The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Several topics really stood out this week, including the Oscars as social advocacy inspiration, civil rights and Black History Month, and lots of hot news on entertainment going Green. Check out our most popular posts of the week on these subjects, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Happy Belated “Freedom to Marry” Week!

Rosa and Raymond Parks: Valiant Valentine #5

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Nicole:

Top 10 Oscar Picks to Inspire Social Action

Cornel West: Black Thoughts On Black History Month

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Giulia:

H&M’s “Fashion Against AIDS”

Ed Begley Jr. Goes Green

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Gina:

Top 10 Best Picture Winners That Inspire

Remixing “Chicago 10″

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Kerry:

How To Set the World On Fire Without Burning Out

Eco-Brokers Cater to Green Homebuyers

As you can probably tell just by scanning through the Takepart Blog, the Oscars are super soon. Even though they usually leave out the films I love and are actually just another way for the studios to promote their films, I always have a few favorites among the nominees and this year some of them have to do with making the world a better place (no doubt a good omen for the future of both cinema and activism). Today and tomorrow I’ll share a few of my favorites with you all.

Three performances that I loved and haven’t got their fair share of buzz are in the Best Supporting Actor category. So read and watch below and be sure to to help support a great theatre company in New York City that shares theatre with the community in hopes of giving people a voice.

Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson’s War : Watching Hoffman is always a treat, but his portrayal of CIA agent Gust Avrakotos, is particularly amazing. Gust is a man caught in the system and is unable to do work that means something, that is until he meets Charlie Wilson, a charming Congressman from Texas. Hoffman’s Gust is rough around the edges and doesn’t have a lot of tact, but he’s smart as a whip and driven to use his skills to help the world. Hoffman truly embodies his character and acts as a very effective foil to the charming Congressman. It’s a performance not to be missed. Watch below:

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The 80th Annual Academy Awards are almost upon us, and I’m sure you all have your favorite films that you’re routing for. We here at TakePart have our fave films too, of course based on their relevance to social action and advocacy. Check out our picks for these top 10 Oscar categories, and how these films have left the world a bit of a better place than before they arrived on the big (or little) screen!

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Actor in a Leading Role: Tommy Lee Jones in In the Valley of Elah

Tommy Lee Jones gives an incredible performance as a war veteran searching for his son, a soldier who recently returned from Iraq, but has now mysteriously disappeared. The shadow of the Iraq war is cast across several films that have been nominated this year, but Jones’ moving performance highlights the emotional and spiritual battles soldiers and their families must face long after they’ve come home from the combat zone.

and find out what you can do to help Veterans for Peace seek justice for veterans and victims of war, and to abolish war as an instrument of national policy.

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