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I am curious if the group here are really surprised about the controversy re the nomination of a white person from a movie no one saw? In fact entertainment reporters need to write something. And somewhere (before I even read anything) I heard something about the "whitest oscars in years."

The number of nominees in any category is only a handful, and since only whites are a large enough group in the US to always have one of their group nominated in any category, we will no doubt hear about which group was slighted (blacks, asians, hispanics) until the story becomes a non issue.

Re All Quiet on the Western Front - was happy you discussed. I will watch it.

Interesting to juggle War = Bad with the War in Ukraine (so Good?)

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See, the idea that this is “the whitest Oscars in years” is just weird, at least very specifically with regard to the actress categories. There are three Asian nominees, one African-American nominee, and one Hispanic nominee. That’s actually a pretty diverse slate, all things considered.

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Sure, but this is not about my issue. The thing is that this is what pops up in an internet search and in what amounts to click bait.

Yours is useful perspective, but didn't you anticipate some comments about race, if only because media needs to have so much content now compared to pre-1980. And based on the small sample size (I am an insurance underwriter, so excuse my reference to sampling) every group has an excellent chance to be disappointed almost any year.

Example: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-01-24/oscar-nominations-2023-oscarssowhite-again-black-actors

Also - as a businessman we deal with performance evaluations which force ranking ones employees. The top performer's value is exaggerated and the one at the bottom negatively so. In fact the differences in a typical group of 10 employees usually small - that is each produces about the same (most seasoned employees CAN do the job ).

Imagine a similar matter among seasoned actors. Those who did not get nominated likely did as good a job as the ones nominated. So they no doubt will mutter to their friends, and reporters they know. The mutterings are already being reported (as in the LA Times piece)/

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