Friday 23 January 2009

It's Not A Snub!


"The Dark Knight" did NOT get snubbed. Clint Eastwood did NOT get snubbed. Springsteen did NOT get snubbed.

They simply didn't get nominated.


Taken from New York Magazine


I just wish we could please, PLEASE stop using the term "snubbed" simply because a favourite artist, song or film doesn't get nominated. I suppose that some definitions of the word include "ignore" or "fail to recognize", but normally it's used to show a deliberate offence to someone or a humiliation. You can disagree about the choices and call the Academy members a bunch of horses' asses, but they didn't all get together and purposely decide to thumb their noses at your pick. There's archaic and complicated voting rules to abide by and only five slots per category - so after you include the Miramax push of the year, the nominations to make up for previous mistakes and the atrocious taste of many of the members, well there just isn't room for everyone's faves.

There. I feel better now.

Anyway, everyone knows the big snub this year was to "Synecdoche NY".


10 comments:

Trista DeVries said...

Wow Bob. I 'm totally with you on this one. It would be great if maybe more bloggers could keep this in perspective.

Bob Turnbull said...

We'll start a movement! We'll snub the snubbers! B-)

James Yates said...

Good calls here. I know that music and film are vastly different, but how come nobody ever uses the phrase "snubbed" in regard to the Grammys?

Every year, the same typical Top 25 crap gets nominated, with nobody ever questioning it. Someone like Bon Iver (for example's sake) will never, ever be nominated for Best New Artist, simply because he didn't sell 5 million albums. At least with the Oscars (including this year's nominations), there are some very noble choices. So yeah, no snubs in my opinion.

Sorry, hope this didn't sound like too much of a spittle-spewing rant. :)

Bob Turnbull said...

Whatever people think of The Oscars, The Grammys are 10, 20, 100 times worse. I came to terms with it years ago though - The American Music Awards were even worse than The Grammys at the time (yes, that was possible) and I remember seeing Rick James performing with his band and everything was so obviously lip-synched, etc. So much for a celebration of music.

So anyway, I'm with ya. You can't snub someone at The Grammys - because it's a pointless award.

There's your rant for you...B-)

Shannon the Movie Moxie said...

Go BOB!!!

I totally agree with you here (my fave is people call snub when the film didn't qualify). There is no guarentee. There is no spoon. There is no snub.

PIPER said...

Yeah, snubbed is a bad word.

Hey wait...

Brian over at Lazy Eye felt Eastwood got snubbed. I myself have not seen the movie.

I think the anger comes when something that's interesting doesn't get a mention and less interesting stuff like... oh I don't know... Frost/Nixon and Doubt gets listed.

I have not seen Synedochewhatever, yet I want to.

drewbacca said...

Rosemarie DeWitt
Sally Hawkins
Synecdoche, NY

Bob Turnbull said...

Ya gotta see "Synedochewhatever" Piper...It'll mess ya up.

And Drewbacca I understand the feeling of seeing lesser films/actors get nominated when others don't...It's just the word "snub" that bugs me. The Academy just prefers the stuff they vote for - how can we claim they snubbed (ie. purposely meant to insult) smaller and lesser seen roles like Sally Hawkins in Happy-Go-Lucky when this is the same group of people that chose "Crash" as the best film of the year? It just means they have terrible taste and vote for things for all the wrong reasons (ie. they aren't avoiding voting for Sally and Rosemarie).

And yet I still like watching the show...

elgringo said...

Snubbed, huh?
You know what gets snubbed too often?
The word 'slighted.'
Just a thought.

"It just means they have terrible taste and vote for things for all the wrong reasons."

But doesn't it just make you feel so much better about yourself when you know you voted for the right things for the right reasons. I don't know what I would do if all my picks suddenly started winning Oscars. I'd probably start second guessing myself. :)

Bob Turnbull said...

Well, of course my "right" reasons are just a wee bit subjective. Just a smidge.

But when the Oscars do it for the wrong reasons it's most definitely just wrong.