I mean, honestly, does anyone actually believe Gina Prince-Bythewood is a great filmmaker? The nonsense narrative when it comes to the lack of inclusion in this year’s Best Director and Best Actress race is getting tiresome.
Prince-Bythewood, auteur extraordinaire of “The Woman King,” “The Old Guard,” “Love & Basketball” and “The Secret Life of Bees,” has penned an op-ed for THR condemning the systematic racism within the Academy.
It sounds like she’s just flat-out angry about not getting nominated for the Oscars.
Not only does “The Woman King” exist in the world, but it’s a success in the world. For any hater out there hoping to gaslight and say maybe we just weren’t good enough, you can’t argue the facts of our A+ Cinemascore — which only two other films achieved last year — or the 94 percent fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, or the number of top 10 lists including AFI and National Board of Review.
The Woman King wasn’t snubbed. A snub is if it missed out on a category or two. The film was not nominated for one single craft. Not one single extraordinary performance was recognized. And when has that happened for a successful film that hit all the so-called markers? It’s not a snub. It’s a reflection of where the Academy stands and the consistent chasm between Black excellence and recognition. And, sadly, this is not just an issue in Hollywood but in every industry. I’m going to use a Dr. King quote because it is so apropos, in that he spoke on the “lie of [our] inferiority accepted as truth in the society dominating us.”
Actually, about those raves. “The Woman King” was the 22nd most listed film on critics top 10s. That means, you could technically have 21 other directors saying they deserved a Best Director nomination. Only five got in. It’s not racism, it’s just fairness.
“The Woman King” basically took the Jerry Bruckheimer ’90s action film blueprint and imported it into an African setting. There was nothing artful or resonant about it.
It was an overpraised film propped up by critics and film media. It shouldn’t have been anywhere close to awards contention. All this crying foul over the “system” is nonsense since that very system is why this subpar film was even thought about as a potential Oscar contender.
Prince-Bythewood goes on to ask Oscar voters, “Why is it so hard to relate to the work of your Black peers?” What is this inability of Academy voters to see Black women, and their humanity, and their heroism, as relatable to themselves?”
Finally, she cries conspiracy! “This is a systemic American problem, which is why this felt so insidious and large. It’s tough to enter something that’s supposed to be judged on merit, but you know it’s not a meritocracy.”
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