Last week, I responded to Kim Voynar’s critique of “my SLUMDOG Brouhaha” by invoking “the Zeitgeist,” exemplified for me by a magazine cover photo of Michelle Obama captioned: “Alongside every great man…”
Yesterday I got my new NEWSWEEK which includes a full page article on the Obamas called “Our Model Marriage” concluding as follows: “Barack’s unguarded moments once led Slate’s Melinda Henneberger to ask ‘whether a husband who not only bows to his wife but admits it conforms to our notion of … strength.’ For millennials inspired by the first couple’s modern marriage—a group that sees greater strength in celebrating domestic equality than concealing it—the answer is apparently yes.”
Some people have rejected my requests for support because I couldn’t prove to them that Loveleen Tandan did “at least 50%” of the directorial work on SLUMDOG. Frankly, this makes no sense to me, because I simply don’t believe that creative contributions can ever be measured with that kind of precision—in art or in life.
Here’s my bottom line: Since no one will ever know for sure what SLUMDOG would have been like if Loveleen Tandan had not participated beyond her role as Casting Director, it seems prudent to acknowledge her contributions to this extraordinarily popular film and reward her accordingly during the awards process (especially given Oscar’s abysmal statistical record to date).
While I’m at it, I’d also like to give a shout out to Hunter College Professor Steve Gorelick (creator of the blog Media & Mayhem):
“A few minutes ago, I was moved to again watch the video from the Women’s Resource Center that shows just how much vile and persistent sexism was on display during this year’s presidential primary campaign… As I watched the video, I found myself yelling (all the plentiful expletives have been deleted): “Don’t these idiots have daughters, lovers, wives, or mothers or any other women whose future they care about? Is this the message they will send: Try hard, honey, but don’t be stubborn. Don’t be pushy.”
OK, so yes, maybe I’m “stubborn” and maybe I’m “pushy,” but if so it’s because I have nieces and women friends of all ages, & yes, I really care about their future!!!
My thanks to Steve, & thanks also to Google Alert for grabbing Steve’s reference to Jane Addams & pulling him up into my eBox!
