The Oscars Are Confused About “Barbie” by Michael Schulman

A couple weeks back, one of the hosts of the addictive podcast Little Gold Men ruefully predicted that all hell would break loose online if Greta Gerwig wasn’t among the nominees for Academy Award for directing. My oh my, was that soothsaying spot on or what? Add in Margot Robbie’s omission in the lead actress category, and the heat is turned up further. In the handful of days since the Oscar nominations were announced, there has been a tsunami of commentary, much of it demonstrating only a marginal grasp of Oscar history and culture. It’s less sexism than snobbery that boxed out Gerwig. In the past two years, the directors of Top Gun: Maverick and Dune were in the running for the Directors Guild of America Awards without receiving equivalent nominations for the Oscar. Michael Schulman reaches back even further to cite a telling precedent for Gerwig’s prominent miss. This piece is published by The New Yorker.

I chatted with a courtroom sketch artist who draws Trump by Marisa Kabas

Writing for her own site, The Handbasket, Marisa Kabas interviews courtroom sketch artist Christine Cornell, who’s recently risen in prominence because of her work in relation to the recent trials of the proven fraudster and rapist that Republicans believe is a dandy choice for the highest office in the land. The stuff about the right-wing’s cult leader is interesting enough, mostly because Cornell applies her professionally honed attention to detail towards candid commentary (she’s right that the man has only three facial expressions). The piece extends beyond that admittedly satisfying brutal honesty because Kabas asks good questions about the basic logistics of the job, and Cornell responds with interesting details.