"American Sniper" and "Selma": The Problem No One is Talking About

It seems all anyone has been talking about for the past week is Clint Eastwood's "American Sniper". I have to admit, I did not take it seriously as a contender until the very last minute, when it nabbed critical DGA and PGA nominations over "Selma". The film's late release date, and the middling reception kept it from truly registering on my radar. But the Academy had different ideas about the film; they bestowed it with 6 nominations, including surprising ones for Bradley Cooper and the film's screenplay.

I've already talked about how sickening it was on the Academy's part to not only heap such praise onto the film, but at the expense of other (better) films such as Selma, or even "Gone Girl" and "Nightcrawler". Even more disappointing, and sickening, is that not one person of color was nominated in a major category, and to make it worse, none of the nominees outside of the actress categories are women. But all that aside, what's truly the most problematic thing about this whole thing, is American Sniper's existence in the first place.