Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,
More cinematic controversy in my house! This time, discussions of racism, nationalism, and film award segregation!
You probably know what I’m talking about. As has been well documented, The Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences revealed the nominees for the 87th Annual Academy Awards, and somehow neglected to nominate anyone of color for the major individual awards. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised, some would say, when you consider that the Academy is about 94% Caucasian and 77% male. When African-American performer Viola Davis was nominated for Best Lead Actress for The Help (in 2012), she said, “I have to tell you, I don’t even know who is a member of the academy.”
The film Selma explored a similar but much more serious diversity problem in the voting rolls of Alabama counties. In some counties, there were no African Americans registered to vote, and in order to register, one had to get a fellow voter to “vouch” for him or her. Without those “vouchers,” African Americans were excluded from the democratic process. And as only voters could serve on juries (juries of 12, rather than the Motion Picture Academy juries of 6,000), neither Blacks nor Whites in Alabama and other southern states could get a fair trial in a racially-charged (or even racially-relevant) case. Famously, the all-white jury that heard recanted rape allegations testimony in the Scottsboro Boys case of 1931 still convicted the boys on that train, ages 12-19, to a variety of jail terms. At one point, eight of the nine convicted faced a death sentence.
Just over 13 months ago, Alabama granted the Scottsboro Boys a full pardon. Of course, it was posthumous. As Euripides said, “Slow but sure moves the might of the gods.” Today the familiar saying reads “the wheels of justice turn slowly.”
As Kate and I watched the movie Selma Saturday night, she became more and more angry that the actor David Oyelowo and the director Ava DuVernay were not even nominated for what she thought were some of the strongest performances from a 2014 film. And I was reminded about ongoing attempts to limit minority voting, especially in the south. “Deep Data” studies of voting patterns have created pretzel-shaped gerrymandered districts that are almost as effective as Bull Connor to ensure as little minority representation as possible in southern state legislatures, the U.S. House, and the U.S. Senate. As we celebrate today the man who Gallup calls the most admired American of the 20th century, I wonder what Dr. Martin Luther King would say about the power of the poor and minority voter today.
Tonight’s Quiz will touch on a few of these topics, as well as offer questions about computer science, coffee, record-setting Popes, Narnia, California colleges, hippies, baseball, Queen Mary University, Greek mythology, The Oscars, drops, US Presidents, Shaka Zulu, “reality” on TV, jealousy, full taboos, postage stamps, billionaires, people named Erika, hot days, Africa, the Milky Way, football, droughts, current events, bodies of water, and justice in Shakespeare.
Thanks to all 90 of you who came to the poetry reading this past Thursday. I am expecting about twice that tonight, so come early to claim a table for the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz! See you tonight, and enjoy the holiday.
Your Quizmaster
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Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:
- Mottos and Slogans. Spoken by Visigoths and pirates, what are the four words in Capital One’s most famous slogan?
- Internet Culture. The iPhone was released in the same year as Ratatouille, making WHAT a good year for Steve Jobs? Hint: Juno and No Country for Old Men came out the same year. With a one-year margin of error, name the year.
- Newspaper Headlines. Today The White House admitted a mistake in not sending a representative to a large gathering in what foreign city?
- Four for Four. Which of the following, if any, are names of barber shops currently doing business in Davis, California. Aggie Barber Shop, Olive Drive Barber Shop, Razor’s Edge Barber Shop, University Barber Shop.
- Swiss Misters. Who was the Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who founded analytical psychology?