Judging by This Academy Voter's Quote, 'Selma' Never Had a Shot

[Shaka Zulu]

Now, it can be told why Selma wasn't nominated for any Oscars:

"I lived through the '60s and my most heartfelt opinion is that 'Selma' did not suffer from racism but is just inadequate to the events that it covered — to the civil rights movement and to [Dr. Martin Luther] King [Jr.] and to the various demonstrations that were held and to the people involved. The scenes with LBJ and [FBI director] J. Edgar Hoover conspiring together like two little white weasels bothered me; I thought that was incredibly misleading. And the portrayal of Malcolm X as having an alternative way is ridiculous — he had no alternative. The whole film is kind of a left-wing, modern, black rap version — there's no white people who have any speaking parts who are favorably depicted, when, in fact, there were white people on the scene, beyond a few ministers, who risked their lives and who died supporting the civil rights efforts."​

Judging by This Academy Voter's Quote, 'Selma' Never Had a Shot

So, basically the movies was snubbed because there were no white people the voter could empathize with and because 'they lived through the '60's'. Amazing.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

^Yeah, I know, but still, it could have also been nominated for Best Picture and Best Director (as well as Best Actor). This guy's a tool; simply 'living through the '60's' does not mean you know everything about it, or weren't generally clueless.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

So, basically the movies was snubbed because there were no white people the voter could empathize with and because 'they lived through the '60's'. Amazing.

That's pretty rich, eh?

I recall people complaining that Twelve Years a Slave didn't have any sympathetic white folks, either.

I'm waiting to hear where all the WW2 movies with sympathetic Nazis are.

 

[Masiral]

^Yeah, I know, but still, it could have also been nominated for Best Picture and Best Director (as well as Best Actor).

It was nominated for Best Picture.

 

[Melakon]

So, basically the movies was snubbed because there were no white people the voter could empathize with and because 'they lived through the '60's'. Amazing.

I lived through the '60s too, and one criticism of the film in multiple reviews was how it portrayed Johnson. That might have been enough to turn off some members of the Academy. Don't make the mistake of considering Selma as gospel, as some people have done with JFK.

 

[the G-man]

Now, it can be told why Selma wasn't nominated for any Oscars:

So, basically the movies was snubbed because there were no white people the voter could empathize with....Amazing.

So then how did 12 Years a Slave win Best Picture last year?

I really don't think you can extrapolate anything of value from one voter's misguided criticism of a film.

 

[USS Pertinax]

So, basically the movies was snubbed because there were no white people the voter could empathize with and because 'they lived through the '60's'. Amazing.

That's pretty rich, eh?

I recall people complaining that Twelve Years a Slave didn't have any sympathetic white folks, either.

I'm waiting to hear where all the WW2 movies with sympathetic Nazis are.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Don't forget Das Boot and its little-known cousin Stalingrad. Then again, very few of the main characters identified themselves with Naziism anyway.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

The thing about how LBJ was portrayed in this movie (and seen by many), is that he didn't seem to be concerned about civil (human) rights until something drastic happened, or somebody got killed, or even worse, because the USA lost face (that also applied to JFK as well.)

There are some other people who've said the same thing about LBJ just like the writer of the movie have:

Why Selma’s Critics Are Wrong About Civil Rights History

White Liberals Are Wrong About 'Selma' And LBJ


People should also understand this; not everybody is going to regard LBJ as a saint; there are others who also lived in the 60's that won't.

 

[USS Pertinax]

We are talking about man who gave interviews and assigments while sitting on the toilet.

 

[publiusr]

In some ways however, LBJ was perhaps one of the most effective Presidents. A pretty good backbone, except for the statement (perhaps apocryphal):
"I'll give you your damn war!"