The Oscars 2020. Pt.2.

A direct continuation of Part 1; https://watchitdie.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-oscars-2020_17.html

Joker: This was the clear frontrunner at this year's Oscars recieving 11 nominations. However it fell rather flat. Winning only two;

Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Original Score for Hildur Guonadottir.

Amid all the talk of diversity it is worth pointing that Hildur Guanadottir is both Icelandic and female. In fact is the first solo female composer to win Best Original Score.

Joker struck me as incredibly brave movie to make. Which might seem an odd thing to say about a movie which is part of the vast D.C Comics universe and backed by the massive Warner Brother studios.

However some of you may remember another, earlier movie in the Batman franchise. 2012's "The Dark Knight Rises."

I certainly remember the July 20th 2012 (20/7/12) screening of that movie in Aurora, Colorado.

During the movie a gunman walked into the theatre and shot dead 12 people and wounded 50 others. In planning his attack the gunman had dyed his hair orange in a reference to the Joker character.

I think a lot of people involved in the D.C Comics universe would have liked to pretend that incident had never happened. Quietly resting the brand until everyone had forgotten about it.

In this movie though they decided to take responsibility and challenge it head on.

It sees a man whose dreams have failed. Further failed by the system he descends into madness and violence. Emerging as the crazed gunman, the Joker of the Batman franchise.

Particularly in pre-production and production this movie is actually a detailed investigation. Into the process by which forgotten white men get driven to such rage they carry out these appalling acts of violence.

Some, such as in Colorado, are honest and do it just because they're consumed by hate. Others try and legitimise their actions by dressing it up in some psuedo-political cause. Such as White Nationalism or this recent Involuntary Celibate (INCEL) movement.

That process is also relevant to the fight against Islamist terrorism.

Let assure you that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are really not Muslims. They are just raged filled, often, western men. I would describe them as; "Nihilists" but honestly Nihilism is a far more developed philosphy than anything they follow.

Progressive Liberals have really railed against Joker. Decrying it as a celebration of this white man's rage and calling for it to be banned. In doing so they've revealed their true attitude towards this violence.

Particularly since 2014 and the rise of Black Lives Matter (BLM) there have been a number of these sort of attacks. Normally around the time US Democrats are campaigning for something.

Such as the June 2016 attack at the Pulse Nightclub. The February 2018 Parkland High School massacre. The October 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooting.

The most globally famous was of course the March 2019 Christchurch Mosque attacks. I think though that was more than dealt with by New Zealander director Taika Waititi in Jojo Rabbit. What with the black Hitler and his Agent Mueller.

Whenever one these attacks occurs the reaction of Progessive Liberals is always the same. They are not outraged, they're not disgusted. They're positively pleased. Almost overjoyed with excitement.

That's because they see these things not as a problem but as an opportunity. On opportunity to rally more people to their cause. The great, ever present danger that only they can protect people from.

Other people. People like me and those behind Joker don't see these attacks as a fantastic opportunity to further our cause. We seem them as tragedies. Problems to be solved and eradicated.

In order to solve a problem you must first understand it.

A prime example being Progessive Liberal demands that these angry white men be labelled as terrorists. When people who know about terrorism understand that affording them that level of cache and legitimacy is the last thing you want to be doing.

In fact I think it was in response to the Aurora shooting that a new rule was introduced. To deny the people who carry out these attacks the legitimacy of a name. Let alone a cause.

Throughout this cultural season the team behind Joker's handling of Progressive Liberals has been a joy to watch.

Mainly they've been antagonising them further. By comparing the movie to Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976) and King of Comedy (1982). A 77 year old white man Martin Scorsese has become this year's hate figure amongst the diversity mob.

Lulu Wang in particular attacked Scorsese over how easy it was for him to get Netflix to make; "The Irishman."

At around the same time she was announcing she was turning down Netflix to make her debut; "The Farewell" with A24. Apparently completely oblivious to the challenges Scorsese faced making his debut all the way back in 1967.

Despite the movie's wider lack of success the Best Actor Oscar is just the latest in a long list of awards Joaquin Pheonix has won for the role. He's used each acceptance speech to give voice to a different one of these pseudo-political causes these hate-filled individuals latch onto.

So at Britain's BAFTA awards on Super Bowl Sunday (2/2/20) it was racial inequality. At the Oscars it was veganism and animal rights.

Although it's the end of the season I really want him to win just one more award. So I can watch him give an impassioned speech in support of White Power.

The Aurora gunman is currently still languishing in prison.

I like to think of him getting all excited about all the pre-Oscar buzz surrounding Joker.

Only to find one word staring back at him.

1917: At it's heart the Oscars is just the end of year party for a professional association. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

I think part of the reason behind the Oscars long-standing success is that it never forgets that. Taking the opportunity to celebrate people who have truly furthered the profession over the past year. Even if that makes little sense to people outside of the profession.

1917 is one such movie.

At the 1998 Oscars everyone was excited by Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan." The were particularly impressed by its opening sequence. A 20 minute, seemingly continuous shot of visceral battle sequence. This was something that had never been done before.

At the 2016 Oscars everyone was excited by Alejandro González Iñárritu's "The Revenant." This featured a similar, seemingly continuous shot of a battle sequence. Something which had taken Spielberg's innovation in Saving Private Ryan and advanced it to a whole new level.

Sam Mendes' 1917 again advances the technique to what must be its natural conclusion. It is a two hour visceral war movie that appears to be one continious shot.

Some would say that Alejandro González Iñárritu already made that advance in 2014's "Birdman." However in Birdman the action occurs really within a single, indoor location - a theatre. Amid a small cast of characters. 1917 takes place amongst multiple, vast, indoor and outdoor locations. Amid a cast of thousands.

In order to do that the production team behind 1917 had to completely rethink the way that movies are made.

Normally a director will shoot the same scene a couple of different ways. Then decide which version to use during the editing process. As you can see from DVD extras they often shoot scenes that end up not being used at all.

In making 1917 it's director Sam Mendes had to plan every scene months in advance of actual shooting. This had to be done in the minutie detail. Down to not even each second but to each tenth of a second. To ensure it can all be seemlessly stitched together in the final edit.

Away from the technical accomplishment 1917 is a war movie. Specifically the First World War.

With the global fight against Islamist terror it sometimes feels as though we are currently in the grips of the Third World War. 

Particularly in Iraq and Syria this fight against Islamist terror has been done almost exclusively by Muslims. Western nations have simply been lending them some of their more expensive toys. Such as fighter aircraft.

As a result people in those western nations have really been shielded from the visceral horror of what has been taking place these past five years. In a way they were not during the First and Second World Wars when their cities were being bombed and their sons were being slaughtered in large numbers.

One of the events that did break through globally though was the May 22nd 2017 (22/5/17) bombing of a pop concert at the Manchester Evening News Arena (MENA) in Manchester, UK. Although, for the life of me, I can't seem to remember whose concert it was.

I do not wish to detract from the MENA bombing. It was horrific. However what is truly exhausting is that it wasn't even the most horrific thing I saw that day.

The visceral nature of 1917 goes some way towards conveying the horror of war to audiences who should count themselves grateful that they've never had to see it for real.

If there was one advantage to this recent war. I certainly adds resonance to the way I write about Remembrance Day.

A tradition started by Britain in direct response to the First World War. Intended to force people to reflect on the utter horror of war.

The plot of 1917 is that the German forces have suddenly retreated. Prompting British forces to plan an advance. However it is all a German trap. It is up to two soldiers to hand deliver the message to stop British forces advancing into the trap.

The movie literally follows those two soldiers across the battlefield as they race to deliver the vital message. Apparently in one continious shot.

However it is not one continious shot. That too is a trick. It's a number of short shots, stitched together to make them appear continious.

1917 is largely shot in and around Salisbury, UK. An area synonymous with the Chemical Weapons on the Skripals et al.

So it shows the scene of this supposed Chemical Weapons attack. In a movie, everything about which screams;

"It's A Trick!"

"It's A Trick!"

Reflecting it's technical advancement of the profession 1917 won 3 of the awards it was nominated for;

Best Cinematography for Roger Deakins. Best Visual Effects for Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler and Dominic Tuohy. Best Sound Mixing for Mark Taylor and Stuart Wilson.

Mainly though Britain's big hope this year was laregly snubbed. Often in favour of Parasite.

Judy: This is a biopic of Judy Garland.

Judy Garland is regarded as both a Hollywood legend and a gay icon. Particularly due to her role of "Dorothy" in the 1939 movie; "The Wizard of Oz."

To this day; "A Friend of Dorothy" is still a commonly used euphemism to describe a homosexual. Particularly a homosexual man.

However, rather like the Eurovision Song Contest, The Wizard of Oz is so much more than a gay movie. It is really a spectacular example of how Hollywood has a long history of telling the stories of marginalised groups. Often in a coded and subversive way.

So yes, you've got the central allegory for someone trying to come to terms with their homosexuality. Realising that you just don't fit into this world and the long quest for the thing that is missing in your life.

However there is also a sequence where Dorothy and her friends walk through a field of poppy-like flowers. Those flowers make them drowsy and they have to sleep for a while. A pretty subversive reference to Opium Poppies and Opioid use.

When the movie was made America was still a very racist place. With the lynching of black people being a common occurence. At that time a popular, dergogratory slang term for a black person was; "Spook."

The is a sequence in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy and her companions find themselves in Spooky Forest. An unseen force suddenly lifts one of them, I think Tin Man, and holds him level with the tree branches. As if he was being lynched. A coded protest against racial violence being sneaked into the mainstream.

Amid the current hysteria over diversity it seems important to remind people of Hollywood's extremely liberal history.

In attacking the Oscars, particularly the #OscarsSoWhite crowd, frequently point to another 1939 movie "Gone With The Wind." Still considered one of the greatest movies ever made it is set in America's slave-owning south at the time of the US Civil War -1861 to 1865.

The American slave-owning south prior to the US Civil War was an incredibly racist place. It was a large part of what the war was about. So many of the attitudes on display in Gone With The Wind are quite racist.

It is most frequently attacked for the character "Mammy" played by Hattie McDaniel. Something which is viewed as an extremely negative stereotype of an uneducated black woman.

However everyone seems to forget that the former slave Hattie McDaniel won the Best Supporting Actress for the role that year.

Hollywood putting a talented, successful black woman centre stage. Celebrating her ability to transform into a character which is a clear contrast from the person she actually is. All the way back in 1940.

Which certainly doesn't sound as racist as people are claiming Hollywood is in 2020.

The movie Judy deals with a very specific period in Judy Garland's life. Her final years where she was living in London, UK performing her "Talk of the Town" live stageshow.

By this point Judy Garland is a tragic wreck of a human being. Almost totally destroyed by alcohol and drug abuse. Left bankrupt by a series of abusive relationships at the hands of abusive men.

The tragedy of Judy Garland's life was, without doubt, the result of the way she was treated by the Hollywood studio system. The way that women are treated by Hollywood is still a very relevant topic in the #MeToo post-Weinstein era.

Judy Garland first found fame as a child actor. I don't know how true it is but there is certainly a famous story that MGM deliberately malnourished her in adolescence. In order to prevent her going to through puberty and becoming too much of a woman to play child roles.

That is obviously very relevant to Progressive Liberals current obsession with Transgender issues and Gender Fluidity. This often results in adolescents being pumped full of hormone blocking drugs to prevent them going through puberty. Doing great damage to them in the process.

The 26 year old popstar Ariana Grande is another interesting talking point in this area. Any Doctor or Social Worker will look at her childlike body and instantly see evidence of malnourishment in adoselence. Either the result of an eating disorder or parental abuse/neglect.

Which is why Ariana Grande has always been a bit of a pressure point for me. Something the TV show; "The Good Place" noted in their 2016 season. Although I have to say I'm kind of done taking shots at Ariana Grande.

One of Judy Garland's lesser known roles was that of; "Irene Hoffmann-Wallner" in the 1961 movie; "Judgment at Nuremberg." Something worth remembering if you hobbies include quiz shows and shouting at the TV.

Judgement at Nuremberg deals with the International Military Tribunals held in Nuremberg. Dealing with the Crimes Against Humanity of the Nazi regime. Specifically it deals with the third set of trials known as; "The Judges' Trial."

We once again find ourselves having to set up an International Military Tribunal to deal with Crimes Against Humanity. This time carried out by ISIL and their associated groups.

People seem to need to be reminded that non-combatants who provide material or moral support to Crimes Against Humanity have, themselves, committed Crimes Against Humanity. The Nuremberg Judges' Trial should provide that reminder.

The Nuremberg International Military Tribunal led to the creation of the; "Nuremberg Code of Medical Ethics." Specifically to deal with the horrifying medical experiments the Nazis conducted on their captives. The second trial was known as; "The Doctors' Trial."

The Nuremberg Code has been absorbed into the Rome Statute of 1998. In Article 7(1)(k) - cruel and inhumane treatment.

Britain is of course prevented from participating in even the discussion surrounding and International Military Tribunal to deal with ISIL's crimes. Due to its failure prosecute British healthcare workers who have conducted unlawful medical experiments.

Which is unfortunate. Given the British government's attempts today to rush through new Anti-Terror Legislation is clearly a topic they are struggling with. And require assistance with from the more talented.

Renee Zellweger won Best Actress for her portrayl of Judy Garland in the movie.

It is of course extraordinarily difficult to successfully portray a well known public figure. It is much more difficult when that person is also an actress. Forcing you to not only act but act as they would act.

A sort of acting cubed as it were.

(Originally posted at 18:25 on 12/2/20 (UK date))

Continued in Part 3; https://watchitdie.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-oscars-2020-pt3_17.html

19:45 on 17/2/20 (UK date).