And the Academy award for best picture goes to….

12 Years a Slave. Of course it did. Its triumph at the Oscars was never in doubt. But have you noticed that, because of its subject matter, any criticism is tacitly forbidden? No one dares say that it was a film they admired rather than actually enjoyed. And certainly not that it was unremittingly grim, a bit boring and the title – 12 Years a Slave – is a bit of a clue as to what happens at the end. Maybe you thought it thoroughly deserved its Best Picture statuette. But be honest, would you ever want to sit through it again? Yet the slightest murmur of critical dissent almost implies that you’re pro-slavery or at least a bit racist. Nonsense. Nobody is pro-slavery. Though lots of soul fans in the late 70s were definitely pro-Slave.