Oscar-winning performances directed by women or POC

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Precious Doll
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Re: Oscar-winning performances directed by women or POC

Post by Precious Doll »

anonymous1980 wrote:It has been noted at this year's Oscars that Mary J. Blige is actually the very first actress to be directed to an Oscar nominations by a woman of color which was a bit surprising to me so I thought, how many performers were directed to Oscar wins by either women or POC? Here's a (probably) incomplete list, let me know who I'm missing:
True Mary J. Blige is the first actress to directed to an acting Oscar nomination by a woman of color but Marlon Brando is the first actor to be directed to an Oscar nomination by a woman of color: Euzhan Palcy directed A Dry White Season back in 1989 for which Brando received a supporting actor nomination.
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Re: Oscar-winning performances directed by women or POC

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anonymous1980 wrote:Hmmm. If we're extending it to nominees, here are some additional names not yet mentioned from the same time period:

Tom Hanks, Big (Penny Marshall)
Emma Thompson, Sense and Sensibility (Ang Lee)
Kate Winslet, Sense and Sensibility (Ang Lee)
Barbara Hershey, The Portrait of a Lady (Jane Campion)
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth (Shekar Kapoor)
Meryl Streep, One True Thing (Carl Franklin)
Toni Collette, The Sixth Sense (M. Night Shyamalan)
Haley Joel Osment, The Sixth Sense (M. Night Shyamalan)
Salma Hayek, Frida (Julie Taymor)
Naomi Watts, 21 Grams (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
Holly Hunter, Thirteen (Catherine Hardwicke)
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee)
Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee)
Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee)
Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia (Nora Ephron)
Michael Keaton, Birdman (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
Edward Norton, Birdman (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
Emma Stone, Birdman (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu)
Tom Hardy, The Revenant (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu)
Sylvester Stallone, Creed (Ryan Coogler)

From this year:
Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water (Guillermo Del Toro)
Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water (Guillermo Del Toro)
Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water (Guillermo Del Toro)
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out (Jordan Peele)
Mary J. Blige, Mudbound (Dee Rees)

Are we missing anyone else?
Jack Nicholson (Ironweed) (Hector Babenco)
Meryl Streep (Ironweed) (Hector Babenco)
Norma Aleandro (Gaby - A True Story) (Luis Mandoki)
Marlon Brando (A Dry White Season) (Euzhan Palcy)
Winona Ryder (Little Women) (Gillian Armstrong)
Julie Christie (Away From Her) (Sarah Polley)
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Re: Oscar-winning performances directed by women or POC

Post by Big Magilla »

The answer is a big fat NO!

Ruth Chatterton is the first performer to have received an Oscar nomination for a performance directed by a woman way back in 1930!

The film was Sarah and Son. The director was Dorothy Azner.
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Re: Oscar-winning performances directed by women or POC

Post by anonymous1980 »

I hate to interrupt the discussion but do we have a definitive answer on whether or not Carol Kane in Hester Street is, in fact, the first performance not directed by a white male to be nominated for an Oscar? I just want to know. Thanks.
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Re: Oscar-winning performances directed by women or POC

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Uri wrote:Keep using "colour" instead of "color", Reza, and you will most certainly be officially declared persona non grata in Trump's America.
Wouldn't be caught dead going there now. Been there done that.....during better times.
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Re: Oscar-winning performances directed by women or POC

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No one on this board lives in a country where discrimination of some kind isn't rampant. No one on this board lives somewhere that doesn't have major issues that need to be resolved.

Reza, it must be nice to be part of not just one, but three different majorities in one's nation. You're straight, Muslim, and male. That's the trifecta in Pakistan. You're also financially well off. You have no fear of being discriminated against because you are part of the power in your nation. You also live in a capital city where diversity is more common and less obviously mistreated. Think about the rural regions of Pakistan. Is the same true there? If the majority is not willing to stand up for the minority are they any better than oppressors?

I'm white and male, which gives me advantages. Being gay, it's easier to hide that from others in order to avoid being persecuted. I lived through the 1980s and 1990s without acknowledging who I was to most people simply so I didn't have to be discriminated against. I have advantages.

Women don't have that option. Black people don't have that option. Hispanics don't have that option. If you are a woman, if your skin color is different, if you speak with any accent whatsoever, if you believe differently, and if you are obviously queer, you are marginalized and mistreated. In the U.S. In Europe. In Pakistan. It has improved in many places; however, it is not as it should be in many of those places and those who have no actual fear of reprisal, mistreatment, or marginalization will never understand what it's like for those who are mistreated or marginalized.

I'm reminded of this poem by Martin Niemoeller.
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
If you are not actively speaking out for or protecting those who are marginalized or mistreated, you're part of the problem.

Recognizing someone for being different exposes those differences to others. By celebrating diversity, we are encouraging it. Being gay isn't a bad thing. Being a woman isn't a bad thing. Being black isn't a bad thing. Being Hispanic isn't a bad thing. Acknowledging diversity and fighting to make sure the minority or the oppressed can live openly, honestly, and proudly with all the opportunities the majority have is NOT a bad thing.

The Nazis identified the "Others" so they could be more marginalized, more mistreated, and eventually killed for being different.

We recognize the others and say we're not going to do that. We're going to fight the oppressive regimes and power structures within our nation that would single those people out for scorn and we're singling them out to give them a voice, to give them visibility, to say we aren't going to let them come for the socialists. We aren't going to let them come for the unions. We aren't going to let them come for the Jews.

We're here. We're diverse. Get used to it. That's what we're saying and if you don't like that, then I would kindly tell your straight white, entitled male ass to go to hell. You've been in power too long and we're going to equalize that power and if you don't like it, that too bad. Being treated equally is not a bad thing.
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Re: Oscar-winning performances directed by women or POC

Post by Uri »

Keep using "colour" instead of "color", Reza, and you will most certainly be officially declared persona non grata in Trump's America.
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Re: Oscar-winning performances directed by women or POC

Post by Reza »

Uri wrote:
Reza wrote:
OscarGuy wrote:From an American taxonomy perspective, specifically the census bureau's guidelines, there is race and ethnicity. Race is essential black, white, Asian, etc. Ethnicity is Hispanic or Not Hispanic. Thus, Guillermo del Toro would be classified by American census bureau guidelines white Hispanic.

He is considered a person of color because, although race and ethnicity are often confused by some Americans, being Hispanic is a significant minority and therefore is heavily discriminated against. This is, essentially, why Hispanics are lumped into the "persons of color" classification even though they are of European heritage. There are plenty of black Americans who are also of European ancestry, but they are still classified as persons of color. Person of Color has essentially become a catch-all for all non-majority skin colors or ethnic origins.
This obsession with colour and categorizing it in your country is quite obscene.
That was basically my point too.
This obsession is very similar to that charming Nazi-era ideal of the Aryan race which deep down most White Americans adhere to whether intentionally or unintentionally. Categorizing people by colour is no different to the Nazis making people of certain faith or sexual creed wear those stars on their shirts. What's next?Hope not gas ovens?

For a country that was populated by immigrants (and not just Italians, Swedes or Irish but of many other ethnicities too) this is all such a bloody farce and so hypocritical.
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Re: Oscar-winning performances directed by women or POC

Post by Uri »

Reza wrote:
OscarGuy wrote:From an American taxonomy perspective, specifically the census bureau's guidelines, there is race and ethnicity. Race is essential black, white, Asian, etc. Ethnicity is Hispanic or Not Hispanic. Thus, Guillermo del Toro would be classified by American census bureau guidelines white Hispanic.

He is considered a person of color because, although race and ethnicity are often confused by some Americans, being Hispanic is a significant minority and therefore is heavily discriminated against. This is, essentially, why Hispanics are lumped into the "persons of color" classification even though they are of European heritage. There are plenty of black Americans who are also of European ancestry, but they are still classified as persons of color. Person of Color has essentially become a catch-all for all non-majority skin colors or ethnic origins.
This obsession with colour and categorizing it in your country is quite obscene.
That was basically my point too.
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Re: Oscar-winning performances directed by women or POC

Post by Uri »

I guess the bottom line is that this is about people who are, or would have been (had they live there) discriminated against in the USA.
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Re: Oscar-winning performances directed by women or POC

Post by Reza »

OscarGuy wrote:From an American taxonomy perspective, specifically the census bureau's guidelines, there is race and ethnicity. Race is essential black, white, Asian, etc. Ethnicity is Hispanic or Not Hispanic. Thus, Guillermo del Toro would be classified by American census bureau guidelines white Hispanic.

He is considered a person of color because, although race and ethnicity are often confused by some Americans, being Hispanic is a significant minority and therefore is heavily discriminated against. This is, essentially, why Hispanics are lumped into the "persons of color" classification even though they are of European heritage. There are plenty of black Americans who are also of European ancestry, but they are still classified as persons of color. Person of Color has essentially become a catch-all for all non-majority skin colors or ethnic origins.
This obsession with colour and categorizing it in your country is quite obscene.
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Re: Oscar-winning performances directed by women or POC

Post by danfrank »

I'll let you say that. Just to be clear, I wasn't defending the practice. I certainly would not categorize Guillermo del Toro as a person of color. Within his own country those of primarily Spanish descent are highly privileged, and within the US he passes as white, though people may wonder why he has the funny name and accent.
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Re: Oscar-winning performances directed by women or POC

Post by Uri »

So say "someone who is not a white person from Europe and any part of the world that was once colonized by Great Britain".
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Re: Oscar-winning performances directed by women or POC

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From an American taxonomy perspective, specifically the census bureau's guidelines, there is race and ethnicity. Race is essential black, white, Asian, etc. Ethnicity is Hispanic or Not Hispanic. Thus, Guillermo del Toro would be classified by American census bureau guidelines white Hispanic.

He is considered a person of color because, although race and ethnicity are often confused by some Americans, being Hispanic is a significant minority and therefore is heavily discriminated against. This is, essentially, why Hispanics are lumped into the "persons of color" classification even though they are of European heritage. There are plenty of black Americans who are also of European ancestry, but they are still classified as persons of color. Person of Color has essentially become a catch-all for all non-majority skin colors or ethnic origins.
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Re: Oscar-winning performances directed by women or POC

Post by danfrank »

Not sure you want a serious answer, Uri, but the reason that folks like GDT get classified as persons of color is because in the very unscientific and highly imperfect American "taxonomy," anyone from a Latin American country is considered a POC regardless of whether they have entirely or primarily European roots. This is a generalization, based on the fact that the most visible Mexicans in the US are immigrants or descendents of immigrants who are highly likely to be indigenous or mixed (mestizo) and appear quite brown. As has been discussed before, this sense that Mexicans and others from Latin America are persons of color gets conflated with anyone with a Spanish surname or who is "Hispanic," including people from Spain, who also (ridiculously) sometimes get classified as POCs.
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