Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot about the Bechdel Test and the terrible, horrible, misogynistic films that do not pass it. You know, those sexist meat-fests like The Lego Movie and Gravity. And most other films out there.
The Bechdel Test ignores the complexities within film, or whichever media it is being applied. If we apply it to something like Gravity, we ignore that the central character is a woman. There is no ‘honorary pass’ – you pass or you fail. And Gravity, despite its importance to women in science fiction, fails.
So we very well could call this test bunk. However, that would be ignoring the actual point of the test. There are three things I’m going to discuss in the following post:
1) The Bechdel Test is not about passing or failing.
2) It ignores too many aspects of a film to be a real criterion for the worth of a film.
3) A proposition for a ‘better’ system.
The Bechdel Test
The actual test consists of three criteria. It’s been the general idea that if the film does not pass the test, it’s sexist. If it does, more time than not, it is a decent representation of women. This test is as follows:
1) The film must include at least two female characters
2) who talk to each other
3) about something other than a man.
It’s a simple test, so it may come as a surprise that so many films fail it so completely. An important distinction to be made here is the test means what it says – the women cannot be talking about any sort of relationship or thoughts about any male characters. This includes boyfriends, fathers, brothers, cousins, and even friends who happen to be male. The point is to show women existing entirely without the thought of men, even allowing for stereotypically female conversations to occur (i.e. tampons, shoes, etc.). So what does it mean when we have something like Gravity failing the test, and something like Sex and the City passing?
Sandra Bullock in Gravity
Well, it certainly means something. But it’s not a simple meaning. It speaks to the roles women play within a film reflecting the role women are perceived to play in society. All this does is point out a couple of the flaws of the test, while leaving space for a discussion of the actual point of the pass/fail rating.
It is meant to create a dialogue. It is not meant to tell you anything about a film so much as bring up a dialogue about society. We don’t need to say “This is bad” to a film that fails because it isn’t always a bad thing in the same way that we don’t need to say “This is good” to a film that passes because it really isn’t always a good thing. We need to ask “Why is this?” and move from there.
When we see films ‘objectifying women’ like The Wolf of Wall Street, a film that very clearly fails the test, the problem here is not the writers so much as it is a true story. It is something that actually happened. So, we have to step back and think “Why is this?” and “What can we do to fix it?” if we find it in a situation that needs fixing.
Thick and Thin Description
‘Thick description’ is a term made popular by anthropologist Clifford Geertz in his book The Interpretation of Cultures. Thick description is, very basically, viewing something within context. The simplest way to describe this way of viewing something is through an example.
Wyldstyle in The Lego Movie
Let’s talk about The Lego Movie. This film technically fails the Bechdel Test. The following conclusion, ignoring the actual point of the test, would be to call the movie sexist. We start with an observation: the film includes two major female characters, but they never have a meaningful conversation with each other. Now, we must ask ourselves why that is in the context of the story. Did they hate each other? Did they even know each other? Were they friends at all? In the context of the story, Wyldstyle and Unikitty were not friends. In fact, Wyldstyle found Unikitty’s general disposition annoying. So the next question: does it actually mean anything that they weren’t talking to each other? Does it make sense that these characters weren’t spending a good amount of time talking to each other? When we say, no it doesn’t mean anything and yes it makes sense, we have to go deeper still. Why would we need them to speak to one another? The assumption here is that we consider it more important for a woman to talk to another woman about something other than a man than it is for a woman to talk to a man about something other than a man. Why is this distinction important? What does it tell us about the story and the society in which the story was written that women are not talking about men, but we’d prefer it if they weren’t talking about men with other women? Take one more look at the observation: The film includes two major female characters, but they never have a meaningful conversation with each other. Let me rephrase the final question: Why must a woman have a meaningful conversation with another woman for it to count? Why is it less important for a woman to have a meaningful conversation with a man, even when there were other prominent female characters? Why does it matter?
There is a lot more that goes into this than is implied by the questions of the Bechdel Test. I certainly have an answer to that question, but I can’t rightfully put it forth without having to then pose three more questions about the implications and meanings behind my answer. And so on and so forth.
A Different System
Melissa Silverstein, founder and editor of the online publication Women and Hollywood had this to say: “The Bechdel Test is a starting point and not a finishing point. I don’t believe that two women talking to each other [about subjects] other than a man should be the bar we’re setting for our films. I want strong female characters.”
In my mind, this is what we should be attempting to measure. The Bechdel test has a purpose, but there are many more things we should be looking at before we judge the portrayal of women in film. With this in mind, I’d like to propose a different kind of system we may apply to get this across. I am going to draw inspiration from a test used to measure the strength of LGBT characters within media: The Russo Test. This system is also imagined to be put in application across media, include film, television, video games, and literature alike.
Part 1
1) There is a major female character
2) She is tied in the plot in such a way that her removal would have a significant effect on the film
3) She is expressed independently
By ‘independently’ I mean she exists without relying on another character to affirm her existence. The gender of this character does not matter. She is capable of standing alone, and this is made clear in the film. Some examples of a female characters that would pass Part 1 of this system are: Isabella and Aveline from Dragon Age 2, Hazel from The Fault in Our Stars, and Olivia Pope from Scandal.
Part 2
1) The female character is the leader of a major faction or organization
2) OR she is in high command of a faction
3) AND she continues to express leadership and earn reverence
4) AND she gains reverence despite or independently of the actual leader of the faction
Part 1 and Part 2 can exist independent of one another. Not every character is written to be a leader, so it would be ridiculous to apply this part of the test to every female character. However, if you look at the first part, both Aveline and Olivia Pope pass both parts of the test.
Part 3
1) The female character expresses her sexuality despite the will of another character
2) She enjoys expressing her femininity despite the will of society
3) She enjoys wants to be a mother, enjoys cooking, or enjoys any other stereotypically female trait for reasons other than ‘she’s a girl’
4) AND she is defined by more than this trait
Kerry Washington as Scandal’s Olivia Pope
This part of the test is more about women not being afraid to dive into a stereotype. They do these things not because society demands it, but because they legitimately enjoy doing it. The character does not have to have each trait listed here, and will be considered a pass if she has just one trait in addition to the fourth trait. Isabella from Dragon Age passes Part 1 and Part 3 because she is a hugely independent character that really likes sex, but has thoughts and motivation that go beyond this. Olivia Pope passes in all three parts. This does not make her an inherently stronger character, and we could take three thousands more words finding all the questions we need to expand our description of the importance of these questions to a female character.
I could list out a hundred more questions to fit into this system, a hundred more questions to help us define the way in which we want to look at female characters. But, when it comes down to it, I believe in one extremely important factor that can determine whether an idea can fit within this system.
We don’t need to compare a female character to a male character to determine her worth. Because, the truth of the matter is, the strongest character of any gender is a character that is heavily layered with different thoughts and motivations. Character A should have different thoughts and motivations than Character B. The strength of a character, at this point, should be viewed almost independently of gender. A female character is not weak because a male character is strong. A female character is not strong because she is seen as stronger than her male counterpart. And vice versa.
The Bechdel Test certainly has a purpose, a time, and a place. But it should not be our goal, and the fact that we treat it with this sort of black and white disdain vs. reverence speaks volumes about our society. What exactly it’s saying, I’m not sure I can say. But I do know there is a lot more that we could be talking about, a lot more we should be talking about.
It can begin in the Bechdel Test, but that is definitely not where it needs to end. If we end it there, we’ve cheated ourselves out of the examination of truly strong characters, and we’ve cheated ourselves out of some amazing society-examining conversations. We can do better.
The Oscars ceremony, in my humble opinion, was hilarious. And, at times, beautiful. There were a couple of upsets for me, but they were upsets I saw coming. It was a good year for me as well. I correctly predicted the winner of every category I felt qualified to make a prediction in. Next year I may be able to speak on the shorts, foreign language films, and documentaries.
As for the actual content, Ellen’s opening monologue absolutely killed me. Everything about it was perfect. I especially love how every year within the opening monologue the host always seem up to bring up the film they want to win. For example, in 2009 Hugh Jackman brought up The Dark knight along with the films that were actually nominated. The end of Ellen’s speech is what really killed me though – “Possibility number one, 12 Years a Slave wins best picture. Possibility number two, you’re all racists.” I actually died. If you missed it, it’s already up on YouTube.
“Happy” from Despicable Me 2 – Pharrell Williams “Let it Go” from Frozen – Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“The Moon Song” from Her – Music by Karen O; Lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze
“Ordinary Love” from Mandella: Long Walk to freedom – U2
This was not at all a surprise. I love their acceptance speech. It was very Disney, and oddly entertaining. What I really want to talk about are the performances of the night. U2 went on stage and was U2, so that was enjoyable. When I first typed up my predictions, though, I didn’t connect that Pharrell Williams was nominated. His performance was very entertaining and a lot of fun. I particularly liked when he went out into the front row and danced with Lupita Nyong’o , Meryl Streep, and Amy Adams. The Moon Song was creepy. I totally dug it, and I enjoyed that they didn’t try a big gimmick and just sat down on the stage and sang the song. As always, Idina Menzel knocked it out of the park. I don’t think people really realize just how hard that song is. Nearly the whole thing is belted, which could do some damage to the vocal chords (I saw an opportunity and I took it). Her voice cracked a bit when she hit the big note, but it was still lovely. A nice win for the night.
Best Original Score
The Book Thief – John Williams Gravity – Steven Price
Her – William Butler and Owen Pallett
Philomena – Alexandre Desplat
Saving Mr. Banks – Thomas Newman
While everyone saw this coming, I still reserve the right to be a little bit upset by it. I really did not like the score to Gravity. I respect and congratulate Mr. Steven Price on his victory, but upon closer inspect I really would have given it to Alexandre Desplat for Philomena. I really found that one to be special. I loved how during the ceremony iconic film scores were playing (mostly done by John Williams) and each presenter got their own little theme song (“I Dreamed a Dream” was playing with Anne Hathaway walked out). I think one of these years, they should play some of the scores nominated. Not enough people really pay attention to the music, especially what impact it has during the film. I think it’s just as important as hearing the nominees for best original song.
Costume Design
American Hustle – Michael Wilkinson The Great Gatsby – Catherine Martin
The Grandmaster – William Chang Suk Ping
The Invisible Woman – Michael O’Connor
12 Years a Slave – Patricia Norris
On reflection, I probably would have given this one to American Hustle. We always award a ‘period piece’, but the costumes for American Hustle had a bit more of a ‘wow’ factor for me. I think it’s more difficult to portray styles of recent history without getting blocked by stereotypes and the like. The costumes for Gatsby were beautiful, the costumes for all of these films were beautiful. This was a very strong category this year.
Production Design
American Hustle – Judy Becker (Production Design); Heather Loeffler (Set Decoration)
Gravity – Andy Nicholson (Production Design); Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard (Set Decoration) The Great Gatsby – Catherine Martin (Production Design); Beverley Dunn (Set Decoration)
Her -K.K. Barrett (Production Design); Gene Serdena (Set Decoration)
12 Years a Slave – Adam Stockhausen (Production Design); Alice Baker (Set Decoration)
I would have given this award to Gatsby hands down. The sets were what you would expect from these ladies, and they were absolutely beautiful, totally filled with awe, and each and every scene pulled me right into the time and the situation and the scene. I extend congratulations to Catherine Martin and Beverly Dunn for their beautiful work.
Visual Effects
Gravity -Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds
The Lone Ranger – Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier
Star Trek Into Darkness – Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton
Iron Man 3 – Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick
This is one of the very few awards of the night I would have given to Gravity hands down. The movie looked spectacular. As much as I disliked Gravity, as much as I liked Smaug and Star Trek (well, sort of liked), this was Gravity’s award to win.
Film Editing
American Hustle – Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
Captain Phillips – Christopher Rouse Gravity – Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger
Dallas Buyers Club – John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa
12 Years a Slave – Joe Walker
I wouldn’t have given it to Gravity, but I understand why it won. The film looked beautiful, and for most people, they way it was cut together really made them feel like they were trapped in space. I mean, the movie blatantly ignored things like physics and logic and basic storytelling, but I am not violently upset that it won.
Cinematography
The Grandmaster – Philippe Le Sourd Gravity – Emmanuel Lubezki
Inside Llewyn Davis – Bruno Delbonnel
Nebraska – Phedon Papamichael
Prisoners – Roger A. Deakins
I’m sorry, but most of the shots in Gravity were of Sandra Bullock’s butt. This should have gone to 12 Years or ever Her. Maybe another movie on the list of nominees really deserved it – I don’t know, I haven’t gotten to any of them yet. I understand why it won, I wouldn’t have picked it, but I understand. Again, not violently upset that it won. I’ve had months to prepare myself.
Adapted Screenplay
Before Midnight – Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke 12 Years a Slave – Screenplay by John Ridley
Captain Phillips – Screenplay by Billy Ray
The Wolf of Wall Street – Screenplay by Terence Winter
Philomena – Screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
And everyone told me Philomena would win. Take that! 12 Years deserved this award so much, especially with the snubs in just about every other category (more on that later). This film was actual poetry on the screen, and I was so proud and filled and joy with they called up John Ridley. This is truly and important win. He is only the second black person to win in the writing category, the first being Geoffrey Fletcher for Precious. He went on to give me all the feels. “All the praise goes to Solomon Northup. Those are his words. His life.” Beautiful speech for a beautiful film.
Original Screenplay
Her – Spike Jonze
American Hustle – Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
Blue Jasmine – Woody Allen
Dallas Buyers Club – Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack
Nebraska – Bob Nelson
And everyone said American Hustle was going to win. Boom, baby! Her was absolutely beautiful. The winners this year give me hope – they were poetry, masterful prose. Spike Jonze gave a lovely speech, as he is a truly adorable human being, and it was lovely. It was a great night for the writing category.
Animated Feature
The Croods – Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco and Kristine Belson
Despicable Me 2 – Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin and Chris Meledandri Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho
The Wind Rises – Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki
Ernest & Celestine – Benjamin Renner and Didier Brunner
A good win. I would have been unreasonably excited if The Wind Rises won, but this was really Frozen’s award to win this year. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the film because of the butchering of the culture that it borrowed from. What I have to say about that – nobody had even heard of these people before Frozen. You didn’t know about them or their struggles and unless Disney mentioned them you wouldn’t have known they were using an actual culture. You don’t have the right to complain that they didn’t do it well enough. I’m going to touch on that more later, but you have to accept little victories. This culture had no voice in mainstream media, and now it does. That’s more than a little victory, and we have to acknowledge that before we decide to condemn Disney because ‘they could have done better’.
Other Winners
These winners are by no means less important, these are just the guys I didn’t actually predict anything for in my previous post because I did not feel qualified or I didn’t feel like talking about Gravity.
Makeupand Hairstyling
Dallas Buyers Club – Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa – Stephen Prouty
The Lone Ranger – Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny
I did actually predict this one. I mean, come on. There was no way in heaven or hell the academy was about to give an Oscar to anything related to Jackass, and everyone hated the Lone Ranger. I don’t consider this to be a default win, though. I really think that American Hustle should have been nominated here, but I also really think that Dallas deserved this one. They had a $250 budget (which is nothing) and they did something beautiful.
Foreign Language Film
The Broken Circle Breakdown – Belgium The Great Beauty – Italy
The Hunt – Denmark
The Missing Picture – Cambodia
Omar – Palestine
While they were cycling through the nominees, The Great Beauty immediately caught my eye. The one little bit of a scene they showed was beautiful. I haven’t seen any of the films in this category, so I am particularly interested to see what everyone else thinks about these. I was quite happy when this one won, and I was also very pleased to hear Martin Scorsese mentioned in their acceptance speech.
Documentary Feature
The Act of Killing – Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen
Cutie and the Boxer – Zachary Heinzerling and Lydia Dean Pilcher
Dirty Wars – Richard Rowley and Jeremy Scahill
The Square – Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer 20 Feet from Stardom – Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen and Caitrin Rogers
I normally love documentary, so I was a bit disappointed in myself that I hadn’t seen any of these. I was immediately interested in The Act of Killing. Let me know what you think about these. With that in mind, this was one of my favorite acceptance speeches of the night. Sister-girl got a standing ovation. After that my dad turned to me and said, “12 Years better win after that.”
Documentary Short Subject
Cave Digger – Jeffrey Karoff
Facing Fear – Jason Cohen
Karama Has No Walls – Sara Ishaq The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life – Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall – Edgar Barens
This movie is important and I need to see it. That’s all I have to say about that.
Sound Mixing
Captain Phillips – Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and Chris Munro Gravity – Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson
Inside Llewyn Davis – Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
Lone Survivor – Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow
I also called this one. Everyone called this one. I don’t know much about sound mixing, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Gravity truly and completely deserved this one. I also heard great hings about Inside Llewyn Davis (I saw and opportunity and I took it). Regardless, Skip Lievsay would have won something.
Sound Editing
All is Lost – Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns
Captain Phillips – Oliver Tarney Gravity – Glenn Freemantle
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Brent Burge and Chris Ward
Lone Survivor – Wylie Stateman
Again, I don’t know much about sound. I almost would have given it to Smaug, but mostly because I’m an ass and I need to spite Gravity. Sound people. Come out from the wood works and set me right, please.
Short Film
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me) – Esteban Crespo
Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything) – Xavier Legrand and Alexandre Gavras Helium – Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson
Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?) – Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari
The Voorman Problem – Mark Gill and Baldwin Li
I just want to say that there were a lot of foreign films being honored this year, and I think that’s wonderful. I haven’t seen any of these even though I really should have. If you’ve seen any of these, please tell me what you think!
Short Animated Film
Feral – Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden
Get a Horse! – Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim Mr. Hublot – Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares
Possessions – Shuhei Morita
Room on the Broom – Max Lang and Jan Lachauer
I also should have seen these. If you’ve been on my blog as any point recently, you would know that I love animation. Like, a lot. I want to go into filmmaking, but I also secretly want to be an animator. Also not, because it might take some of the magic away. I haven’t decided yet. I was immediately intrigued by all of these films, and I will be watching them, but I mostly wanted to talk about the acceptance speech. It was wonderful. The guy who was talking was shaking so hard! I could tell just looking at him that this was a dream realized, and it just reaffirmed all of those crazy dreams I have.
Now we’re getting into the ‘big’ awards. They’re all big awards, but I really have something to say about a lot of these.
Director
Gravity – Alfonso Cuarón
American Hustle – David O-Russell
Nebraska – Alexander Payne
12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen
The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese
I love Alfonso Cuaron and he deserves an award. This movie was hard to make, and I understand why he won. I would have given it to Steve McQueen in a heart beat, but you know. My problem with this category is the presenters. Angelina Jolie and Sidney Poitier. Image this: it’s the 2006 Oscars, and Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Francis Ford Coppola are there presenting the best director Oscar. Martin Scorsese doesn’t win. He did win, but these were three of his closest friends there to present the award to him (finally), so image if they set that up and he didn’t win. This is essentially how I feel about this year’s award. Angelina Jolie is Brad Pitt’s wife – he was the producer for 12 Years a Slave. She was there with the cast, she knew them. Sidney Poitier was the first black man to win and Oscar and the second black person to win an Oscar. This year is the 50th anniversary of his historic victory. Steve McQueen would have been the first black person to win best director and he is only the third to be nominated. This was set up for 12 Years a Slave even though everyone knew Alfonso was going to win. And that’s just painful. I’m not saying we didn’t break barriers. Alfonso Cuaron is the first Hispanic (please correct me on my terminology if need be) to win best director, and that’s extremely important. We still broke barriers in this category, and even though it wasn’t the barrier I wanted, it was still important. Cue dramatic sigh.
Supporting Actress
Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle
June Squibb – Nebraska
Julia Roberts – August: Osage County Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave
I knew in my heart that she was going to win. I could feel it. But that did not stop the last second doubts from creeping in, that maddening nervousness that the academy was going to massively screw up and give it to Jennifer Lawrence. But they came through! Everyone was crying as Lupita went up to accept her award – she got a standing ovation. It took about two seconds for the screenshot of Benedict Cumberbatch crying to make it onto the magical land of tumblr. She sped on well past the 90 second mark, and (thankfully) nobody stopped her. “When I look down at this golden statue, may it remind me, and every little child, that no matter where you’re from, your dreams are valid. Thank you.” Yes. Yes, yes, yes. This win was important. It was really, really important. And they played her off with “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which was completely perfect and totally called for. “Because she’s chocolate,” my father remarked.
Supporting Actor
Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club
Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave
Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper – American Hustle
Jonah Hill – The Wolf of Wall Street
Again, it has been a fantastic year for actors. It was abundantly clear as we cycled through the clips of each and every one of them. I did cringe just a bit with Michael Fassbender’s intense performance being plopped right in between Bradley Copper and Jonah Hill. He really should have gotten a bit more recognition, I think. But, as we all expected, Jared Leto took home the prize and gave the first speech of the night. Which was completely touching and beautiful. People have called it a plug for his band, and I call those people rude. His band is something he loves, how the hell could he not mention it while winning his Oscar? I loved what he had to say about his mother, his brother, and the many victims of AIDS. This was also a very important movie and an important win. He gave a brilliant performance.
Actress
Meryl Streep – August: Osage County
Amy Adams – American Hustle Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine
Judi Dench – Philomena
Sandra Bullock – Gravity
I know a lot of people wanted it to go to Amy Adams, but this simply was not her year. She’ll have her moment. I have yet to see Blue Jasmine, but the clip they showed completely blew me away (I saw an opportunity and I took it). This was her year and her award to win. This was actually a very strong category this year, but there was no question as to who was going to take home the gold.
Actor
Again, fantastic year for actors. You know it’s a great year when Tom Hanks doesn’t make the cut.
Chiwetel Eljiofor – 12 Years a Slave Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club
Bruce Dern – Nebraska
Christian Bale – American Hustle
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street
His speech, though. I wasn’t completely sure what he was talking about at one point, but he did bring it all together in the end. He really said something. I told myself that I wouldn’t be upset when he won, that he did a great job, but I failed in this mission. I was upset. Not violently so, but enough to become a bit forlorn for a few minutes. Chiwetel Eljiofor was head and shoulders above every actor in this category. You could tell just by the clip they played. He was like that the whole movie – subtle, most of the story being told on his face. As stated in previous entries, the “Roll Jordan, Roll” scene is one of my favorite scenes in cinematic history. Don’t get me wrong, McConaughey was brilliant, and this snub wasn’t nearly as bad as what happened in 1997 (Djimon Hounsou wasn’t even nominated – he should have won that year, damn it!) but he just wasn’t Chiwetel Eljiofor.
Best Picture
American Hustle – Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison, and Jonathan Gordon 12 Years a Slave – Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas
The Wolf of Wall Street – Pending
Dallas Buyers Club – Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter
Nebraska – Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa
Gravity – Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman
Her – Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and Vincent Landay
Philomena – Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward
Captain Phillips – Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca
My reaction went something like this: YES! YES! KFNVJHNCSODCSLFVNASKFNCDKJNSLFVNSFVFNALJN! And then I rolled onto the floor and had a total spaz attack because yes! This is really important, guys! This is really, extremely important! The last movie to win best picture that had anything to do with American slavery was Gone With the Wind. In 1940. When the winner for Best Actress in a Supporting role couldn’t get into the theater because she was black and the security didn’t know who she was (don’t worry, she made it in eventually). In 1986, we all had to sit and watch as The Color Purple was nominated for 11 Oscars – and lost each and every one of them. We had to endure the 1997 Oscars as Amistad – arguably the best picture of that year, definitely one of the most important – wasn’t even nominated. Here is where we come back to the ideas I expressed under Best Animated Feature and Best Director – Yes, 12 Years a Slave was snubbed this year. Yes, it should have been nominated for and won more awards. But best supporting actress, best adapted screenplay, best freaking picture – those are victories! Those are hugely important, and we cannot ignore them simply because someone says there weren’t ‘enough’. This is something that should be shown in classrooms, this is a story people need to know. I second Steve McQueen’s impressive jump after his speech – we should all be jumping like that because this is a victory and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
What did you think of the Oscars this year? Let me know in the comments below, and have a very nice day.
I say ‘best’ because I don’t pretend to be an expert. The Gods of Film did not bestow on me some great sight that gives me special authority to truly decide what is ‘great’. And, until Grandmaster Yoda himself descend from the heavens and personally bestows onto me such power, I will remain humble and open to other ideas and opinions.
Also note, I have not seen all of the movies of twenty-thirteen. This list is based on my experiences and what I have seen this year. In depth thoughts on each of these films will come soon.
Honorable Mentions: American Hustle and Gravity
To be perfectly honest, I hated Gravity. We were thrown into an absolute mess before having any chance to get to know any of the characters – Sandra Bullock’s character especially. While my enjoyment of a film does not always hinge on my ability to connect with a character, in this instance it was so important because, without it, I lost my willing suspension of disbelief. Everything seemed farfetched – we focused on the spectacle when we should have focused on the character. That’s what made movies like Apollo 13 and Inception so brilliant – we didn’t lose the characters to the spectacle. That being said: visually speaking, Gravity is absolutely brilliant. This is definitely not Alfonso Cuaron at his best – but his ability to make a film look to amazing, to put us in the scene and really show us space – that’s an amazing feat. For that reason, this film deserves just about all of the technical Oscars it is definitely going to win. This is the film of the effects department and the technical team, and I appreciate it for that, if nothing else.
I wasn’t nearly as disappointed with American Hustle as a was with Gravity – I know that I don’t really get into David O’Russell movies, and that’s okay. I thought I would like it more than I did, but I was entirely underwhelmed. I will watch it again at some point and see if it’s better the second time but, in general, I’m not a fan. That being said: The performances in this film were great, and the ensemble work was brilliant. Every actor onscreen had such great chemistry with the other actors, I could really believe their story and I could really start to get into it. It was definitely a good movie, extremely popular with the acting community, especially. And I have to give it props for having one of my favorite opening statements in film history – ‘Some of this actually happened’.
5. The Wolf of Wall Street
This movie was completely hilarious. Brilliantly acted and, as expected from Mr. Scorsese, brilliantly directed. I came away from this movie with one thought on mind mind – ‘That was a reallygood movie’. What the movie does, is it brings you a sort of connection with DiCaprio’s character – Jordan Belfort – from the start. He’s poor, he’s just looking to become rich, he has morals and does not do drugs. About thirty minutes in, he’s done a complete 180 and you’re with him every step of the way. This movie is completely ridiculous, and most of this stuff actually happened. It’s hard for me to really explain how good of a film this is. Like most Scorsese films, it simply causes me to wave my hands around in the air making strange noises in a futile attempt to explain. Everything just comes together in a way where I lack the capacity to really pick out and discuss the individual elements – as a film, it was wonderful. That being said: This movie was originally second on my list, but got bumped down as I watched more and more movies – I even prompted my resident Movie Guru to take it down a couple of notches. While this film is brilliant and enjoyable, a lot of the things that make it so great is the shock of what your seeing, the shock that someone could be so completely ridiculous. It’s portrayed in a way that is so shocking, it might lose a lot of it’s value for some people the second time through. Overall, though, it was a great movie.
4. August: Osage County
I want to take a moment to appreciate this poster; it essentially sums up the movie, depicting the longest and arguably best scene in the movie. There are many things I love about this movie. One of my favorite things to see in a film is honesty – and this movie is starkly honest. The script was great, penned by the the original author of the play. The cinematography was great, the acting was brilliant, and the story was amazing. What some people dislike about this movie is actually what I really like about it: the honesty, the almost slap-in-the-face anger and sadness. These people are unhappy. This movie is so emotionally dark, watching it, you will root for the incestuous relationship to work out. Even the ending, while everyone technically escapes from the things that are destroying them, it presents the honest melancholy of such an escape. I really loved this movie – as much as you can love a movie like this. Every scene is brilliant. It’s criminal this didn’t get a best picture nod. Great movie, completely underrated in my humble opinion. Note that while this does not seem as excited as my comments for number five, a movie with this type of content is nearly impossible to explain in a couple hundred words in a blog post. I highly recommend viewing this film for yourself.
3. Her
This, ladies and gentleman, is great scifi. It’s the movie that bumped August down to number four. I was very prepared to like this movie when I first sat down to watch it, but I wasn’t prepared for exactly how much I would love it. This is easily my favorite film of the year, but as for actual ‘best’, it’s a solid number three. The script was the best original of the year – I hung on every word and every scene. And within every scene there was that stark honesty I am so, so fond of. The cinematography was absolutely brilliant – perhaps the best of the year. Even the editing – the way he cut in the little scenes without dialogue just to show you the true emotion behind this man. The performances were brilliant. The concept of this movie was absolutely brilliant. A friend told me, before I watched it, ‘I want this to win best picture. It doesn’t deserve it, but I want it’. I took his word for it, and moved on. But then I actually watched it, and I am now in that exact boat. I don’t think this should win best picture, but I want it so bad. I’ve never been in that boat before. You can see the main character falling in love with his AI as they build a true relationship (and no one really cares or judges him for it), you see him pulling out of his depression with her love, and when she disappears at one point, you’re at the edge of your seat. Because the AI, Samantha, is a person – grappling with her new found ‘humanity’. There are a million metaphors and it’s just perfect. Go watch it – you’ll understand a new found capacity to love a film completely, and the seeming contradiction of this film being a ‘solid number three’.
2. Dallas Buyers Club
This was definitely one of my favorite movies of the year. But, I really think it was also one of the best. Because it was brilliant. The cinematography was brilliant, the direction was brilliant, the characters were brilliant – their development was even better. Again, this movie was very honest. Not honest in a way that is unsettling, but honest to the point of subtlety – subtle pain, subtle connections. Even though this movie, the characters especially, were pretty far from subtle. Matthew McConaughey gave a truly brilliant performance – he’s going to win the Oscar. And even though I still maintain he was second best, I will not be upset when he wins. Rather, I accept and appreciate it. Jared Leto is also going to win the Oscar – rightly so, because he was brilliant. Many, many things make me love and appreciate this movie. For one, we’ve done an AIDS-centered movie without the main character being black or gay. In so many movies it’s ‘other people can get aids too’, but we don’t really see it. And it wasn’t all doom and gloom – they wanted to live, and that’s what they did. One of the major things that made me love this movie so much was the huge character growth. McConaughey’s character, Ron Woodroof, was a piece of shit at the start of the movie. But the end, he’s so human – calling his development a 180 or 360 or what have you would be completely inadequate. But these changes happened over time, he didn’t suddenly see the light. Then, of course, there was Jared Leto’s character: Rayon. Trust me when I say that rayon was perfect, and then go watch the movie and see for yourself. Because Rayon was perfect. Ron and Rayon initially meet in the hospital in a very funny scene, and months later enter into a business deal that forms an extremely unlikely friendship. Like, really unlikely.
Their scenes are some of the most heartbreaking and heartwarming scenes I’ve seen on screen. Because they really do become actual best friends – the best friend either one has ever had. It’s beautiful, man. I love this movie, and I don’t think this bit in a blog post really does it justice. Go and see it for yourself.
1. 12 Years a Slave
If you’ve made it this far, you know I love an honest film. And this move is…well I don’t know if I can properly describe it. For me, it’s easily the best film of 2013. There is no competition. This film is truly brilliant. I cannot stress that enough. The cinematography was brilliant – they had one camera and 35 days to shoot and they produced something completely brilliant. The script – brilliant, and it’s going to win the Oscar. Michael Fassbender gives a brilliant performance, but all praises belong to Lupita Nyong’o and Chiwetel Eljiofor. Lupita Nyong’o was simply amazing in this film. She’s going to with the Oscar, and I am going to be very happy about it. She gave the superior performance in her category – easily one of the best of the year. And Chiwetel Eljiofor was absolutely incredible in his portrayal of Solomon Northrup. I connected with him as I got to see his family, his life, and as it was all taken from him in the course of one night. As he was dehumanized and broken each and every day – right alongside Nyong’o’s character, who was broken from the start. This film is the chief portrayal of American slavery. Everyone knew it was bad, that slaves were whipped, that they were not considered human. But they never tell us how bad, they never go into the extent of the pain of the actual slaves. So often in movies, the slaves become one massive, faceless character. They are slaves, they are suffering. This film offered an actual perspective into the inhumanity of the whole thing. They are human, and they are dying. This film is tough to watch – people were leaving the theater, even I had a it of an emotional collapse after watching this movie. Nothing has moved me quite so deeply, and I don’t think anything will again.
I’d like to leave you with a short scene from 12 Years: One of my favorite scenes in this movie brilliantly displays what I like to call the birth of soul music – as someone without hope allows himself, for the first time, to feel that hope, to consider that he may get out of this, that he may see his family again, that hope is the only thing that will keep him alive until his does. And it’s all on his face.
I hope you’re all as excited about the 86th Annual Academy Awards as I am. 2013 was a pretty good year in film (more on that later) and Ellen will be hosting the ceremony. Lots of excitement! Here, I’m going to talk about what I think should win, and what I think will win. Yeah? Yeah.
“Alone yet not Alone” from Alone Yet Not Alone – Music by Bruce Broughton; Lyric by Dennis Spiegel
“Happy” from Despicable Me 2 – Pharrell Williams
“Let it Go” from Frozen – Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“The Moon Song” from Her – Music by Karen O; Lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze
“Ordinary Love” from Mandella: Long Walk to freedom – U2
“Let it Go” is almost definitely going to win. I really like the song, but I do think a lot of what made it brilliant was the animation that took place during the song. The only other song on the list that has a shot is “Ordinary Love”. But with “Let it Go” having won the critics choice award, it’s almost a sure thing that it will win the Oscar.
Another great song from 2013 was “I See Fire” from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug by Ed Sheeran. The song coming right after the cut when everything went to hell was actual perfect.
Best Original Score
The Book Thief – John Williams
Gravity – Steven Price
Her – William Butler and Owen Pallett
Philomena – Alexandre Desplat
Saving Mr. Banks – Thomas Newman
I’m actually less informed about this category this year than I usually am. My first instinct is to say it should go to John Williams, because this is John Williams we’re talking about, and his score for The Book Thief is absolutely beautiful. After that, I would probably say Her. It was so perfect for the film and had a huge interaction with the story. Philomena and Saving Mr. Banks were also really strong. That being said, Gravityis probably going to win the Oscar. Which upsets me, because I didn’t even notice there was a score for Gravity. I always thought that best score should go to the score that’s really a part of the story telling – and Gravity’s wasn’t. For me, it’s the weakest one on the list. But, you know, what can you do.
Costume Design
American Hustle – Michael Wilkinson
The Great Gatsby – Catherine Martin
The Grandmaster – William Chang Suk Ping
The Invisible Woman – Michael O’Connor
12 Years a Slave – Patricia Norris
The Great Gatsby is probably going to win. This is one of the few times in history where I actually don’t really have an opinion. I mean, my opinion is that the costumes in all of these movies looked fantastic, and I will not be upset no matter who it goes to.
Production Design
American Hustle – Judy Becker (Production Design); Heather Loeffler (Set Decoration)
Gravity – Andy Nicholson (Production Design); Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard (Set Decoration)
The Great Gatsby – Catherine Martin (Production Design); Beverley Dunn (Set Decoration)
Her -K.K. Barrett (Production Design); Gene Serdena (Set Decoration)
12 Years a Slave – Adam Stockhausen (Production Design); Alice Baker (Set Decoration)
This one is, again, probably going to The Great Gatsby. The movie looked beautiful. I mean, you’re watching it and you know exactly who made it because it has the same sort of feel to Moulin Rougue, but still. Beautiful. I would have liked to see a nomination for The Desolation of Smaug in this category, though. But they all looked great – you really felt the 70s in American Hustle, you could feel the subtle futuristic setting of Her, 12 Years really immersed you within the time and the situation, and Gravity was…you know….in space.
Foreign Language Film
I’m only bring this up because I’m pissed off. I’ve only see a couple of the films in this category, but something terrible has happened.
The Broken Circle Breakdown – Belgium
The Great Beauty – Italy
The Hunt – Denmark
The Missing Picture – Cambodia
Omar – Palestine
Somehow, Blue is the Warmest Color was not nominated. Are you kidding me? Like are you actually serious right now? That movie was absolutely beautiful! It won the critics choice award and it wasn’t even nominated for the Oscar. Not the first time in history this has happened, but it pisses me off almost every time. I’m not saying that movies here don’t deserve to be nominated. Just, Blue is the Warmest Color.
Visual Effects
Gravity -Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds
The Lone Ranger – Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier
Star Trek Into Darkness – Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton
Iron Man 3 – Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick
Gravity is definitely going to win this. And it deserves to win. The effects were beautiful.
Film Editing
American Hustle – Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
Captain Phillips – Christopher Rouse
Gravity – Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger
Dallas Buyers Club – John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa
12 Years a Slave – Joe Walker
The winner of this award traditionally goes on to win Best Picture. That being said, Gravity, the visual spectacle that it was, it probably going to win. It has no chance was winning Best Picture, but it’ll probably get this one. I understand, but I would also be glad to see it go to 12 Years or Dallas. Or Her. Her was brilliantly cut together.
Cinematography
The Grandmaster – Philippe Le Sourd
Gravity – Emmanuel Lubezki
Inside Llewyn Davis – Bruno Delbonnel
Nebraska – Phedon Papamichael
Prisoners – Roger A. Deakins
First and foremost, 12 Years a Slave should have been nominated in this category. They used one camera and had 35 days to shoot (which is unheard of) and it came out wonderfully. 12 Years was certainly strong enough to win in this category. Unfortunately, Gravity is probably going to win. While it was very visually pleasing, in generally, the cinematography was ‘nothing special’ for me. What I really think should win (based on what I’ve seen so far) is Her – the cinematography was really a part of the story. it was kind of completely perfect.
Adapted Screenplay
Before Midnight – Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
12 Years a Slave – Screenplay by John Ridley
Captain Phillips – Screenplay by Billy Ray
The Wolf of Wall Street – Screenplay by Terence Winter
Philomena – Screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
This one’s going to 12 Years a Slave. It has to. If I haven’t said it already, the film was beautiful. It was an actual piece of art. I would accept it going to The Wolf of Wall Street (it won’t), but current evidence suggests it going to 12 Years. And 12 Years definitely deserves it.
Original Screenplay
Her – Spike Jonze
American Hustle – Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
Blue Jasmine – Woody Allen
Dallas Buyers Club – Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack
Nebraska – Bob Nelson
The writing categories are two of the strongest this year. That being said, Her is going to win. I won’t accept any other winner. The screenplay was absolutely brilliant.
Animated Feature
The Croods – Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco and Kristine Belson
Despicable Me 2 – Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin and Chris Meledandri
Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho
The Wind Rises – Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki
Ernest & Celestine – Benjamin Renner and Didier Brunner
I love all of these movies, but Frozen is definitely going to win. And I really think it deserves to.
Director
Gravity – Alfonso Cuarón
American Hustle – David O-Russell
Nebraska – Alexander Payne
12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen
The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese
While it would certainly be nice to see Scorsese win again (he won in 2006 for The Departed), this year it’s going to Alfonso Cuaron. I’m almost certain of it. That being said, I would really love to see Steve McQueen win. What with the tough subject material, and the fact that they had one camera and 35 days and produced something of such quality, I think he really deserves it even over Alfonso. Gravity is, by far, not the best of Alfonso Cuaron. He certainly deserves and Oscar, just not for Gravity. I also would have loved to see Jean-Marc Vallée nominated for Dallas Buyers Club. And it is completely criminal that Spike Jonze wasn’t nominated in this category.
My thing is, this category had such potential to be one of the strongest this year. I haven’t seen Nebraska yet, but Gravity is probably Alfonso Cuaron’s weakest film to date. And American Hustle – well, what made the movie was the acting. I understand, I do. But, for me, these are five of the best directors of the year – not exactly the top five directors of the year.
Supporting Actress
Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle
June Squibb – Nebraska
Julia Roberts – August: Osage County
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave
Lupita Nyong’o not only completely deserves to win, she’s definitely going to win. I’m very happy about that.
Supporting Actor
Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club
Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave
Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper – American Hustle
Jonah Hill – The Wolf of Wall Street
It has been a fantastic year for actors. Truly. That being said, Jared Leto is definitely going to win, and he definitely deserves to win. Again, super happy about that.
Actress
Meryl Streep – August: Osage County
Amy Adams – American Hustle
Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine
Judi Dench – Philomena
Sandra Bullock – Gravity
I haven’t gotten to Philomena or Blue jasmine yet (I’m working on it), but all evidence suggests that Cate Blanchett is going to win. From what I’ve seen so far, the only other person I’d accept winning this year is Meryl Streep.
Actor
Again, fantastic year for actors. Check out this line up.
Chiwetel Eljiofor – 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club
Bruce Dern – Nebraska
Christian Bale – American Hustle
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street
Matthew McConaughey is almost definitely going to win. And – as much as it pains me to say it – I can completely see why. This year, I would have given it to Chiwetel Eljiofor for his positively brilliant performance in 12 Years, but I will not be upset when Matthew McConaughey wins. He gave a fantastic performance – definitely Oscar worthy.
Best Picture
American Hustle – Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison, and Jonathan Gordon
12 Years a Slave – Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas
The Wolf of Wall Street – Pending
Dallas Buyers Club – Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter
Nebraska – Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa
Gravity – Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman
Her – Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and Vincent Landay
Philomena – Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward
Captain Phillips – Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca
There are some years where I am completely stumped and cannot even form a coherent opinion on what should win. Like in 1994 – Forest Gump, Pulp Fiction, and The Shawshank Redemption were all nominated. I still have no idea which was truly the better of the three. This is not one of those years. While I wasn’t crazy about American Hustle or Gravity (and August: Osage County definitely should have been nominated) I understand that both are serious contenders. That being said, it has to go to 12 Years a Slave. I might be the only person that thinks that 12 Years is going to win (a lot of other people think it’s going to American Hustle) bu all evidence really suggests it’s going to 12 Years. It won the Golden Globe, when everyone thought it was going to Gravity. It won the Critics choice award (historically the best Oscar predictor) when everything thought it was going to American Hustle. American Hustle has more nominations that 12 years (10 to 9), but American Hustle is projected to win one (makeup) while 12 Years is protected to win two of the bigger ones (supporting actress, adapted screenplay). While the most Oscars of the night are almost definitely going to Gravity, Gravity has just about no chance – it’s always been between 12 Years and American Hustle. Best how the award season is going, right at the end of the race, Gravity is pulling up a bit. If anything other than 12 Years wins, I am going to give up. For me, it’s easily the best picture of the year. Hence, it’s winning the damn award.
Leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments below. I’ll have my list of the best films of 2013 up soon.
The Paradoxical Paradigm 