The Cinephile: Did the Oscars Play it Safe This Year?
With much of the post-Oscars attention focused on a ceremony some called banal (the choice of Seth MacFarlane as host really upped expectations of provocation), the real question remains —how safe were the Academy Awards choices this year? Yeah, Argo won Best Picture, Anne Hathaway for Best Supporting Actress, Amour for Best Foreign Language Film and Paperman for Best Short Film, Animated, as everyone predicted (that last one maybe only for film nerds).
But that doesn’t mean the choices weren’t controversial. In fact, this was probably the most exciting year for debate about the actual accolades in recent history. Here’s a look at some other potentially scandalous wins — and why or why not they should be questioned.
Best Picture: Argo
Argo a retrograde ‘white Americans in peril’ storyline an advertisement for the CIA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w918Eh3fij0
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
Django The Root Django doesn't seem to be told from Django's perspective
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUdM9vrCbow
Best Original Score: Mychael Danna, Life of Pi
Skyfall The Dark Knight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM2S3r_8xvI
Best Short Film, Live Action: Shawn Christensen, Curfew
Curfew Death of a Shadow Matthias Schoenaerts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLAVg17luqc
Best Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
Pulp Fiction Django
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pkq_eBHXJ4
Best Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio, Argo
as exposed by Slate this October