Evaluation of News Magazines Stories

In this post I explore two magazine articles pertaining to the field of film. The first talks about the call to change the Oscars Academy voting council, and the second criticizes the gory nature of The Hateful Eight and The Revenant, two recent films.

Dwilliams, "The Oscars, Oscar, Award, Studio, Show" 2/24/2015 via pixabay
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What arguments do these articles make?

Let's look at the first article:

For the second year in a row, there are zero black nominees for Oscars awards. Although Steve McQueen made history in 2014 as the first black director of a best film for 12 Years a Slave, some feel it was just a concession of white guilt. The call to revise the Academy voting council stems from the fact that many members are no longer active in the film industry. Doubling both black and female voters is another proposed revamp.

Milton Justice, who won an Oscar in the eighties for a documentary and now participates on the voting council, represents the opposing position. In his view, films are selected based on how good they are, regardless of the race of those involved in the movie-making process. To give more credit to an actor or director just because he or she is a minority is an insult to the art of cinema.


And now for the second article:

This article decries the excessive violence and betrayal underlying The Hateful Eight and The Revenant. It essentially points out the bloodiness that draws crowds to see these films while expressing merciless opinions on their unrealistic and flat plots. For example, although Glass undergoes a hero's survival journey in The Revenant, we see no evidence of character transformation by the films end. Good point. I still liked the movie though.


Who is the most sympathetic character in these stories?

In the first article, Cheryl Isaacs, president of the Academy is the most sympathetic character. Standing up against past traditions, she is making efforts to diversify the voting council so it will be a better reflection of the American population. Although the article doesn't make you feel bad for her, it does make you resonate with her righteous mission.

In the second article, the author, Anthony Lane, is the most sympathetic character. We suffer with him as he recounts gruesome scenes and crass audience reactions to violence in these two films. Because we don't want to be guilty of loving ugliness, we resonate with the author's tone of disgust.


Who is the least sympathetic character in these stories?

In the first story, the members of the voting council are the least sympathetic characters. Since the article portrays these individuals (such as Milton Justice) as out of touch with different cultures and styles of film, the reader feels very little sympathy for them.

In the film critique article, Tarantino and Inarritu (the directors of the two films) are the bad guys. The author accuses them of using violence to attract audiences. Not to mention the glorified themes of greed and revenge plaguing each film.