Hey folks! It's me Michael Bach, your Diversity Dude,
and this is Monday Morning Musings.
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There are so many things that I could talk about this morning, but I want to talk about the Oscars.
Now, many of you know that I'm not exactly a big fan of award shows.
It's not my cup of tea to sit around watching the ultra-rich congratulate themselves on being, well, ultra-rich.
Let's face it: Being an actor, director, a producer, it's a job.
And while they do it well and should be congratulated, it's not like we have an award show for plumbers.
Best soldering job...? I don't know.
But, I watched the show, and not because I'd seen all the movies and not because I was really fascinated,
but because I'd heard it was going to be such a train wreck that I didn't think I could miss it.
Morbid fascination.
But I have to tell you I left disappointed.
Not because it wasn't good, because it wasn't a train wreck.
It was good.
The show was good.
My complaint about the Oscars has always been the same as anyone else's: #OscarsSoWhite,
where people of colour and people with disabilities and LGBT actors and producers,
their performances are overlooked, not just for the win but for a nomination
in favour of arguably lesser performances by straight white able-bodied actors, producers and directors.
But this year was different.
The nominations were the most diverse in the history of Oscars, and the wins were just the same.
We started off the show with Regina King winning for Best Supporting Actress for If Beale Street Could Talk,
fantastic film.
That was followed by Mahershala Ali winning Best Supporting Actor for Green Book.
Regardless of what you say about the film, a brilliant performance.
We also saw Rami Malek win Best Actor for Bohemian Rhapsody.
We saw Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse win for Best Animated Feature,
and by the way, why that's important is the lead character is African-American.
BlacKkKlansman, finally Spike Lee got his due for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Not only that, we saw five of the ten nominees for Best Picture be vehicles for diverse candidates,
of course Roma, Black Panther, Bohemian Rhapsody, Green Book, and BlacKkKlansman,
and of those five, four of them took home multiple awards.
This Oscars looked like the world around it.
For the first time history, Oscar voters gave credit where credit was due to some amazing performances.
Mahershala Ali, I could watch the man read the phone book, he's a brilliant actor.
Remi Malek, brilliant actor.
Regina King, brilliant actor.
Spike Lee, genius! The man is a genius.
It is about time that Oscars woke up to this reality.
My hope is that this message resonates with Hollywood, the people that make decisions in Hollywood, to say:
"These movies make money. People want to see these movies."
BlacKkKlansmen is the story of a Black, African-American, Black police officer in the United States who joined the Ku Klux Klan.
(laughs)
That's a brilliant idea.
It's also a true story.
These stories have merit, and people will pay for them, and you will make money.
So Hollywood, pay attention.
Go and see some movies.
There are amazing performances.
If I had one negative thing to say about the show it's that there weren't any women up for Best Director,
but considering everything else, I can live with it.
I hope you've enjoyed this.
I hope you have a fantastic week.
Remember to subscribe to my channel by clicking on the link,
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Have a wonderful week. Happy Monday!
And I will see you next week for another episode of Monday Morning Musings.
Bye!
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