From #OscarSoWhite to #OscarTooPC

Let’s clear the air right from the get-go: nearly all of the Oscar nominees this year are worthy. It’s an adequate cross section of 2017’s films. One or two seem unnecessary, yet as a whole the list is poor not for those nominated, but rather for those who aren’t. In just a few years we’ve moved from Oscar So White → Oscar Too PC.

A quick glance at the nominees and several patterns emerge. First, Academy voters appear to have short memories, leaning far too heavily on films released at the end of the year. While this is nothing new and can be attributed to studio maneuvering, 2017 was a fine year at the box office and many good films were released before Thanksgiving. Get Out and Dunkirk are the only two (of nine) Best Picture nominees released before November, and the overwrought and disjointed latter doesn’t belong on the list.

Broken Pattern Two is the “automatic nomination,” those that appear to be “dialed in” by voters. It’s become quite obvious that the Best Actor/Actress categories include permanent slots for “Meryl Streep” and “Denzel Washington,” with the ballot printer just needing to change the name of the film each year. Sorry, but Streep’s Katharine Graham was merely an average performance for the icon, while Washington’s Roman J. Israel, Esq. simply isn’t Oscar-worthy. Sam Elliot (The Hero) or John Boyega (Detroit) are just two of many who should…