Selma Snub Sparks #OscarsSoWhite Hashtag On Twitter

The Oscars aren't particularly known for their inclusiveness, but yesterday's nominations were particularly disheartening. Anyone who saw Selma with their own two eyes has to know it's one of the strongest, most intelligent, and beautifully made films this year. Ava DuVernay was a clear front-runner for best director, as were David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr. and Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King for best actor and actress, and Bradford Young for best cinematography.

It was a shock to that Selma only received two Oscar nominations, and it was a huge disappointment — and not just because DuVernay would have been the first black woman to be nominated for best director, but because Selma is a flat-out excellent movie.

Oscar prognosticators are speculating on many reasons as to why Selma was left out in the cold. As per Grantland's Scott Harris, it could have to do a lot more with inside stuff like release dates and screeners for nominating bodies (like the DGA and other guilds) that would make a regular movie-lover's head spin.

Of course, the op-ed by Joseph A. Califano Jr., Lyndon B. Johnson's top assistant for domestic affairs, that asserted Selma is historically inaccurate took over the narrative, but then, American Sniper raises just as many questions about its subject. Read a little bit about subject Chris Kyle and his yarns, and the questions about LBJ's portrayal in Selma may just pale in comparison. 

In any case, social media offered us an outlet to air our anger — even if the (predominantly older, whiter, male) Oscar voting body doesn't know how to use Twitter yet. Check out #OscarsSoWhite for more.