I tweeted some Thoughts about the Oscars yesterday, so I just thought I’d collect them here. They are not by any means a manifesto, but more so my attempt to just work out how I feel about all of this. Of course, you’re welcome to leave your own Thoughts in the comments if you feel so inclined! (But I won’t be sad if you don’t–I know this conversation is happening in several places.)

Some random early morning thoughts on the Oscars…

— Randy Ribay (@randyribay) January 22, 2016

We are all inclined to identify with the familiar. If the voting body is vastly white and male, that’s who’s likely to keep winning.

— Randy Ribay (@randyribay) January 22, 2016

And then that perpetuates the idea that white males are superior directors/writers/actors, etc. So they keep getting awards AND best jobs.

— Randy Ribay (@randyribay) January 22, 2016

And, even more insidious, it keeps messaging to the world they are objectively superior.

— Randy Ribay (@randyribay) January 22, 2016

And while I’m rambling on the subject, I’m not sure how I feel about the separation of male & female actor awards.

— Randy Ribay (@randyribay) January 22, 2016

I know it forces mostly male Academy to acknowledge females, but doesn’t it just perpetuate the false idea that there are only two genders?

— Randy Ribay (@randyribay) January 22, 2016

And in their current form, presenting male actor awards directly before best picture every time reinforces ideas of male superiority.

— Randy Ribay (@randyribay) January 22, 2016

That’s all for now. I’ll just leave those here. Time to go to work.

— Randy Ribay (@randyribay) January 22, 2016