Another year, another Oscars under the belt. While as glamorous as always, this year’s Academy Awards arrived with no small share of controversy. The troubling fact that almost no people of color were among the nominees for the second year in a row was the hot topic, dominating popular debate leading up to the event. As the night rolled on, this year’s Oscars proved to be memorable for not only the collection of winners, but a night dominated by political discussion as well.
From Black Lives Matter to climate change
Besides the obvious buzz around which stars took home the golden statues this year, the ceremony will surely generate plenty of discussion around the political issues raised throughout the night by presenters and winners alike. The Academy ironically couldn’t have picked a better year for Chris Rock to host, as he was one of the best people suited to take on the controversy the Academy itself had created. Both Rock’s opening monologue and his small skits throughout the night made for biting and effective criticism that was just as funny as it was necessary, and he repeatedly made it clear he was not afraid to stand by his views, confidently declaring “Black Lives Matter” at the end of the proceedings. The more sentimental voices of political discourse came from the winners’ speeches, as Sam Smith dedicated his Best Original Song win to the LGBT community, Alejandro González Iñárritu spoke about the need to be inclusive of all people in filmmaking and Leonardo DiCaprio made an impassioned plea for the audience and beyond to combat climate change, just to name a few. The White House even got involved, sending Vice President Joe Biden to introduce Lady Gaga’s powerful anthem about sexual assault, “Til It Happens to You,” which was featured in the documentary “The Hunting Ground,” a film exploring stories of rape and sexual assault on college campuses. The performance itself, which featured real-life survivors of sexual assault, brought many in the audience to tears and perfectly encapsulated that the ceremony was ready to tackle any issue. In a telling moment, Best Actress winner of the night Brie Larson, who plays a woman kidnapped and repeatedly assaulted by a man for years in “Room,” hugged each survivor as they exited the stage.
Winners and losers: A historic night, but very little surprise
As with almost every year, the list of Oscar winners provided a few small surprises while turning out mostly as expected. The talk of the town is, of course, DiCaprio, whose excellent turn in “The Revenant” finally earned him the statue he had been craving for so long and put his curse to rest. “The Revenant” also made a little history, providing Iñárritu with a win for Best Director for the second year in a row, an honor shared only by prolific directors John Ford and Joseph Mankiewicz, while his frequent collaborator Emmanuel Lubezki became the first cinematographer to win Best Cinematography three years in a row. The technical side of things was delightfully dominated by “Mad Max: Fury Road,” which took home an astonishing six Oscars (Editing, Costume Design, Production Design, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Makeup and Hairstyling) for its utterly insane production. The film’s only technical losses went to Lubezki for cinematography and “Ex Machina” for visual effects, a deserved win that virtually no one expected. The big shock of the night came from the Best Picture win for “Spotlight” which despite being a great film with an important message (not to mention being this writer’s choice as the best film of the year), was not considered the frontrunner. Sylvester Stallone’s nuanced performance in “Creed” losing out to Mark Rylance in “Bridge of Spies” was another shocker for predictors and Sam Smith’s win over Lady Gaga for the relatively dull “Spectre” theme certainly wasn’t helping anybody’s Oscar pool. However, in the end, this year’s awards will be remembered for its social commentary and the little bits of history that the winners made. Now it’s time for 2016 to step up and follow this lead.
