“Since the Academy opened the gates and invited many younger or international members in, things have changed dramatically in terms of what they consider ‘important’ [qualifiers for the Best Picture Oscar].
“It’s hard to argue against the idea that identity matters more than anything else, and identity vis a vis the new reversed hierarchy of the internet. What does that mean? Well, the old hierarchy, driven by the free market, good reviews and the ticket-buying majority, was mostly controlled by THE PATRIARCHY. Specifically, the WHITE MALE PATRIARCHY. Even more specifically, the WHITE, MALE, HETERONORMATIVE, CIS-GENDERED PATRIARCHY.
“The internet mostly reversed that hierarchy as GenZ, birthed from the loins of Tumblr circa 2012 and helicopter parents like me, came of age. What that means is that they feel good when anyone but the WHITE, MALE, HETERONORMATIVE, CIS-GENDERED PATRIARCHY wins. A woman, a woman of color, a transgender person, someone who is disabled. And the list keeps getting longer.
“Any film or filmmaker representing any view of life that doesn’t represent the view of the American white majority — that’s what they want.
“I know this bothers people when I talk about it, but for them it’s really all about inclusivity and progress. It isn’t just virtue signaling but something deeply felt, a religion of sorts, as we saw when Everything Everywhere All At Once won everything everywhere all at once. It was a kind of religious rapture. So when people are deciding what movie they think should win, they are judging it from inside that utopian bubble, as opposed to how it used to be decided: box office, quality, alpha male prowess and who was King for a Day.” — posted by Sasha Stone on Friday, 6.2.