Should the Oscars be Gender-Neutral?

[scotpens]

I came across this op-ep piece in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/opinion/04elsesser.html

So, what do you think? Is having separate awards for Best Performance by an Actor (male) and Best Performance by an Actress an outdated relic of our sexist past? Or is it simply a worthwhile tradition, a recognition that men and women are different and that male and female movie characters are different?

And what do you think of the trend toward using the word "actor" as a gender-neutral term for people of both sexes in the acting profession?

Or do you find the Academy Awards completely irrelevant, and do you just not give a damn?

 

[Haggis and tatties]

I came across this op-ep piece in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/opinion/04elsesser.html

So, what do you think? Is having separate awards for Best Performance by an Actor (male) and Best Performance by an Actress an outdated relic of our sexist past? Or is it simply a worthwhile tradition, a recognition that men and women are different and that male and female movie characters are different?

And what do you think of the trend toward using the word "actor" as a gender-neutral term for people of both sexes in the acting profession?

Or do you find the Academy Awards completely irrelevant, and do you just not give a damn?

This.

 

[gturner]

The movie roles of men and women are too different to support gender neutrality.

Take 2008. The best male lead Oscar went to Daniel Day-Lewis for "There Will Be Blood" and the best supporting male award went to Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men," both great movies.

The best female lead award went to Marion Cotilard in "La Vie en Rpse" and the best supporting went to Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton". Not only have I never heard of either of those two people, I haven't heard of either of those movies, and I wouldn't bother to see them.

Similarly, in 2009 the male awards went to Sean Penn and Heath Ledger for "Milk" and "The Dark Knight", whereas the female awards were for chick flicks called "The Reader" and "Vicky Christina Barcelona".

 

[Rii]

Is having separate awards for Best Performance by an Actor (male) and Best Performance by an Actress an outdated relic of our sexist past?

This, but it won't be changed if only because it'd halve the proportion of folks who'd get recognised.

And what do you think of the trend toward using the word "actor" as a gender-neutral term for people of both sexes in the acting profession?

Sensible and economical.

Or do you find the Academy Awards completely irrelevant, and do you just not give a damn?

This too.

 

[gturner]

Is having separate awards for Best Performance by an Actor (male) and Best Performance by an Actress an outdated relic of our sexist past?

This, but it won't be changed if only because it'd halve the proportion of folks who'd get recognised.

Not if we double the number of categories, such as:

Best performance by a lead actor with testicles.

Best performance by a lead actor with boobs (not moobs).

 

[Trippy]

The movie roles of men and women are too different to support gender neutrality.

Similarly, in 2009 the male awards went to Sean Penn and Heath Ledger for "Milk" and "The Dark Knight", whereas the female awards were for chick flicks called "The Reader" and "Vicky Christina Barcelona".

The Reader was a chick flick?

It was about a Nazi woman and her role in the death of Jewish women, and the boy who loved her when he was a child. It was told through the boy's/grown man's viewpoint.

 

[gturner]

Women, women, women. That's a chick flick.

 

[Rii]

Is having separate awards for Best Performance by an Actor (male) and Best Performance by an Actress an outdated relic of our sexist past?

This, but it won't be changed if only because it'd halve the proportion of folks who'd get recognised.

Not if we double the number of categories, such as:

Best performance by a lead actor with testicles.

Best performance by a lead actor with boobs (not moobs).

You're forgetting all the other obvious categories:

Best performance by a coloured.
Best performance by a Jew.
Best performance by a redhead.
Best performance by by an actor with Republican sympathies.
Best performance by a left-hander.
Actor who most resembles Kate Winslet.

 

[tomalak301]

I like the idea of 4 different categories for Actress and Actor. There are just so much actors/actresses that the size-pool is just too big to be Gender-Neutral and this honors more people who might deserve (Of course with the Oscars, it's all subjective and they usually make questionable decisions) it. Personally, I wish they added another category that maybe could be Gender Neutral and that is honoring comedy movies. There have been so many great comedies in film this last decade that I think it's time to honor them and the comedians who wouldn't be honored otherwise.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

The last sentence in the OP's post. I don't give a damn. But opinions were asked and i'm giving.

 

[Trippy]

Women, women, women. That's a chick flick.

Don't tell Ralph Fiennes he's a woman

 

[gturner]

Hey, chick flicks always include a romantic love interest.

 

[Trippy]

I honestly don't think you saw the movie or read the book. Or perhaps the analysis is beyond you. To compare The Reader to a 'chick flick' like say, The Ugly Truth, or Valentine's Day is like comparing fine wine to cheap beer.

 

[scotpens]

. . . Best performance by by an actor with Republican sympathies.

That's assuming you can find at least two!

Women, women, women. That's a chick flick.

Showgirls is stuffed with women from beginning to end, from one side of the screen to the other. I wouldn't call it a "chick flick."

I like the idea of 4 different categories for Actress and Actor. There are just so much actors/actresses that the size-pool is just too big to be Gender-Neutral and this honors more people who might deserve (Of course with the Oscars, it's all subjective and they usually make questionable decisions) it. Personally, I wish they added another category that maybe could be Gender Neutral and that is honoring comedy movies. There have been so many great comedies in film this last decade that I think it's time to honor them and the comedians who wouldn't be honored otherwise.

Problem is, you could have so many categories that the Oscars would wind up being more like the Emmys. EVERYBODY would be bound to win something.

Don't tell Ralph Fiennes he's a woman.

Right, the guy has enough trouble with his name without being saddled with gender issues! Spelled Ralph Fiennes, pronounced "Rafe Fines." WTF kind of name is that?

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

He's a Nazi! Get him!

 

[Small White Car]

The roles men and women get are just too different.

At least, the ones that win Oscars. An action-hero is pretty much the same no matter the gender, but those parts don't win Oscars.

So since we're talking about the Academy Awards I have to say that they should remain separate.

Killing 'Actress' and 'Waitress' and all the other ess-es is a good idea, though.

 

[scotpens]

An action-hero is pretty much the same no matter the gender, but those parts don't win Oscars.

Speaking for myself (as I frequently do), I'd rather watch a buff, sweaty Rhona Mitra kick some ass than a buff, sweaty Bruce Willis any day.

Killing 'Actress' and 'Waitress' and all the other ess-es is a good idea, though.

I don't agree. Too much gender neutrality makes the language sound like Orwell's Newspeak. There's nothing wrong with calling a female food server a waitress, or a female actor an actress. I don't object to the use of "actor" as a generic or collective term, but "actress" has a certain charm and elegance to it. To me, it just sounds odd when a woman performer calls herself an "actor."

Of course, it's true we don't use words like "authoress" or "poetess" any more. Or "Negress" or "Jewess."

 

[Small White Car]

Speaking for myself (as I frequently do), I'd rather watch a buff, sweaty Rhona Mitra kick some ass than a buff, sweaty Bruce Willis any day.

What I meant was, they could compete for an Oscar and each have an even shot.

Comparing dramatic roles, however, wouldn't be so easy since they'd be far more different from each other.

Of course, it's true we don't use words like "authoress" or "poetess" any more. Or "Negress" or "Jewess."

This is my point. I have no problem with actress, it doesn't bother me to hear or to use it. But as all the other 'ess-es' disappear it will soon be one of the only few left. I'm of the mind that if 99% of them are going to die naturally, let's just kill the last 1% ourselves. No sense in having just a few floating around.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Women, women, women. That's a chick flick.

Yeah I felt the same when when I was watching Sorority Sex Kittens 4. Wall to wall women. Just women everywhere. I felt so girly every time I re-wound certain scenes over and over. And over.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Of course, it's true we don't use words like "authoress" or "poetess" any more. Or "Negress" or "Jewess."

Even for a charming Negress like Nichelle Nichols?