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I have only one thing to say about the travesty that was the Oscars. It was a disgusting display of idiocy that Persepolis lost the Oscar for best animated film to Ratatouille.
Persepolis is a thoughtful, insightful exploration into a child’s experience with war and tyrannical oppression that rings so true these days, and it is so relevant for Americans, especially when it comes to the prevalence of Iran in our national headlines and the war that continues to fester in Iraq. I feel a movie could not have come at a better time, but the Academy really dropped the ball by not recognizing it for what it was. Watching the oppressed but still rebellious teenager rock out to Iron Maiden after shedding her public shawl is a beautiful cinematic moment.
Persepolis channels the unique style of the graphic novel whose autobiographical story it was based off of, and was the only traditionally animated movie to be nominated in the category. Apparently Iran’s government pressured people to drop the film from the Bangkok International Film Festival too, further exemplifying the free speech undertones of this magical story.
Yes, Ratatouille was really great and fun and an amazingly well done, but its impact and meaning are so far below Persepolis it is disgusting.
Ratatouille is a great movie, and the character of Remy the rat is incredibly cute and lovable, but it can’t step up to the magnitude, passion and depth of Persepolis. Persepolis is a movie that enriches the soul and gives a true rendition of life and overcoming tyranny to find ones true self.
This furthers my theory that we don’t award movies that push our minds and make us think. What matters is the movies that are flashy and follow our same comfortable stereotypes, and the Academy reinforced this with Ratatouille’s win, and they missed an amazing chance to bring our country’s focus onto a truly universal issue by not nominating Perespolis.
