You may already be aware of Entertainment Weekly interviewing four anonymous Oscar voters: an actor, a director, a marketing specialist, and a costume designer.
https://ew.com/awards/oscars/2023-oscars-secret-ballot-academy-awards-voters-share-juicy-picks/
I know I am not the only one who was frustrated with the actor, but the other written pieces I have seen seem to be more that it happened, without analyzing why.
Here is my take.
I will note starting out that because the interviews are edited -- which makes sense -- there may be wrong impressions, but comparing all four interviewees the actor seems to be the most freely critical, often with longer quotes but still no substance.
He also uses "wokeness" unironically, which is its own strong indicator.
Where he spoke most out of turn was regarding three snubs: Gina Prince-Bythewood and Viola Davis for The Woman King (Best Director and Best Actress, respectively) and Danielle Deadwyler for Till (Best Actress).
(You may notice a common thread.)
I will not fault the actor for mentioning them, because those were big topics of conversation beyond the interview; it would have been weird not to mention them. However, sometimes you can know things, or you can not know things but be aware that you don't know.
I want to stress that the impression this man gives is one of incredible ego, and very critical of others already. (And he's an actor!) However, the largest amount of disrespect was shown to Black women. That is completely predictable based on everything known about misogynoir and intersectionality... but he does not know.
Here is the convenient thing about privilege: he misses glaringly obvious things, and still thinks he is smart. Privilege lets you think you are better than you are, which, frankly, tends to curb efforts and result in mediocrity.
The Actor on Deadwyler:
She was good. I mean, who wouldn't be good in a part like that? The strong, wronged mother. But you look at the real Mamie Till, she's not wearing all of these incredible gowns and beautifully made-up. I thought it was a confusing message. If they'd really [made a movie about] that woman, who was not used to being in the public eye and wore house dresses, she [wouldn't have] had one incredible outfit after another. The ego behind this pushing her to be a movie star was too blatant for me.
He seems to be under the impression that Mamie Till-Mobley was a housewife, or perhaps a maid. She was working in an office. Not only was it common at the time for professional women to be dressed up, but that was a common strategy of those working for civil rights (though that was about to get much more visible).
They cover that in the movie, and why the NAACP thought she would be a great asset, so that shouldn't be too shocking, unless he did not watch the movie. I mean, he sounds like he watched it, but he admits to not seeing The Woman King.
I have a funny feeling he didn't see Selma.
The Actor on Davis:
It's like, come on. I think Viola Davis is talented, I didn't see Woman King, but I'm a little tired of Viola Davis and her snotty crying. I'm over all of that.
I admit I haven't seen everything Viola Davis has done, but I don't think she does it that much. It gets attention, because it is giving up staying "pretty", which has historically been expected of actresses, but which is not how real crying looks. I guess my real issue with it is that I wonder if he has ever actually seen her cry or he heard a reference to it once and that is the impression that he kept.
He got even worse about her:
"When they get in trouble for not giving Viola Davis an award, it's like, no, sweetheart, you didn't deserve it. We voted, and we voted for the five we thought were best," he finishes. "It's not fair for you to start suddenly beating a frying pan and say [they're] ignoring Black people. They're really not, they're making an effort. Maybe there was a time 10 years ago when they were, but they have, of all the high-profile things, been in the forefront of wanting to be inclusive.
It would still be condescending without the "sweetheart", but that does make it more condescending.
Certainly, there hasn't been that much effort toward equity to be that tired of the effort yet, but also, I am not sure that she got that mad.
I admit, I do not follow show business that much, so I could have missed it, but there apparently was an Instagram post that is really pretty tame, and largely a show of solidarity with Gina Prince-Bythewood:
Where does "banging a frying pan" come from? Are you just interpreting a Black woman not going out of her way to show how okay she is with everything as "angry"? Are there any stereotypes you are not going to embrace?
As it was, finishing that quote is probably his low point:
Viola Davis and the lady director need to sit down, shut up, and relax.
It is not even necessary to know her name or to have seen the movie to dismiss her.
Dude, I don't really know that you are white (I have my suspicions), but I do know that you are an ass. You have been coddled too much by your privilege, and you believe your own hype.
I wish you a better understanding. That will probably only come the hard way. I am at peace with this.
I would like to give the movies some individual attention, so next time!
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