. There just never seems to be time. And I am less likely to be drawn to a movie because of Oscar buzz. I used to pore over the nominations and my sister and I would write lengthy letters discussing each nomination in detail -- who should win, who would win, etc. I understand a lot of it is not just artists choosing the best artist -- a lot of people campaign for awards and a lot of it is political. Some people are suggesting that the Oscars (and Hollywood itself) is closed to people of colour. What do you think? Look at the nominees. Is that a fair judgement?
Anyhow, here are your journals for the week . . .
Grade 9/10/11/12 (D Block): Write about the character you've been assigned for the role play. How do you plan to portray that character? (Provide details.) What will be a challenge? How is the character similar to you? (You must be able to find something!) Are you connected in any way to any of the other characters? Describe how and what you will do about it.
Drama 8: Which "show and tell" speech was most memorable to you? Explain why.
Hey Kosar,
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the Oscars have a race problem. Looking back on the nominations throughout my life, numerous people of colour have been nominated (and won, I should say as well). While I don't think that the academy awards are a true meritocracy, due to the campaigning that you mentioned above, I think that this issue has been blown out of proportion.
-SJ
Well, I think 10% of people in the USA are black (am I close?) and probably, we can assume (I know, don't assume, but I'm going to) that 10% of the actors in Hollywood are black (but I think it's more, that's from Seinfeld, I think) but I don't think that 10% of the Oscar winners are black. Between the two of us, I bet we could name most of them. The power structure in Hollywood is white and I don't think they're making a lot of movies with black casts. And someone said on the news the other day, that if there's a lawyer in a movie and he's not specifically black, then the assumption (again, with the assuming!) is that he's not black, and that he's a HE. Of course, we have Denzel Washington and Will Smith. Women? Halle Berry? Viola Davis? Lupita Nyong'o (I can't even remember how to spell her name). I think they have a point. What about Asian people? I can't name one Asian actor. Margaret Cho. Is she even an actor? And of course, our friend, Donald Trump, says most Mexicans are rapists and criminals -- maybe there are a few actors (and directors) -- I know, Alejandro Innaratu won the Oscar last year -- is he the exception that proves the rule? Hey, look at me, responding to a comment! It took me about 10 minutes to figure out how!
DeleteI've been assigned Ian, a troublemaker on the way to becoming an alcoholic. He never does his homework, and isn't attending his other classes. I will play the "volatile temper" side of him more on the Monday, and play drunk (only slightly) on Tuesday. He doesn't want Mr Swanson to know he's drunk, so I'm going to try and lay low, not be too loud. I'll walk a bit crooked, slur my speech a little, be a bit dozy and hungry, etc, etc. Ian is not at all like me, but we are alike in that, when provoked and/or annoyed I can sometimes have quite the temper. I interact with Manny, whom I drink with during lunch and who also seems to be my only friend in the school.
ReplyDelete-Isaac