Jan Lisa Huttner weighs in on the 2017 Oscars’ second major brouhaha: Why wasn’t The Birth of a Nation nominated for an Oscar?
I will have more to say about this later, but at this point, suffice it to say that Nate Parker’s Oscar problems had nothing to do with questions about his personal life and everything to do with the quality of his film.
Timing is everything, and The Birth of a Nation was simply eclipsed by four much better films about African-American families: the Oscar-nominated films Fences, Hidden Figures & Moonlight, as well as Loving (nominated in the Best Actress category).
Rotten Tomatoes scores may not perfect, but they are definitely indicative.
