American Fiction - N-word opening scene
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2024
- Classroom scene in American Fiction (2023), starring Jeffrey Wright (Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison), with Skyler Wright (Brittany). Literary author and lecturer T. Ellison clashes with a student over the use of the n-word, which leads to another altercation with his colleagues.
#americanfiction #jeffreywright #cordjefferson 
Развлечения
"With all due respect, Britney, I got over it. I'm pretty sure you can too." Britney failed to take the hint. She deserved what came next.
What happened next, though? Did he yell at her or kick her out of class? All it showed was her leaving the room with tears in her eyes. Was something missing? Or only implied?
He most likely gave her an EXTREMELY scathing lecture about how she of all people doesn't have the right to be offended, since that word has never truly affected her the way it has others, including the professor, and even the student right by her. Judging by how visceral he sounded when he asked if anyone else had any thoughts, he was probably yelling and being really, really vulgar. @@MatthewTheWanderer
@@semajjarrett3877 But, they don't show any of that in the movie?
@@MatthewTheWanderer It's called "implying", and it's perfectly legal to do in movies.
@@gamepapa1211 I know, but I was just curious if that is, in fact, what happened in the movie or if this clip cut that part out.
I would hate to see how Brittany would react to hip hop music.
Don't let her near Kendrick. She's gonna have a meltdown
They turn a blind eye to that on purpose.
Sings along with every word...as long as she's pretty sure no one's around.
“music”
those green hair person would just lost it if they read Beloved from Morrison...almost 100 "nigger" in the first 100 pages. But woooooke loves Beloved
Wright remains a brilliant actor of our time
He may not have won his statue Sunday, but I can't fathom a future where he doesn't get one
He is pretty cool, I wish I liked westworld more
really really nailed the character from the book too...hats off to wright, the writers and casting team cuz they really captured the spirit of percival everett while making adaptions for the screen
He’s amazing. Even if he never wins best actor he’ll be just fine. I’ve never seen him do a bad performance. He’s one of those actors you just know will add quality to a movie.
@@rizzo-films He was fantastic as Gordon in The Batman. Been a fan of him since I saw him in the James Bond films.
@@wiinterflowers4277 yeah his Gordon was probably my favorite movie Gordon. No offense to Oldman who did an amazing job, but I’ve always liked the character and I felt like Wright had a lot more presence and he felt almost like a co-lead. He nails that soft-spoken but strong and competent vibe. He has a little menace to him, too. I first saw him in Boardwalk Empire where he did a chilling performance.
0:52 Jeffrey Wright's "barely contained ball of rage" face is something else, lol. Love the dude.
what a great phrase -- perfect for his expression
Great actor.
walter white vibes
That’s what real acting is. Outward bursts are easy. Showing bottled up emotions is hard
@@llamapartyyTbh he could've played that role perfectly
Imagine taking a class on Southern American lit and expecting to avoid the N-word. Sheesh.
Bro, i go to an HBCU college for English. She would have a meltdown.
Especially Flannery OConnor!
I took an African American Women's Literature class. There was only two guys in the class (me and one other) because the only other one left after a week. Alice Walker's POSSESSING THE SECRET OF JOY may be one of the toughest books to get through, just for content alone.
When you said Southern American lit, you hurt my head I was like what? You should've wrote Southern US Lit.
@@xIlNordiclIx Good point. They are two different things.
The fact that she’s sitting RIGHT next to a black guy as well….
This film really was IMPECCABLY directed by Cord Jefferson!
It has no third act. "Impeccably written" is a ridiculous statement.
@@williammccormick984Not every story follows a three act structure
@@linkinajar8676 This is not a 3 to 5 act matter. Don't be a moron. The entire last 20 minutes is pathetic
directors in 2024: woman mad at n word sits next to black man.
people in 2024: THIS DIRECTOR IS THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
@@williammccormick984that’s literally the whole point, to break the fourth wall and de-structure itself from typical Hollywood narratives so to give you, the viewer, that choice of how the story goes. I think it was a really bold yet effective choice especially because the whole movie is about diverting literary norms
My buddy Sam is in this scene at 0:23! He’s the college kid in the blue shirt between the two girls. Congratulations, Sam!!!
There's two guys in two blue shirts between two girls
@@gdolan9dark brown hair and tan skin.
Go Sam!
Strange thing to lie about.
How was I lying?
To all the Britneys: It's not about you. Furthermore, your moring routine should consist of repeating the word "context" in your head at least 500 times before getting out of bed.
a good regiment of '' nuance '' and '' degree of '' should be added too
And maybe some sit ups, too lol
See, the morns conquered Sicilly. And the morns are naggers... look it up, it's a fact
pretty sure the ones complaining in reality arent called 'Britney', but yeh.
Good point, im just not going to care about black issues, too complex and any effort to try is met with THATS NOT GOOD ENOUGH so F it
She can't even take a que from the man to her right, as he nods his head in agreement.
I swear to God I am trying so hard to find a part where he nods but I don't see it
@@frempy44260:40
When Monk says " the context in which its written" there is a very brief movement where he seems to nod as the camera pans to the girl.
A cue.
@@oliverhughes610 a, yes. I'm learning a 2nd language and get confused.
I’m an adult who has gone back to school to finish my bachelors and this is funny, hilarious even, but also too real!
Eye-rolling everyday hehe
I don't get why white people always want to dictate how we can or cannot talk about past oppression
Oh, dear.
It's been a while since I've been in college, but I'd be very surprised if the vast majority of today's college students would actually storm out of classroom because they were forced to read Flannery O'Connor.
I will be going back to college later in life as well, after I ETS out of the military (Im poor and the GI Bill was my only option ok) frankly im worried this is the kindve BS im going to encounter on modern campuses. Ive been forced to develop a thick skin because real life is tough, and if kids today heard how we speak in the Army I think theyd crap themselves. Anyway I actually really want to learn and educate myself this time around not just tick off credit boxes on my way to a degree. If the culture in modern Universities impedes rather than facilitates this im honestly gonna be really pissed. Im there to learn and sometimes thats uncomfortable, but thats often when we learn the most!
Used to be a teacher.
I can relate.
The lack of curiosity is a disease.
💯💯💯💯
Black Professor - “I think we can understand it within the context from which it’s written”
*black students nods in approval*
white college girl: “ACTUALLY”
🤦♂️
Interesting fact: this didn’t actually happen
Let's not forget they are actors, and Britney -- albeit not too far from reality -- is somewhat of a caricature.
@@ExpiditionWild I bet it did though
In a way they're both kind of in the wrong, she's wrong for derailing the discussion over the use of the N-word and halting the class lecture, and he's wrong for basically yelling at her, like, if you're an instructor, you can't do that, even if you disagree with your students, he could have handled that situation a little better.
in reality, not all black students would've nodded in approval. this skit is kinda bullshit
Brittanny then went home to complain about the professor on twitter.
Yeah kkkkkk.......
They really nailed the authenticity here, as the only one offended is the middle class white student.
Who, of course, has hair in an unnatural color.
gotta obey those white woman crocodile tears
90% of students on a university campus act like this these days, color and class are irrelevant.
Yeah. Man do white people get offended. White men are the most sensitive of all though.
Yeah but more than anyone White college kids and adults do this more than anyone@@cobrakaiX
This was a great movie.
I studied English for my bachelor’s degree, and this scene really helps capture the reality of engaging with material that’s “uncomfortable” in academia. I spent a whole semester studying African-American literature. There are so many stereotypes associated with presenting African Americans in literature when it comes to voice, point-of-view, language, etc. There’s no easy way to jump around the “uncomfortableness.” Literature is a representation of one’s truth. Or, in other words, someone’s identity and experiences. Those influence the making of stories.
I think this movie presents two interesting questions: what is considered “great” literature? Where does literature come from?
In other words, who has the credibility to decide what’s great literature and not great literature, and what inspires us to write in the first place.
There is no such thing as one's truth. There is only the truth. You are confusing opinions for truth
@@mustang8206 truth is inaccessible to us so we operate on estimation or assumption of truth. we cannot hold true to truth long enough to speak a single syllable.
@@jm6406 So is that statement true or false?
@@mustang8206 no statement perfectly reflects truth. the truth cannot be held by the limited human mind.
@@jm6406 So is that statement true?
"Yes, relax, Mandy."
Yes , you angry black guy 😅😅😅
I love how this movie started off very similar to Tár
Ahh context. I'm so old I remember context.
AW I MEMBA! REMEMBA TAUNTAUNS??
I go to school in Massachusetts and I’m an English major-I can confirm that there is always one Brittany!
I gotta see this movie. I saw the trailer and I thought the plot was brilliant. But this particular scene speaks to me as a history major. My senior paper was on the lost cause myth of the confederacy in which I dispelled several myths about the causes of the civil war. One such myth was that the war wasn't fought over slavery which led me to cite 15 primary quotes written by confederate soldiers during the war. In some of these quotes, these men used the n word to describe how they weren't willing to recognize them as equals should the Union win the war. The earliest example of a confederate soldiers using the n word came from September 1861, just a few months after the war had started.
My point is that people shouldn't be so reluctant to analyze history for what it is. History is rarely a comfortable subject to study and it makes you think. Most other students wouldn't have bothered including the quotes for what they were, opting to censor the n word. But for me, I felt it was important to display these quotes for what they were so that there could be no mistaking the true causes for which confederate soldiers fought. Not some watered down mythical version of history that I was led to believe by some civil war reenactors.
Britney is cool, shes not a maggat/confed
@@gamegoof Obviously. And I wouldn't conflate trump supporters with neo confeds. Yes it's true most neo confeds are trump supporters, but not all trump supporters are neo confeds. Just the same as how not all liberals are socialists.
I thought the plot was brilliant too. Like genuinely, I don't know why so few movies start off with such a great idea. But man did I find the movie horrible. Could be just me though. The movie focuses way more on family issues than the actual smart plot they started with, but if you like that kind of stuff I guess it is pretty well done. Not gonna lie though I do feel like the success this movie is getting mostly comes from the trailer. The idea is just so much better than what they did, so I find it pretty ironic that this movie wins awards from white people who might have felt pressured to like it, since, you know, it makes fun of them. I'm sure some of the people that made the movie knew that would be the case too, which is amazing
@@thombeaulieu5800 Thanks for the feedback. I haven't had time to look at the reviews but I believe what you say. It's so freaking common for movies to have really good trailers but the execution of the film is totally different from what audiences initially expect. I'll still give it a watch though. Unless the reviews are really bad.
you found 15 quotes from random soldiers out of how many who fought and died in it and that was your proof dispelling a myth? i sure hope there was a lot more actual evidence in the paper than just a little over a dozen anecdotal quotes from grunts on the front lines.
My God. It's literally the title of the story. Can she NOT consider the context? Haha.
*
Also, good job to Skyler Wright. I thought that was her.
i read that as skyler white and my dumbass thought anna gunn is in it so had to rewatch the clip to check lol
@@bahagharingmatsing Hahaha. Actress and singer Skyler Wright. No relation. Haha.
@@bahagharingmatsing If that's Anna Gunn, that's some crazy de-aging
"I find that word really offensive." "Good. You're supposed to find it offensive. It's an offensive word. You're going to hear a lot of offensive things in your life and you're going to have to get used to them existing."
I love how he delivers the line were all adults here
Wright is such a great actor.
This brings up a good point about Flannery O'Connor, whose work has been heavily scrutinized lately.
People see the n-word in Flannery O'Connor's writing and immediately peg her as a racist and dismiss her works. Not only is this an untrue accusation, it's a disservice to her wisdom and her literary talent. O'Connor grew up and lived in the South her entire life. She was not entirely free from the prejudices of her culture - but she was not a racist. In most of her stories, racist white folks end up humiliated and hurt. She used racial language because that's the language that reflected the reality of the culture she lived in. Many white people in the South did not generally use "polite" language when referring to black folks, and O'Connor's characters do not tend to be good or moral people.
This film was lit by some friends of mine with Apophis Film in Boston. The whole production from what I understand was shot in New England and their production company lit the whole thing! So cool
Thanks for uploading this!
D1 glazer.
Going to be VERY difficult to choose a #1 movie for the Academy Awards this year. American Fiction is EXCELLENT.
its like okay...
i missed the first few minutes of this movie, glad you posted this
School is supposed to make you uncomfortable. That's what happens when you broaden your horizons
I like how he looks like Walter White, He even has the mannerisms.
I swear the cinematographer referenced Breaking Bad in one of the last scenes when he was "shot" on stage and the camera zoomed out while he bled out.
@@sheldong1031 that crossed my mind too lol
Walter Black
seriously, it's an actual short story written by an nba-winning writer. it's not like he put that word up on the board just to provoke outrage
btw, Flannery O’Connor is a great author. Check out her short stories
lol I don’t think so
@@rebboy17 Cool! You don't have to.
But if it's because she has a piece titled _The Artificial N****r,_ or if it's because of potential bias of seeing her as a racist, then do me a rhetorical favour and just say you don't want to consume media by a person you think is a racist.
Ot maybe you are a racist! Who knows, but just saying "lol i dont think so" is a dumb statement bc it says nothing. It's vapid.
This is the point I'm making. Everyone writes "lol i dont think so"s, what makes your piss take so different from others' piss takes? Did you just want to complain because you want everyone to know you don't want to read it? If that's the case - and with all due respect - maybe you should never write another comment again. It would certainly help everyone else spend their time more effectively instead of engaging in a potential trolling session or a flame war.
Because closed-mindedness never changes. It does not wish to confront or be challenged. It does not even wish to ask "why should we read Flannery O'Connor?" It is secure. And it is this reason among others as to why I feel our standards of knowledge are getting worse.
"You wanna go dirty doggie", I love it all. I love Wright's cynicism and quick wit scenes. Not sure if Cord Jefferson wrote the screenplay too, but this was genius. The stereotypes and innuendos, this is one of the few films I've truly enjoyed in a long time.
"People without memory are people without future"
-Salvador Allende
If you laugh on this scene, this movie is for you.
If you felt offended by this scene, this movie definitely is for you.
This movie was hilarious
"We're all adults here" *doubt*
I remember around 1991, my philosophy teacher teach us Othello...and he talks about racism, using n*** a lot. A black girl in the room, get up and left. No complain to direction, she just met the teacher afterwards and they had a talk about it. Everything was fine after it. She wanted to make a point and he wanted to explain his. Ah! those good old days when people was not stupid, and discuss.
It's still very much like that, just the corporate owned media like to distort things to stoke a culture war and division
I think Jeffery should remain as character Issac in The last of us season 2, his voiceover in original game is really good.
to erase the word is to erase it's history. you can be against it's use as a insult, but being against it even being mentioned completely disregards these people's history and suffering and prohibits their story from being told
I really liked this movie. A bit meta (an understatement) in that the people it makes fun of in the movie largely overlaps with the people that would applaud it or say it's "bold" and "necessary." I think it struck a perfect tone of conveying its message while remaining approachable and not taking itself too seriously. Highly recommend if your interest is piqued. It's the story of a dude who's fed up with a world that thinks in 1 dimension.
Honesty, I loved it. Meta comedy is always in your face and very flamboyant. I think this film played it with the nuance it deserved, while also paying a respectful, critical tribute to non-white entertainment.
"Now, does anyone else HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THE READING!"🤣
crazy she literally says she doesn’t have any thoughts on the reading, like she literally is so focused on the word that she didn’t pay attention to the actual class.
He's got Walter White around season 2 of Breaking Bad energy.
Jeffrey Wright has that great dad energy. He has that dad face. That dad type of baldness. Like Pierre said back in the day, "I want to meet that dad!"
So glad this movie got the recognition it deserved. Saw it in theaters and thought it was an absolute delight with tons of jokes that made me actually laugh out loud.
They even gave her green hair.
What song is playing in the credits?
Directed by Akidofil and Akiralizzi Nigo😢😢😢
Jeffrey Wright is one of the best and one of the most underrated actors working today.
I go to college, I major in sociology so I take classes that are like this. Took one entirely on the 1898 Wilmington Massacre and another on the Legacy of Lynching in the US. Nobody actually acts like that girl in the movie. Everyone who is there is there because they want to know this stuff because they think its important.
Maybe in your experience but I’ve encountered people like that in school. I wouldn’t say it happens a lot though.
As a college student I have to agree. I live in California too, as liberal as gets out here, and people in my experience were pretty chill about it. As long the professor opens up with a warning that the contents can be sensitive for some, it usually turns out okay. I think what this scene was illustrating was that Monk handled things poorly. In the movie he's kind of an unpleasant asshole? Very pretentious. I like the scene where he's arguing with the other black author he was working with as a judge for some book awards thing, and in that, his perspective on black artists basically capitalizing on stereotypes or not "living up to their potential" came across as pretentious, he's super insecure.
Maybe you’re at a very good college, but if you crash a faculty gathering and ask them, you’ll discover others’ experience differs from yours. Go figure. And sociology isn’t English/Writing. Very different disciplines.
@@itdoesntmeanathingExactly right. It’s not common, but it happens. 🥴
@@aysaqchaudhry6054CA is a huge place. You can’t speak for all of it. USC is the news for wrong reasons and Berkeley is very different to a four year state college. Even the UCs vary widely. Don’t get me started on the IL or Orange County. You just cannot make just a sweeping generalisation and be credible. As your degree should have taught you
Frankly,
i think the teacher missed the opportunity. the point here is exactly to make you feel uncomfortable. pretending it doesn't exist by erasing it from the board is about as literal as it gets. you can't learn from history unless you face it. so, he needed to make her accept its existence and reality and, in a way, feel comfortable enough to discuss it.
her leaving is him failing to connect with her. anyway, that's my opinion.
Yea that’s not what I got here at all. He made literally the statement you did and she continued to combat him.
@@SmokinAcesProdThe last part of the comment, however, does track with a long running subplot of Monk having a lack of connection with other people.
Classical arguments also prioritise meeting opposing sides halfway with shared assumptions. Hence, middle ground to communicate and stay on the same page. Regardless of the political reality faced by opposing racial/cultural identities.
Her hair color checks out 😂🧑🏻🎤
Textbook writing for an opening scene - we get to see monk’s important character traits, the tone of the film, and the major conflicts all through action and no overtly expositional dialogue - cord Jefferson deserved the Oscar
except it's not very realistic
@@vicente8705it’s literally a day from a liberal arts writing department. I’ve been a Prof since 2002. It is absolutely realistic.
Its like a scene in TÁR
I really like this movie. It's about a family of old people. It reminds me of my youth as an only child surrounded by my strange old relatives in the Puget Sound.
This dude is an all around great actor in every way. He has one of the best voices of our time.
This script was genius. The opening-🔥🔥🔥
As a millennial I find this caricature of the perpetually offended millennial to be offensive.
It's accurate asf😂
This reminds me of the episode of “South Park” where Randy Marsh dropped the “N”-Bomb and it was funny because he said it with such enthusiasm.
I experienced pretty much a similar situation in high school. The reading we were doing had the word a few times and the teacher added it to the vocab.
Probably not the best idea in retrospect, but a student got up and erased it each time she wrote it on the board. That student was eventually removed from class.
For context: Teacher is white, student is black. There we other black students in the class who weren't particularly bothered (myself included).
Its just a word like any other word. The teacher was simply quoting or paraphrasing from the work.
Agreed. Honestly it was also important for the lesson too I think.@@diogoesilva6214
@@diogoesilva6214it is not just another word. That’s why we must teach to context.
I hate that people can't see both perspectives anymore.
Britt is upset she can’t say it herself
that's not the type being portrayed. she's the type who is upset about it because she's been taught to be upset about it. it's "the right thing to do"
She probably went home to Vermont and screamed it into her childhood bedroom pillow. Then she played that one Public Enemy song on full blast. "I don't wanna be called..."
She can say it
I love saying the N word. Nothing wrong with it.
i dont see whats the problem in saying that word.
This is the sort of teacher I was sorely missing while I was in school.
This man is a national treasure.
That student would have a heart attack if she read the original copy of Huckleberry Finn.
She’s a writing major at college and she didn’t read Huck Finn at school? That’s weird.
THIS. I NEED TO WATCH THIS FILM LIKE, YESTERDAY.
I love making fictional representations of fictional people and the nacting like it's what happens in real life
If I were in her position, I'd ask if I could say the word if I have to give a report and presentation on the literature.
0:55 AWOOOOOOOOOOGA
"...we're all adults here."
apparently not.
I get why everyone in the comments is mad but at the same time I hate it. Some people are slinging the most vile shit at her and it really isn't nessecary.
Probably should’ve just nicely asked her to leave, tbh.
He did. He wrote it on the board.
I mean that word i would definitely feel awkward to see that word written in a class
"I got over it." Girl has no freaking Idea and she was crying. lol
I'm guessing Huck Finn has a trigger warning instead of a prologue nowadays.
So good, they don't want to fire him. Great scene.
My American Literature professor read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, using the n-word. This was in 2014. No one was bothered.
Jeffrey Wright is always entertaining
What he said in those first 30 seconds after Ms. Entitled spouts off about muh N word, is basically what our society's attitude on this history was up until about 10-15ish years ago...
sold, now i have to see the movie.
Great film
I should go watch this
I love this scene. First off it shows off why I love Jeffrey Wright. Second it highlights how white people are more afraid of that word than black people even though it was weaponized towards the latter who were actually harmed when hearing therefore they have a right to use it anyway they see fit
If American Fiction was made a year before, it would've swept EVERYTHING! Same with The Holdovers if it was in a similar situation. Both of those had to suffer wrong place, wrong time with being up against Oppenheimer. Which deserved every accolade under the sun. But god damn were both this and The Holdovers supremely fucking excellent. Wright and Brown were MVPs along with Giamatti and Randolph (who thankfully did get the award).
Brittany is basically twitter personified.
twitter is rampant with racists and bigots so not really feeling you on this one
@@patrick7381 she's twitter from a few years ago pre-Elon, now it's an even worse hellhole
I feel so sorry for Brittany when it comes to the 'N' Word. I mean; if she doesn't like the 'N' Word, then she can listen to something different like some jazz or skate punk music. : )
Bryan was born to play the role but Jeffery Wright might've made a really cool Walter White. I get the same vibe from him in this clip.
Been a big fan of Jeffreys for a very long time - one of the truly great character actors - people usually say “who”? When you mention his name because he’s one of the giants that can completely disappear in the character but you mention the character and they are like oh yea! That was a great character!
His villain Peoples Hernandez in Shaft is a perfect example. Most people have no idea that was Jeffrey.
masterclass acting
starting a movie called American Fiction with a Flannery reference was a good choice
As an English major myself currently studying American realist literature, we had an entire unit covering race and gender related works, and yes, we had to read the N-word out loud at certain points, it's inevitable if you're going to cover this stuff honestly.
As a black man I can relate to this, I had situations white people felt offended, or even worse told me I should feel offended in situations I totally didn't, so they went on feeling offended on my behalf, while I never asked for it.
don't care tyrone.
@@TerryBowles-qm3qc🧒🏼
It's so complicated, I hate how race relations are in America, specifically black and white...positive or negative
Guess it's a consequence of the nation's history
Is that the dude from mulholland drive
yes he's also in mad men
I still remember him from Basquiat when it was released.
I was talking about the dude who said he published 3 novels
Yes, that's the Winkie's guy
This movie should have been titled logic. Best picture def 😂😂😂
Ignoring the offended white girl for a sec, did he just say he asked a German student if his family had been Nazis?
Yes, because of the body language during the reading! 👻
That is fucked up.....can't blame the Uni for kicking him out
I've not seen the movie so there's more to it that I'm not aware of
They gave her green hair too, nice one.
Fair? Maybe. Just, Kind, helpful? No. Neither of them have totally heathy and good responses to world.
What was supposed to be done? She didn’t get to the “helpful” part of actually discussing the text (that she had no opinion on) because she wanted to make a point.
@@SmokinAcesProd So in the name of "helpfulness" we scream and belittle the unhelpful, making the environment tense and further discussion difficult? This is not the response of a productive teacher. Her inability to deal with the text does not justify his inability to deal with *her*. She's wrong, and he's not helping . Not that he has to! but it clearly does not help, good as it may feel. We shouldn't pretend this is productive conversation - though i will say we might learn something from it.
@@timisontube again you’re not offering what should have been done otherwise. Is the answer to placate her feelings as opposed to teach the other students who didn’t seem to have any issue? Yea, he didn’t have to yell at the END, but everything else he said was justified and could’ve led to a deeper conversation had she been able to get out of the way. I think you’re missing the purpose of this scene
im of two minds here because of course her prioritizing her own discomfort in this situation is bonkers but the scene is pretty clearly trying to show Monk is a bit more explosive than situations warrant.
Okay, this is spectacular
Black Heisenberg vibes
The fact that this was nominated for best picture is hilarious deserved but hilarious
Why hilarious?