I Watched 12 Years As A Slave Again

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

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This time paying special attention to Lupita Nyong'o.  With all due respect I realize her role and performance in this movie was not Oscar worthy.

Why do I say this? 

Patsy plays a role that would make her a borderline extra in the movie.  Remove her from the movie and it still doesn't change its impact.

Now, Chiwetel Ejiofor.  Was he even nominated for the Oscar?  I couldn't help thinking he was robbed of the main Oscar and Lupita received hers as a consolation.  Check out the movie, if you haven't already seen it.

I wish Lupita nothing but the best in her career.  She is a good ambassador.

What I can't stand.  The scheme in this controversial forum.  It is horrific.

[Kababe]

Termie, I watched the Oscars this year live because of Lupita.

Chiwetel was indeed nominated for "best actor" category, but he was up against some serious competition, it went to Mathew McConnahey who played an AIDs victim in the 80s, a role that had earned him a great deal of critical acclaim.

Lupita's Oscar was for "supporting actress", she was not nominated for the main actress award for obvious reasons. Her real competition was Jennifer Lawrence but Jen had already two Oscars (she's only 23!), so given the critical acclaim for both 12 years a slave the movie AND Lupita, it was obvious heading into the award Lupita was going to clinch it.

I can hardly read your words, so I've put my response in a big bold font.

Someone should alert veri, the background makes words here unreadable!

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

Kadame,

Even for supporting actress she shouldn't have gotten it.  Even the nomination.  Have you watched the movie? 

Patsy does four things in this movie. 

In the only scene that would be memorable in relative terms.  She explains why she was absent.  She gets flogged.  And she cries.  The movie is over two hours.  This scene is 2 minutes.

She is seen as an extra picking cotton.  She gets raped by her owner.  She is attacked by his wife.

To be fair, given the minor roles women play, this movie should not have produced a nominee for supporting actress.

Termie, I watched the Oscars this year live because of Lupita.

Chiwetel was indeed nominated for "best actor" category, but he was up against some serious competition, it went to Mathew McConnahey who played an AIDs victim in the 80s, a role that had earned him a great deal of critical acclaim.

Lupita's Oscar was for "supporting actress", she was not nominated for the main actress award for obvious reasons. Her real competition was Jennifer Lawrence but Jen had already two Oscars (she's only 23!), so given the critical acclaim for both 12 years a slave the movie AND Lupita, it was obvious heading into the award Lupita was going to clinch it.

I can hardly read your words, so I've put my response in a big bold font.

Someone should alert veri, the background makes words here unreadable!

To be fair, she may have been the best supporting actress in that movie.  But there were only two other females.  All females in that movie play a very marginal role.  Not enough for Oscar consideration in my opinion.

[Kababe]

Termie,

Indeed she plays a small role, but I don't think that is a reason to deny her an award.

The award is for what she brings to the character as an actress, whatever the place of the character in the whole story. Its not really meant to award people for "clinching" an important role/part in a movie but for good raw acting. When an actress can bring heart and memorability to an unimportant character, that's even more points to her, not less.

Supporting actress/actor is the award for all those non-main actors/actresses you seen in all films. If it were limited to only important roles, it would be an injustice. There would be no way to reward any of the other actors not in the main leads, no matter how good they were/performed. The focuss of the award really is to reward skill and talent, not other things beyond the control of the actress (or actor/writer/director etc)

I also think you are somewhat downplaying Patsy, She basically highlighted the dynamics between the Mistress, her Husband and the slavery system. I remember most her Mistress's mistreatment of her actually and her no-win situation much more than the rape and beating scenes, to be honest. I believed her misery, even the short departing scene with Solomon sticks to my mind. I genuinely kept wishing someone would rescue her from that place. The actress who played the mistress was also praised for bringing believability to her semi-good but still evil character. Plus word is, just as Steve McQueen did, Lupita (and Echiwetel) were VERY faithful to the actual story of Patsy and Solomon Northup as he told it. That I think is what earned her the critical acclaim, the small role may have played in her favour, not against her.

[MansaMusa]

It's Hollywood entertainment. Rarely do the 'best actors' ever get recognized by the Academy and other industry awards. It's more about relevance,  budget, and network than about raw talent. I will say however that Lupita is a talented actress. Her background is in theatre and in live performance, there is simply no way of editing/faking talent.

[vooke]

What the hell are these green things and hieroglyphics?
Veritas, this is an overkill...looks like a kindergarten

Termie,
I have never understood how my all time favorite movie Shawshank Redemption missed ALL Oscars and Forrest Gump took all them in 1994. I think Oscars are political or just not a black and white issue

[Kababe]

What the hell are these green things and hieroglyphics?
Veritas, this is an overkill...looks like a kindergarten

Termie,
I have never understood how my all time favorite movie Shawshank Redemption missed ALL Oscars and Forrest Gump took all them in 1994. I think Oscars are political or just not a black and white issue

Hehehe....That's funny, coz I luuuuuuv Forest Gump. Shawshank was a great picture.

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

What the hell are these green things and hieroglyphics?
Veritas, this is an overkill...looks like a kindergarten

Termie,
I have never understood how my all time favorite movie Shawshank Redemption missed ALL Oscars and Forrest Gump took all them in 1994. I think Oscars are political or just not a black and white issue

I have watched Shawshank Redemption.  I think the whole movie once.  Then later bits and pieces.  I have yet to understand what that movie was all about.  The movie that should have given Eddy Murphy an Oscar consideration, in my opinion, was Life.  But it was too black.  How often does one watch a funny and tragic movie?

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

Last night I watched the movie Non-stop.  Specifically to see Lupunye.  And she was there.  She tells the air-marshall that the child wont come out of the closet.  Something along those lines.  A little bit less than what she does in 12 Years.  But not by much.