The Girl and her odd world

Let's go bit by bit, shall we?

Disclaimer: I have not yet watched Dallas Buyers Club. I want to.

First, how exactly did Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey erase queer people from history? This is a confusing statement, and one that's kind of contradictory considering that, from what I know of Dallas Buyers Club, it has a prominent queer character. The movie is about the realities of life for people with aids, of which one of them, Rayon, is trans. The reality in the 80s was that there was transphobia and homophobia and phobia towards people with aids. Even within the group of people who had aids, this transphobia and homophobia still existed, just as today there is still transphobia and bi-erasure within the lgbtq community. By making a movie that brought to attention the struggles of all kinds of people with aids, they are actually bringing attention to the struggles of people with aids. What's wrong with that? 

Then there's the critique that he didn't acknowledge all the people alive today with aids. Considering that this is a short speech, acknowledging that aids has been the cause of death for millions of people in the world is incredibly important. They definitely could have talked about the people living with aids today but I don't hold it against them, especially not Jared, because it was still a good speech. Also, they were given recognition for their acting abilities. Jared Leto winning the Oscar wasn't for how the character was written or the story of the movie, it was about his performance as an actor. To him, talking about the opportunities that he was given by his mom was more important and considering that this was his moment, he should not be judged for thanking his family. This person isn't judging that but I have seen comments about it elsewhere. 

Second, the critique about Cate Blanchett was bizarre. Cate Blanchett made some powerful statements about the state of things in Hollywood (along with Ellen) and she should be applauded for pointing them out. Woody Allen has nothing to do with this. Honestly, I think people's actions can be separated from previous actions or comments. To me, she could have honestly defended (INSERT OFFENSIVE CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY CARD HERE), that still should not detract from the value of her commentary. 

Third, the Leo thing. First, as my housemate pointed out, the Leo thing is mostly kind of a meme. But I am going to also legitimately defend the right for people to be upset about Leo not winning.

Disclaimer: I am a noob and haven't watched any of the movies that were nominated. However, I believe my comments are still applicable because they are more just general comments about how we critique things.

Leo is not Jordan Belfort, the same way that he was not Jack nor Cobb. He is an actor. Blaming him for the fortune of the man he is playing is entirely unfair and makes two statements, both of which I think are important to discuss. One, that we should never make movies about controversial stories or characters, lest we make them more famous. If that was the case, we would never make stories about crimes that have been committed, which is part of our history. Movies are meant to tell stories of all types, which I personally think is the most valuable thing about the movie industry. Two, that a writer's work or story should never be separated from the writer. Jordan Belfort sounds like an absolute sleazebag that should go reside in one of the lower circles of hell but I will not criticize his ability to tell a story (in this case, his). For the same reason that I believe stories by Orson Scott Card are still quite good, despite Card himself being a terrible excuse for a human, Jordan Belfort obviously wrote a pretty interesting memoir, despite him being a dick. This memoir was then adapted into a movie. Demanding that an actor not be rewarded for his hard work in an interesting movie because the writer of the original memoir is a terrible person is simply not good. That's all there really is to it.

Tonight may not have been the most socially revolutionary oscars ever but it still had its good moments (Cate Blanchett, Ellen and of course the great Alfonso Cuaron que merecio ese gran honor) and its not so bad moments. The worst part of the night so far for me has been looking through Tumblr and seeing all these flawed arguments. There are absolutely arguments to be made about having more representation in Hollywood, a thing that we likely all agree is both desirable and necessary. However, the way one critiques is incredibly important. That makes the difference between a productive discussion that can lead to change in the right direction and glorified name-calling.