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Oscars 2021: Minari, Nomadland, and other Best Picture nominees with overlapping themes
A few of this year's Oscar contenders for Best Picture connect themselves in themes relating to America and its history, here's a look at them.
The past year has been a strange one given how the pandemic had brought everything to a standstill. The unbelievable situation left us dealing with some difficult times as a global community. Unlike every year, films weren't made in the massive numbers that they usually do. Film shoots were stopped, films were delayed and some cast and crew members even succumbed to Coronavirus. Despite all the doom and gloom though, films released via streaming, in theatres amid limited capacity and somehow managed to keep us entertained in a tough year. And now, it's time to celebrate them and the hard work that went behind making them with this year's Oscars.
One of the most prestigious honors at the Academy Awards remains the Best Picture category. Among this year's nominations in the category are films like Mank, Minari, Nomadland, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Promising Young Woman, Sound of Metal, The Father and Judas, and the Black Messiah. All these nominees tackle diverse subjects in and have left audiences arrested with their sharp writing and performances. Although, when looked at carefully, some of this year's Best Picture contenders make for a great commentary on the current American situation.
Nomadland and Minar's distinct American dreams
Both Nomadland and Minari critique the idea of the American dream in different ways. While in Minari, the idea is to assimilate into the American culture probably through its very roots as Steven Yeun's Jacob takes up farming in rural Arkansas, in Nomadland, it is more about the reality that follows a dream. After losing nearly everything including her husband following the recession, Frances McDormand's Fern decides to break away from her regular life to embrace a nomadic, van-dwelling lifestyle. In both films, the landscapes are exactly opposite and so are the attitudes. While Yeun's Jacob believes in the idea of an America where everything is possible, Fern has fallen prey to the country's capitalistic menace is escaping the same.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Judas and the Black Messiah's politics
When it comes to reflecting America today, Oscar nominees The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Judas and the Black Messiah seem strangely timely despite being set in a much different timeline. While American citizens may have taken to the streets to oppose systematic racism following the tragic deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the history of misdemeanors of the American systemS seem to be only repeating itself. Aaron Sorkin's powerful line, "The whole world is watching" from The Trial of the Chicago 7 quite literally defines the unfortunate events that unfolded during George Floyd's death as the abuse of power by those in the system was out for display.
While Shaka King's Judas and the Black Messiah retells the story of The Black Panther Party leader, Fred Hampton's assassination, it is also equally aware of how timely the film is in the light of the Black Lives Matter movement. Set in Chicago 1968, it cleverly peddles the idea of revolution through its magnetic leader Fred Hampton, essayed powerfully by Daniel Kaluuya. How it connects to America then and today is the country's repeated history of suppressing black voices through surveillance and by the abuse of systems created to preserve and protect its own people.
Both Trial of the Chicago 7 and Judas and the Black Messiah are connected on two levels. While historically they connect being set in the same timeline and also have a connection to the Black Panther Party as the Aaron Sorkin directorial shows the party's co-founder Bobby Seal whereas the Shaka King's film is based on Hampton, the party president. Apart from this, both films talk about revolution and standing up for what's right. Both films serve as a cautionary warning for those who believe politics isn't personal by showing a mirror to how an elected system can and does manipulate its own people.
The overlapping themes between these films show us how films reflect, at the same time influence change. For a year that has witnessed a raging pandemic and protests for equal rights, these films seem to be a fitting and timely tribute with Minari and Nomadland giving us a taste of finding resolution in isolation to The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Judas and the Black Messiah reminding us that history isn't always far from being repeated unless acted upon to change it.
