Award Bait or Award Great: Selma Gets Snubbed

By: Alexander Wheeler

Features Editor

And

Joseph Conway
Staff Writer

Is a film made to entertain or to win awards? Does it happen to be entertaining and also award worthy? Alexander Wheeler and Joseph Conway are here to answer those questions in this week’s edition of Award Great or Award Bait?

This award season, several films have gained praise for their portrayal of real events: The Theory of Everything, The Imitation Game and Wild will have several chances at Oscar gold, but recently, Selma, a film based off of Martin Luther King’s battle for equality in Selma, Alabama was overlooked for several awards. The question is: did Selma deserve to be an Award Great this Oscar season?

Alexander’s Opinion:

Selma could have made history. I was rooting for Ava Duvernay to be the first African American woman to be nominated for Director by the Academy Awards, alas, I will have to wait for her next film.

One of the most critically acclaimed films of the year, Selma, got snubbed hard by the Academy. The film only garnered two nominations: one for Picture and one for Original Song. While the film is entirely justified in those two categories, the film should have been nominated for much, much more.

David Oyelowo gives a riveting and commanding central performance as Martin Luther King Jr. and his work demands praise and viewership. I’m willing to bet we haven’t seen the last of Oyelowo despite the lack of a nomination in his favor.

The film itself is an extremely powerful and entrancing experience that is extremely reminiscent of modern day America. This is the type of film that the people of America should see; we haven’t come as far as we thought since Martin Luther King Jr. and his fellowship marched from Selma to Montgomery. The film is utterly eye opening and solidifies the film as one of the most important films of this decade so far.

Alexander’s Assessment:

Selma more than deserves what the Academy gave it and was completely short changed in almost every category that the Academy deems award worthy.

Joseph’s Opinion:

Selma was directed by a seemingly unknown director named Ava Duvernay. Though her previous work seems to have received very little attention, Selma has seemingly brought her a big break. Starring David  Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr. Selma tells the awe inspiring journey of King and his fellow civil rights warriors as they attempt to bring voting equality to Selma, Alabama. The films can drag at times but when it is at its best, Selma can be very powerful.

The cast of Selma includes several great performances from actors including Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Roth and Carmen Ojogo as King’s loyal wife, Correta. Oyelowo and Ojogo play well off each other as the movie does not hide the complicated relationship of Martin and Correta. The film is at its best when Oyelowo taps into his inner King and recreates the preaching and speeches of King. Through his portrayal Oyelowo shows us just how amazing King Jr. truly was.

Selma has been nominated for Best Picture but did not receive nominations for two of its areas of strength: Director and Actor. Given the fact that the film was snubbed in these two categories, I believe that it will have a very difficult time becoming an Award Great. The only reason I believe that Selma may have somewhat of a chance is that I often find that the Oscars tend to spread the love come award season and provide several different films with awards, perhaps with other films taking Director and Actor/Actress, Selma could take home Picture. Due to the competition Selma has against it, this is very much a long shot, but you never know.

Joseph’s Assessment:

Selma is surely an Oscar caliber film, but it is likely that it will leave the show empty handed.