Being snowed in this week may have given some the opportunity to catch up on the films nominated for this year's Academy Awards, airing February 22 on ABC. On Sounds Good, Kate Lochte speaks with Andrew Black, Murray State English and Philosophy Department Assistant Professor and Specialist in Media Studies, with a preview of some of the nominees and his pick for Best Picture.
Andrew Black says because the Academy Awards are the longest and most significant award show for film, the winners end up becoming considered great throughout history. This can pose a problem when films depict historical figures, for instance Chris Kyle in American Sniper or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma. These films get challenged for playing "fast and loose with the facts," he says. In Selma, for instance, the depiction of President Lyndon B. Johnson drew scrutiny for his apparent reluctance in the Civil Rights Movement.
The comeback to historical depictions is: 'Well it's just a film and we have to judge it for what it is,' Black says. The problem with that, however, is that the film becomes such a powerful representation of history that it ends up shaping our understanding of history itself. He says, this problem goes back to Shakespeare with Henry IV Part I. The play was such a persuasive representation of the king 500 years ago that it ends up becoming the only one.
Andrew Black's pick for Best Picture? He says Boyhood has a very good chance of winning. The story of it's making is remarkable - filmed over twelve years and the director's effort is something he thinks people want to reward. He says it's an innovative in as such that it defines "American film." Black says he became so engrossed in the movie that he was worried something would happen to the characters and he couldn't handle it.
Coming up at Cinema International is a film depicting an historical figure: Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. Idris Elba plays Nelson Mandela. Black says this has the same issues as other historical depictions. How can a film portray somebody's life in two hours? The answer may be: does it capture the spirit?
