some oscar notes
Fashion First
I love everyone who didn't wear black or beige to the Oscars this year, including J Lo. I know, her dress was pea soup green, but it was not beige. That being said, I thought Felicity Huffman in black looked amazing and I am listing her here as my number one, top favorite. Salma Hayek was bold and drop-dead as always, Michelle Williams chose this offbeat, kind of deco mustard yellow gown which I am coming down in favor of, and Amy Adams, who didn't get nearly enough screen time, looked gorgeous. Her dress was brown and quirky, which elevates it right out of beige territory, and it had pockets. When I was little my Dad told me designers didn't put as many pockets in women's clothes because it disempowers them and strips them of mobility. I mean, I was like 6. It made an impression on me at the time. I love pockets in women's formalwear.
Is it a coincidence that all my favorite dresses were on my favorite actors? No, the people I like just have good taste.
Oscar Highlights
* Dolly Parton's "Traveling Thru" performance
* George Clooney's acceptance speech (ok Mr. Suave, thank you for your unapologetic politics)
* Tsotsi director Gavin Hood's call and response "Amandla! Ngawethu!" with his actors in the audience, and his general enthusiasm
* Jon's "Oh no, Westerns aren't gay" montage, very fan mash-up inspired, I'm sure
Lowlights
*The other two musical numbers. Oh my God. The people walking around in slow motion among burning cars on the Crash number nearly killed me. "It's hard out there for a pimp" was a little better if only because the dancers weren't moving in slow motion. It did spark an interesting conversation for Elizabeth and me about what prostitutes wear/how prostitution is denoted in DC/Nashville, and whether, perhaps, there was any place in real life where they wear satin minis and afro wigs.
*Whenever one production partner talked too long during his acceptance speech so the other partner didn't get to talk. That sucks. And if you're a guy and you do it to your female partner, it makes you look like a sexist tool.
*Crash beat Brokeback. I would love to do a study of popular press coverage and see how much either of these two films triggered in-depth discussion of race and sexuality. But I think Brokeback was a stronger, subtler film. Interesting that both were made by those in a position of power in relation to the minority voices purportedly being represented, white writer/director for Crash, straight male director for Brokeback--and though I believe Annie Proulx is gay, no gay males writing/producing Brokeback that I know of. Even though Larry McMurtry is one bad-ass Texan.
I love everyone who didn't wear black or beige to the Oscars this year, including J Lo. I know, her dress was pea soup green, but it was not beige. That being said, I thought Felicity Huffman in black looked amazing and I am listing her here as my number one, top favorite. Salma Hayek was bold and drop-dead as always, Michelle Williams chose this offbeat, kind of deco mustard yellow gown which I am coming down in favor of, and Amy Adams, who didn't get nearly enough screen time, looked gorgeous. Her dress was brown and quirky, which elevates it right out of beige territory, and it had pockets. When I was little my Dad told me designers didn't put as many pockets in women's clothes because it disempowers them and strips them of mobility. I mean, I was like 6. It made an impression on me at the time. I love pockets in women's formalwear.
Is it a coincidence that all my favorite dresses were on my favorite actors? No, the people I like just have good taste.
Oscar Highlights
* Dolly Parton's "Traveling Thru" performance
* George Clooney's acceptance speech (ok Mr. Suave, thank you for your unapologetic politics)
* Tsotsi director Gavin Hood's call and response "Amandla! Ngawethu!" with his actors in the audience, and his general enthusiasm
* Jon's "Oh no, Westerns aren't gay" montage, very fan mash-up inspired, I'm sure
Lowlights
*The other two musical numbers. Oh my God. The people walking around in slow motion among burning cars on the Crash number nearly killed me. "It's hard out there for a pimp" was a little better if only because the dancers weren't moving in slow motion. It did spark an interesting conversation for Elizabeth and me about what prostitutes wear/how prostitution is denoted in DC/Nashville, and whether, perhaps, there was any place in real life where they wear satin minis and afro wigs.
*Whenever one production partner talked too long during his acceptance speech so the other partner didn't get to talk. That sucks. And if you're a guy and you do it to your female partner, it makes you look like a sexist tool.
*Crash beat Brokeback. I would love to do a study of popular press coverage and see how much either of these two films triggered in-depth discussion of race and sexuality. But I think Brokeback was a stronger, subtler film. Interesting that both were made by those in a position of power in relation to the minority voices purportedly being represented, white writer/director for Crash, straight male director for Brokeback--and though I believe Annie Proulx is gay, no gay males writing/producing Brokeback that I know of. Even though Larry McMurtry is one bad-ass Texan.
posted by Anna at 7:48 PM
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