Hollywood sisterhood, or lack thereof

May 1st, 2010
by therem

On a recent promotional tour for Avatar, Sigourney Weaver put forth the following explanation of why the film did not win Best Picture at the Academy Awards:

“Jim didn’t have breasts, and I think that was the reason. He should have taken home that Oscar.”

The actual Best Picture winner was Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker — one of the most testosterone-drenched winners in recent memory. One may honestly believe that Avatar was a better film (personally, I don’t), but given The Hurt Locker‘s subject matter, and the fact that Bigelow made no attempt to campaign on the basis of her gender, this seems like a pretty unfounded and demeaning claim for Weaver to make. The fact that it comes from her — one of the few women to achieve Action Hero status, blazing a trail for other women to follow — makes it all the more disheartening.

(Sorry for the newest installment of Outrage, Laura.)

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- More blogging by therem at http://therem.net



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Filed under TV & Film, Writers & Artists | Comments (4)

4 Responses to “Hollywood sisterhood, or lack thereof”

  1. Barbara Ann Wright on May 4, 2010 7:00 pm

    You know, when I was watching the Oscars, I wished they would have stopped pointing out that the best director category was potentially “history making” because a woman was nominated. I thought pointing that out hurt more than helped. It opened the door for, “she won just because she’s a woman.”

  2. Glauke on May 5, 2010 4:40 pm

    She said what?!? Seriously?

    *head desk*

    I haven’t seen The Hurt Locker, but I’ve read enough reviews to get an impression of the movie.

    However, I’ve seen Avatar. It was enjoyable enough -with my critical thinking skills off, that is. That movie did.not.merit.an.oscar. Untill we offer oscars for script failures.

  3. Yonmei on May 7, 2010 5:45 pm

    Glauke: She said what?!? Seriously?

    Pretty much my reaction, too, including the *headdesk*

    Barbara Ann: I thought pointing that out hurt more than helped. It opened the door for, “she won just because she’s a woman.”

    While all the previous winners won just because they were men. Yeah.

  4. Feminist Blog on May 27, 2010 11:50 pm

    *Face palm*

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