Awardsmania, PopMatters-Style: Statuesque Begins Today

PopMatters is pleased to present our first-ever blog dedicated to covering awards races of all stripes: Statuesque. We will discuss those candidates that we believe are worth a second look, as well as check out all of the major races as the film world’s annual clamber for the gold begins, and the favorites — and the failures — begin to become clearer.

Our correspondents will argue passionately for their favorites, assess the trail of statues leading up to the holy grail of Oscar during film awards season, and of course compile an endless amount of lists in order to guide you toward’s the season’s finest gems (hint: there’s a lot of good stuff missing from the overall conversation and we’re here to highlight it!).

The impulse behind starting this venture was a shared love of the awards season and it’s rich history, so below is one of our favorite Oscar moments: A true legend, Barbara Stanwyck took to the stage after many unsuccessful acting nominations as her film career began to come to an official end. Holding her statuette, she recalled acting with William Holden, who had recently died, and who had once saved her from being fired from a movie called Golden Boy. “He always wished that I would get an Oscar,” she said choking back tears as the trophy gleamed. “And so tonight my golden boy, you’ve got your wish.”

This emotional tribute from movie star to movie star is the stuff that Oscar dreams are made of, chief amongst the reasons we keep watching and coming back for more, hoping for one of those historic, triumphant moments to come around again, where the stars align to truly reward the best of the best.