Despite earning rave reviews for its artistic direction and gripping acting performances, The Oscars chose to follow the path blazed by the Golden Globes and completely snub Selma from some well-deserved nominations.
Via TheGrio:
The Oscars missed out on the chance to make history and nominate its first black female director, Ava DuVernay, for her Golden Globe-nominated work on Selma. The film’s star, David Oyelowo, also was completely overlooked for his gripping portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Selma received a nomination for best picture; the film’s only other nomination was for best song, for Common and John Legend’s recent Golden Globe winner Glory.
All of the four major acting categories; Actor in a Leading Role, Actress in a Leading Role, Actor in a Supporting Role, and Actress in a Supporting Role; feature only white actors. Nominees for best director are also all white with the exception of Mexican-born filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu.
Perhaps the Academy thinks Black America is still singing Roll Jordan Roll over Lupita Nyong’o and 12 Years A Slave’s win last year. Look for the award show to use a lot of black actors and actresses during the broadcast as presenters and performers to distract from the lack of diverse nominees.
Supporting actor Common told Hip-Hop Wired that he feels that Selma will go on to become a vital teaching tool for schools come future Black History Months.
They will just have to do it without the prestigious Oscar nominated credentials.
Meanwhile, check out some of the nominations from the Academy’s top categories in the gallery below.
—
