Oscars

Babylon: Towering Masterpiece or Redundant Hit Piece

””The Tower of Babel is one of the most recognized tales from this little-known book titled the Bible; this tale tells the story of ambitious men and women setting out to build a tower that could reach the heights of God. As a result of this ambition, God cast divine punishment upon these humans by dividing them through the creation of different languages, making it impossible for the builders of this tower to communicate effectively with each other. It is a theological tale condemning ambition and rebellion, which makes it an interesting source of a title for Damien Chazelle’s latest feature film, the ambitious and rebellious historical epic Babylon.

My Favorite Oscar Nominees

””Amidst the vast award ceremonies held each year, the Academy Awards reigns above them all. It notoriously highlights brilliant actoral direction, original scores and each aspect of the directorial artistic vision. I was first introduced to the cinematic celebratory phenomenon when I was about twelve. Prior to the Oscars itself, my mother would put on the red-carpet exclusive interviews on the television. Together we would gawk at all the beautiful women in their triple dollar priced gowns, creating imaginary personal connections with each and every celebrity that attended. I remember vividly gasping in bewilderment at the men’s lack of style, of course with the exception of Christian Bale, Jared Leto and maybe Brad Pitt. I would always blush in perplexion at all the grown-up jokes that never actually matured into comicality as I grew to understand. It is safe to say I think of the Oscars rather fondly.