Episode 81 - America is Immigrants

[JulyDiaz 2797]

Scott Blakeman (Laughing Liberally) and Seema Iyer (The Bollywood Lawyer) join Negin to talk about Trump’s shifting stance on DACA and his proposed border wall. They also look at the promising statistics about women’s role in the resistance. Plus, Negin and the panel dig into the Oscar nominations and weigh in on Mo’Nique’s call for a Netflix boycott.

[Randy Rawdogger 1]

If there weren't many significant snubs of POC among the still-very-white Oscar noms, then it isn't necessarily just a problem of POC being overlooked in the nomination process. Rather, the problem may be that POC still aren't being proportionately represented in the pool of Oscar-fodder "prestige" films that are being written, produced and put forward for consideration. It's a problem of access as much as a problem of attention. That said, why are we measuring progress using a Hollywood industry popularity contest? These awards shows are just marketing charades, with the Oscars being perhaps the most tediously pompous and insipid example of the form. Great art doesn't require the validation of elite, insider consensus. It's well established that these awards shows are often terrible at recognizing true enduring merit.