Cougars, Calamities and Classics: Broken barriers…again.
Bigelow celebrates with Barbara Streisand. Photo courtesty guardian.co.uk
Watching the Oscars Sunday night with some of my closest peeps we came to a stellar revelation. The refreshing idea that either a black man or a woman could win an Oscar for Best Director (both a first) made for a lovely parallell for the Democratic ticket race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Yes it isn’t a direct parallel but it’s important to note how things are finally, hopefully, changing in the right direction.
I carry around in my wallet a quote cut from the Calgary Sun from a couple years ago now, it’s Hillary Clinton saying, “Each of us has broken barriers . So whoever wins the nomination will change American history.”
You could most definitely say the same for Kathryn Bigelow and Precious director Lee Daniels. Never in Oscars 82 years have a woman or a black man taken the little golden man home with them.
“It’s a first,” Barbara Streisand announced when reading Kathryn Bigelow’s name from the envelope. A very shocked Bigelow accepted the award graciously including a shout out to all the troops served and serving overseas right now.
Bigelow is only the fourth woman to have been nominated for best director. Before her came Lina Wertmuller for Seven Beauties in 1976, Jane Campion for The Piano in 1993 and Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation in 2003.
So Lee Daniels didn’t take this award this year, judging from the adulation and scenes I’ve seen of Precious, he has great talent and will be on that best picture ballot again in the future. The only question is will we see Hilary on the Democratic ticket ever again?
