Instead of watching the Oscars, read these stories.
Ms. Weekly Digest | February 8, 2020
All eyes will be on the Oscars this weekend—but in the pieces below, some of our contributors outline the reasons they won't be tuning in. And of course, we also stayed focused this week on the major stories in the news, from the Trump impeachment trial's close in the Senate to the State of the Union, and what was left unsaid this week about the president's agenda.
This Week's Must-Reads from Ms.
It’s Time to Stop Watching the Oscars
When I was a little girl, the Oscars were my favorite night of the whole year. Every time, I sat weeping, heart swollen, as I watched the winners accept their little gold men triumphantly, often tearfully, and the losers smiled and applauded. Those sparkly people in their glittering gowns were the closest thing I had to gods and, as an aspiring actress myself, I longed fervently to one day get up on that stage with them. Even into my twenties, after I joined the film industry professionally and came to understand that the Oscars were ultimately fake and silly, I couldn’t turn away. This year, however, for the first time since the age of seven, I am not going to watch the Oscars. I would encourage you to join me.
Related: The “Confidence Gap” Isn’t Holding Back Women in Film—the Industry Is
Instead of Watching the Oscars, Watch These Feminist Films
This Sunday night, you have a few options: You could watch every female director of 2019 get snubbed, recall #OscarsSoWhite with frustration as history repeats itself, applaud the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ failing efforts to become more inclusive, celebrate “white male rage“—or ignore all of the misogynistic Hollywood glitz and glam to spend your Sunday night consuming content that would be both less sexist and more entertaining!
Senate Republicans Went Back to Stacking the Courts After Acquitting Trump on Impeachment Charges
Senate Republicans claimed that the impeachment trial blocked them from addressing their legislative agenda. Let’s not forget that the House of Representatives has passed plenty of bills to advance civil and human rights, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell continues to bury them in his legislative graveyard. Instead, immediately after most Senate Republicans voted to cover up for a president who was impeached for demanding interference in our elections, Leader McConnell shamelessly picked up right where they left off and turned to filling the courts.
Trump Has Failed Latinos—But He Didn’t Mention That in His State of the Union Address
"The lies that President Trump spewed during his State of the Union Speech are nearly impossible to comprehend," Hector Sanchez Barba, CEO and Executive Director of Mi Familia Vota, said in a statement on the President's State of the Union address. "Mi Familia Vota knows that on some of the top priorities for the Latino community—like health care, the economy and immigration—the President’s administration has been a catastrophic failure for our community."
What if women could write the State of the Union instead? We reviewed some major policies that women and their families have been asking Congress and the president to get done—and did just that.
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