When auntie goes to the oscars, some are more equal than others | thearticle

This year’s Academy Awards ceremony was the best in a long time. Not the speeches, obviously. The best advice given to actors receiving awards came from Ricky Gervais at this year’s Golden

Globes: “Thank your agent and your god and then f*** off.” Unfortunately, this wasn’t always heeded by some of the winners. One speech, in particular, was singled out for ridicule on social

media. Joaquin Phoenix (Best Actor) tried to set the world to rights: “We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are

unmistakeable. Then we take her milk that’s intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal.” Brad Pitt (Best Supporting Actor) couldn’t resist a reference to the Trump

impeachment debate: “They told me I only had 45 seconds this year, which is 45 seconds more than the Senate gave John Bolton this week.” And Laura Dern (Best Supporting Actress) thanked “the

gifts of the love stories in my life,” her children and stepchildren. However, there were some superb films to be celebrated. Some came away empty-handed. The underrated _Two Popes

_featured terrific performances by Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins, both nominated but neither among the winners. _The Irishman _was brilliantly directed by Martin Scorsese and featured

tremendous performances by Robert de Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci; three of the four were nominated, but none won. _Little Women _won much acclaim, but came away with just one Oscar. Fans

of _1917_ will be disappointed that it only won three awards, but Roger Deakins deserved his award for Best Cinematographer, and Sound Mixing and Visual Effects were also outstanding. _Once

Upon a Time … in Hollywood _deserved a special award for best plot twist and most unforgettable film climax. But it was _Parasite_ that made the biggest breakthrough in years, putting South

Korean cinema (and foreign language films) firmly on the map. The most controversial issue of all, of course, was diversity. But perhaps the real controversy should be about the BBC’s

coverage of this year’s Oscars. Every single report I have seen or heard on the BBC News by every single reporter and presenter has gone on about the lack of diversity. And yet Taika

Waititi, who won Best Adapted Screenplay for _JoJo Rabbit_, is the son of a Maori farmer and his maternal grandfather was a Russian Jew. Waititi describes himself as a “Polynesian Jew”. The

South Korean film, _Parasite_, won four academy awards (Best Picture, Best Director for Bong Joon-ho, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature). This was an astonishing

achievement, fully recognised by the members of the Academy. Then there are nominees like Antonio Banderas (Spanish actor), Rodrigo Prieto (Mexican cinematographer) and Nora Sopková (Czech

production designer). But clearly South Koreans, Spaniards, Mexicans and second-generation Maoris don’t count as diverse enough for the politically correct producers and programme editors at

the BBC. Nor does the huge success of films from small countries like South Korea (_Parasite_) and New Zealand (_JoJo Rabbit)_. In film awards, when the BBC says “ethnically diverse” what

they mean is black, not Asian or Maori and obviously not Jewish, Hispanic or Italian-American. More serious, though, is that these BBC reports mainly addressed one issue, the lack of

recognition of black and female talent, with the emphasis on _Little Women _and _Harriet, _not the eleven women who actually won Oscars. By and large, the BBC saw undelighted all delight.

Greta Gurwig was not nominated as Best Director, but _Little Women _was nominated for six Academy Awards (even though it only won one). There were plenty of fine films about strong women

characters – _Little Women_, _Marriage Story_ and _Bombshell_ – with acclaimed performances by leading actresses who received recognition Renée Zellweger (_Judy_) and Laura Dern (_Marriage

Story_) deserved their awards for terrific performances. It wasn’t that films mostly about men were silly “bang bang” boys’ movies. Films like _1917_, _The Irishman_ and _Two Popes _were

about big issues: World War I, the Mafia and post-war American history and the Papacy and the Argentinian military dictatorship of the 1970s. All were superbly made. Did Will Gompertz,

Sophie Long and numerous guests on the _Today _programme have any worthwhile criticisms to make of these films or their subjects? Not one. The 2020 Academy Awards will be remembered by some

for the exclusion (again) of black and female talent. Of course, they have a point. No women directors, cinematographers and only one woman film editor nominated. Only one black actor or

actress nominated out of twenty. But there was also much to celebrate. Great talent, other kinds of diversity and the historic breakthrough by two films from small countries, South Korea and

New Zealand, which may well open the way for other film industries far from Hollywood.