With the Academy Awards just behind us, here’s how to further explore your interests when course selection rolls around

By: Scarlett Sapieha, Arts and Culture Contributor

The 97th Academy Awards nominees for Best Picture explore a variety of fascinating subjects, and McMaster has an extensive catalogue of electives that dive deeper into these interests. Here are the courses to take next year, based on your pick for Best Picture.

Anora

Frequently described as an “American Cinderella story,” Anora is a film about a sex worker who marries a Russian oligarch. CMST 2H03: Gender and Performance explores how gender and sex inform different performance texts through feminist lenses, leaning into the themes of the film about autonomy and sex as a transaction rather than pleasure.

The Brutalist

The Brutalist tells the epic saga of a Jewish architect escaping Europe during the Second World War to start a new life in America. Though Adrien Brody’s character specializes in the brutalist style, GKROMST 2BB3: Constructing the Ancient World is your chance to learn about the fundamentals of architecture that still influence design today.

A Complete Unknown

Timothée Chalamet’s performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown wowed audiences with the research and detail put into the role. MUSIC 2II3: Popular Music in North America and the United Kingdom: Post-World War II is your opportunity to learn about the musical greats of the era at the same critical level. Study everything from Chuck Berry to Madonna—record labels to production studios.

Conclave

Visually stunning and technically masterful, Conclave follows the College of Cardinals as they vote to elect a new pope. It dives into what values a Catholic figurehead should have and how they shape the global politics of the church. Gender, race and sexuality have all historically been loaded concepts in religion—explore why and how in SCAR 2RD3: Religion and Diversity.

Dune: Part Two

Dune: Part Two continues the story of Paul Atreides on the desert planet of Arrakis. ANTHROP 3SS3: Sacred Journeys is a study of pilgrimages and secular relationships. With a film about false prophets, manipulation and a whole lot of walking, it’s hard to find a better companion course.

With a film about false prophets, manipulation and a whole lot of walking, it’s hard to find a better companion course.

Emilia Pérez

Emilia Pérez follows a cartel leader who fakes her death to have gender-affirming surgery. The film has been criticized for poor writing, its use of AI, a transphobic narrative and racist depictions of Latinx communities. SOCIOL 3U03: Sociology of Sexualities examines how sexuality and identity have been shaped by historical and social contexts.

I’m Still Here

Based on a true story from life in the Brazilian military dictatorship, I’m Still Here centres on the forced disappearance of Rubens Paiva and the struggles his family faces in the aftermath. POLSCI 1AA3: Government, Politics, and Power examines how power shapes political structures and the ideas and events that have shifted modern politics.

Nickel Boys

Shot almost entirely from a first-person perspective, Nickel Boys is an impressionistic film that captures a feeling more than a linear narrative, pairing well with IARTS 1PA3: Perspectives A: Arts in Society: Social Constructions of Class, Race and Gender. This course examines how art shifts narratives around social issues and how artists communicate through different mediums.

The Substance

The Substance follows Demi Moore as an aging actress pushed out of the industry, who finds an experimental drug that will split her consciousness in two—one as she is now, and one as her so-called best self. Examining sexism and ageism in entertainment, GENDRST 3BB3: Gender and Visual Culture explores how gender is expressed and interpreted in visual mediums.

Wicked

A critical study of how so-called villains are made, Wicked gives audiences a backstory for the iconic Wicked Witch of the West and how she became so despised. GERMAN 2FT3: The Fairy Tale (Taught in English) studies the history behind the fairy tales we love, starting with the Grimm Brothers and pushing forward to myth and modern folktales.

Regardless of their wins and losses at the Oscars, these films introduce relevant themes that stand strongly on their own. What better way to discover a new interest and inspire your studies than through cinema?

Regardless of their wins and losses at the Oscars, these films introduce relevant themes that stand strongly on their own.

By: Hayley Regis

So the Oscar nominations are out, in case you haven’t heard. Despite this being a landmark year for women of colour achieving amazing things — Viola Davis’ Emmy, Serena Williams as Sportsperson of the Year — we are once again reminded that white people are just better at this ‘acting thing’ than we are. I don’t believe that is the case. Lest someone decry me as a reverse racist, let us delve further into this land of celebrating white mediocrity and the black actors who are typecast and fall by the wayside.

Hattie McDaniel was the first black person to win an award for supporting actress. In 1939 she played a character named ‘Mammy’ in Gone with the Wind, a character so laden with racist stereotypes that “problematic” doesn’t begin to cover it. The first time a woman of colour won an award for best actress was Halle Berry, in 2001. The movie Monster’s Ball was about a poor southern woman who falls in love with the prison guard who executed her husband. The movie is described as an “erotic romantic drama,” despite the first sex scene being drunken (i.e. without proper consent) “grief sex.” Despite Berry being fetishized and portrayed as a sex object, her performance was still the only time a woman of colour has ever won best actress.

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We are no stranger to all-white nominees, especially women, but this year with movies like Straight Outta Compton and Creed, you’d think we would see some recognition for the acting of people of colour, especially considering the success of the films. Creed’s black writer-director Ryan Coogler, and black star Michael B. Jordan, were passed over, while Sylvester Stallone managed to get a nomination for best supporting. Compton didn’t get a nod from the academy, but the Screen Actors and Producers guilds nominated it for best picture. Needless to say this is a problem. We have actors like Idris Elba, Samuel L. Jackson and Will Smith, doing amazing work and someone drags the proverbial white carpet over them.

This year with movies like Straight Outta Compton and Creed, you’d think we would see some recognition for the acting of people of colour.

As Viola Davis said in her Emmy acceptance speech, “you can’t win an award for roles that are simply not there.” How are we supposed to fix the problems with representation, recognition, and general celebrations of people that may or may not be natural blondes? I grew up idolizing Michael Clarke Duncan, and Samuel L. Jackson because they were the only black people I saw in movies growing up. I’ve seen Snakes on a Plane more times than I care to admit, just because he’s in it. He doesn’t look like me, but he reminds me of my dad and his family. That’s the take-what-representation-you-can get mentality I grew up with. I am overwhelmingly saddened by the lack of diversity in this year’s nominations; it seems as if those wishing for a white Christmas had their wishes granted a little bit later this year.

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