Great article that delicately eases into the hard truth about CODA: stumbling across it as a Disney Channel Movie of the Week it's maybe a fine surprise, a Best Picture win makes it a dispiriting sign of cultural cowardice. It's not like the Oscars have been totally given over to pabulum - for every Green Book we get a Parasite, for every CODA a Moonlight. CODA owes its win to a pandemic-weakened slate as much as anything and such is the gift and curse of the ranked-tier voting system. The Power of the Dog may have gotten many of us amped, but to Campion's eternal credit I don't think she's capable of making a movie that won't find its way to the bottom half of many Academy ballots.
I think the only place the CODA is ill-served by winning Best Picture is in the opinions of people who read exemplary newsletters like the The Reveal. Among less terminally obsessed people in my life, it seems winning has helped it find an audience, which is all I hope for any movie (with the exception of the Joker/Green Book/Birdman tier of Oscar nominee). Family and co-workers like it, and they wouldn't have seen it otherwise -- that's all CODA ever asked for. That said, modern audiences should be asking for a lot more from CODA and Hollywood studios more broadly.
I’m so glad to see RUNNING ON EMPTY explored here. I only just discovered the film this past year, in between my two viewings of CODA in fact, and it completely floored me.
Other than the higher stakes and the Lumet of it all, ROE’s central romance just destroys CODA. Martha Plymton’s Lorna could easily carry her own movie.
CODA won’t be remembered at all. Because of the slap. And possibly because this felt like the last Oscars. Movies aren’t in the zeitgeist anymore. Nobody talks about CODA around the water cooler. The Oscars are like Hockey now. If you follow you really like it and can name the last handful of Stanley Cup winners if you don’t like it you barely know it exists( and never the Twain shall meet).
Remember when people would do Forest Gump impressions or you could say “I’m the king of the world” or “I can’t quit you” and most people knew the references. I just don’t think that happens anymore.
Also we’ve always known the Oscars almost never get it right and it’s all fake. Now they can’t even serve up the illusion that it’s prestigious and that the Movies matter because they got Twitter Polls and celebrities fighting on stage. It’s reality TV. In the internet age: movies, people getting slapped, books, any culture at all is just Hockey. If you follow it you like, if you don’t, it doesn’t even show up in your feed. CODA is fine. The Oscars are dead.
Additional point to consider: since CODA's win for Best Picture (+other top-tier Academy Awards), I can grok that a lot more people have and will come to it out of genuine interest, now that it won The Film Award most (Americans) care about. But this returns to an issue I brought up before about Turning Red, and I suspect this won't go away... if each of these marquee movies get snatched up by exclusive deals on major streaming services, and if they are also not supported by physical release/distribution somehow, what remains of our shared cinephilia? Do we completely forsake accessing the same films? I get that before we simply made choices what to watch/not to watch if it was out on the rental market or re-run on cable, but I don't see everyone opening accounts to all the major streaming services available. Outside of film/tv reviewers, I don't know anybody who has all of the following: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+ and Apple+ (the best I can say is that I know some with 3-4 of the six). There are going to be major films - awards winners among them - that simply cannot be watched in many households, and we're just going to shrug and move forward with that?
I'm a member of my local film society, and I generally try to go into each weekly screening knowing nothing about the films. Obviously sometimes they'll show well-known films that already have some expectation for (if I haven't actually seen them), but most of the time I have no idea what the week's film is even called, and that is a delight to approach a film with genuinely no expectations.
As for CODA, I enjoyed it when I saw it back in September, it was a pleasant watch, but was shocked when it appeared in the list of nominees because I had completely forgotten it existed. Literally the ONLY thing I remembered about it was the horny parents - and specifically I only remembered the scene with the doctor. I had to rewatch the film to even remember that it was about her singing, or the fishing subplot. To me, a "Best Picture" winner should not be so forgettable.
I understand prioritizing other movies, but I'm curious as to why you waited until after the Oscars to finally watch CODA (a mediocre film at best, imo). I would have guessed you typically catch up with all the major nominees before the ceremony at the latest. Do you think your own viewing prioritization in this case is reflective of a diminishing significance for the Academy Awards?
I agree CODA wouldn't have made the cut if BP were still limited to five noms. And I don't think it wins if the ceremony is held in February. It was only in those final few weeks when it gained momentum. I'm not convinced many AMPAS members love the film. CODA strikes me as a major beneficiary of the ranked choice voting system, where a bland, benign feel-good movie may fare better than an auteur-driven, critically-acclaimed but polarizing one.
I think I somehow landed between Context 1 and Context 2. I knew it was nominated for BP, and I had waited to watch it until it came to my local Regal as part of their BP nominee showings. But I had avoided most of the background info on the movie: I didn't know about the $25M Sundance price tag, didn't know anything about the director, only knew the story had something to do with a deaf family, and i only recognized one actress (marlee matlin) when she showed up on screen.
With all of that (lack of) context, I enjoyed the movie quite a lot when I saw it.
Agree 100%, and not just on CODA. About Running On Empty as well. Thanks also for raising the thorny issue of how much you know, or need to know, before you watch. I'm now of the I'll-read-reviews-till-I'm-sure-it's-not-rubbish school. Perhaps it's an age thing. But I acknowledge what I've lost, the potential freshness, shock, surprise, and joy at an unimagined treasure. Nevertheless, I'll settle for why I listen to Next Picture Show and subscribed to The Reveal; I want to know what you think.
At least CODA winning means a great deal to the deaf community and does something for them in terms of exposure. I personally found it pretty weak as a film, but at this point I'm shutting up and letting those who it means something to enjoy the moment.
I saw CODA in context 2 - before it was even apparent that it would be nominated for BP, much less win. It was honestly ill-served even by that viewing experience, since I went in expecting a major work (given the Sundance reaction) and came out thinking, "This is it?"
The other factor that really affected my perception of the film was the fact that I had watched another of Apple TV+'s Sundance acquisitions the night before: Hala. CODA is a better film, but in outline, the two movies are almost identical. Really made me wonder why so many filmmakers are seemingly passionate about telling the same basic story as hundreds of other indies.
Great article that delicately eases into the hard truth about CODA: stumbling across it as a Disney Channel Movie of the Week it's maybe a fine surprise, a Best Picture win makes it a dispiriting sign of cultural cowardice. It's not like the Oscars have been totally given over to pabulum - for every Green Book we get a Parasite, for every CODA a Moonlight. CODA owes its win to a pandemic-weakened slate as much as anything and such is the gift and curse of the ranked-tier voting system. The Power of the Dog may have gotten many of us amped, but to Campion's eternal credit I don't think she's capable of making a movie that won't find its way to the bottom half of many Academy ballots.
I think the only place the CODA is ill-served by winning Best Picture is in the opinions of people who read exemplary newsletters like the The Reveal. Among less terminally obsessed people in my life, it seems winning has helped it find an audience, which is all I hope for any movie (with the exception of the Joker/Green Book/Birdman tier of Oscar nominee). Family and co-workers like it, and they wouldn't have seen it otherwise -- that's all CODA ever asked for. That said, modern audiences should be asking for a lot more from CODA and Hollywood studios more broadly.
Wood that i' twerr... wood tha'... wood tha tih tware so sehmpal... It's complicated.
I’m so glad to see RUNNING ON EMPTY explored here. I only just discovered the film this past year, in between my two viewings of CODA in fact, and it completely floored me.
Other than the higher stakes and the Lumet of it all, ROE’s central romance just destroys CODA. Martha Plymton’s Lorna could easily carry her own movie.
CODA won’t be remembered at all. Because of the slap. And possibly because this felt like the last Oscars. Movies aren’t in the zeitgeist anymore. Nobody talks about CODA around the water cooler. The Oscars are like Hockey now. If you follow you really like it and can name the last handful of Stanley Cup winners if you don’t like it you barely know it exists( and never the Twain shall meet).
Remember when people would do Forest Gump impressions or you could say “I’m the king of the world” or “I can’t quit you” and most people knew the references. I just don’t think that happens anymore.
Also we’ve always known the Oscars almost never get it right and it’s all fake. Now they can’t even serve up the illusion that it’s prestigious and that the Movies matter because they got Twitter Polls and celebrities fighting on stage. It’s reality TV. In the internet age: movies, people getting slapped, books, any culture at all is just Hockey. If you follow it you like, if you don’t, it doesn’t even show up in your feed. CODA is fine. The Oscars are dead.
Additional point to consider: since CODA's win for Best Picture (+other top-tier Academy Awards), I can grok that a lot more people have and will come to it out of genuine interest, now that it won The Film Award most (Americans) care about. But this returns to an issue I brought up before about Turning Red, and I suspect this won't go away... if each of these marquee movies get snatched up by exclusive deals on major streaming services, and if they are also not supported by physical release/distribution somehow, what remains of our shared cinephilia? Do we completely forsake accessing the same films? I get that before we simply made choices what to watch/not to watch if it was out on the rental market or re-run on cable, but I don't see everyone opening accounts to all the major streaming services available. Outside of film/tv reviewers, I don't know anybody who has all of the following: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+ and Apple+ (the best I can say is that I know some with 3-4 of the six). There are going to be major films - awards winners among them - that simply cannot be watched in many households, and we're just going to shrug and move forward with that?
I'm a member of my local film society, and I generally try to go into each weekly screening knowing nothing about the films. Obviously sometimes they'll show well-known films that already have some expectation for (if I haven't actually seen them), but most of the time I have no idea what the week's film is even called, and that is a delight to approach a film with genuinely no expectations.
As for CODA, I enjoyed it when I saw it back in September, it was a pleasant watch, but was shocked when it appeared in the list of nominees because I had completely forgotten it existed. Literally the ONLY thing I remembered about it was the horny parents - and specifically I only remembered the scene with the doctor. I had to rewatch the film to even remember that it was about her singing, or the fishing subplot. To me, a "Best Picture" winner should not be so forgettable.
I understand prioritizing other movies, but I'm curious as to why you waited until after the Oscars to finally watch CODA (a mediocre film at best, imo). I would have guessed you typically catch up with all the major nominees before the ceremony at the latest. Do you think your own viewing prioritization in this case is reflective of a diminishing significance for the Academy Awards?
I agree CODA wouldn't have made the cut if BP were still limited to five noms. And I don't think it wins if the ceremony is held in February. It was only in those final few weeks when it gained momentum. I'm not convinced many AMPAS members love the film. CODA strikes me as a major beneficiary of the ranked choice voting system, where a bland, benign feel-good movie may fare better than an auteur-driven, critically-acclaimed but polarizing one.
I think I somehow landed between Context 1 and Context 2. I knew it was nominated for BP, and I had waited to watch it until it came to my local Regal as part of their BP nominee showings. But I had avoided most of the background info on the movie: I didn't know about the $25M Sundance price tag, didn't know anything about the director, only knew the story had something to do with a deaf family, and i only recognized one actress (marlee matlin) when she showed up on screen.
With all of that (lack of) context, I enjoyed the movie quite a lot when I saw it.
Agree 100%, and not just on CODA. About Running On Empty as well. Thanks also for raising the thorny issue of how much you know, or need to know, before you watch. I'm now of the I'll-read-reviews-till-I'm-sure-it's-not-rubbish school. Perhaps it's an age thing. But I acknowledge what I've lost, the potential freshness, shock, surprise, and joy at an unimagined treasure. Nevertheless, I'll settle for why I listen to Next Picture Show and subscribed to The Reveal; I want to know what you think.
At least CODA winning means a great deal to the deaf community and does something for them in terms of exposure. I personally found it pretty weak as a film, but at this point I'm shutting up and letting those who it means something to enjoy the moment.
I saw CODA in context 2 - before it was even apparent that it would be nominated for BP, much less win. It was honestly ill-served even by that viewing experience, since I went in expecting a major work (given the Sundance reaction) and came out thinking, "This is it?"
The other factor that really affected my perception of the film was the fact that I had watched another of Apple TV+'s Sundance acquisitions the night before: Hala. CODA is a better film, but in outline, the two movies are almost identical. Really made me wonder why so many filmmakers are seemingly passionate about telling the same basic story as hundreds of other indies.