The 97th Oscars, hosted on March 2, drew an audience of 19.7 million people. While it was a slight increase in viewership from last year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who host the ceremony, seemed intent on attracting new viewers through reshaping the show’s stereotypes.

While most Oscar-winning films comment on politics, this year’s nominees seemed to purposefully oppose President Donald Trump’s ideologies. “The Brutalist,” a story of a refugee immigrating to the United States only to be taken advantage of by wealthy businessmen reminds the audience of the necessity of immigrants and how frequently they bear the burden for a situation out of their control. 

“Dune: Part Two,” based on the series by Frank Herbert, exemplifies the terror of imperialism and total power, which feels reminiscent of contemporary political discourse, including concerns about Trump’s authoritarian leadership.

“The Apprentice,” a biopic following Trump’s ascension to fame through his relationship with lawyer Roy Cohn, was detested by Trump, who tried to block the film’s release.

It is not unusual for political pieces to draw the Academy’s attention, but this year’s selection was seemingly focused solely on one message: the danger of Trump. 

Kieran Culkin won best supporting actor for his role in “A Real Pain,” a shift from tradition. It is rare that a comedic actor like Culkin even gets nominated, so his win was an indication of the Academy’s progression. 

Usually, dramatic performances are valued over comic roles, so Culkin’s win feels like a step towards a more inclusive awards ceremony. 

Mikey Madison, who won best actress for her role in “Anora,” became the first member of Generation Z to win an Oscar in the acting category. Despite Demi Moore largely being considered the front runner for the award, Madison’s win, like Culkin’s, subverted the academy’s traditions. 

Usually, it takes years of Hollywood establishment and multiple nominations to secure a win. But Madison’s achievement suggests that the academy may be advancing to a more informal format — one based on skill rather than age or prior fame.

Part of the event felt like a grasp to stay relevant by evoking old Hollywood. In a somewhat confusing performance, the academy presented a tribute to “James Bond” despite the fact that the last film in the series was released years ago.

It seemed that the Academy was trying to build the audience’s nostalgia for classic cinema and remind them of the role the Oscars have played. But, because the rights to “James Bond” have been bought by Amazon, removing the series’ long-time producer, it served as an indication of corporate control. Such a beloved staple of cinema becoming yet another product for one of the largest corporations is in opposition with what the Academy stands for, so it felt odd for them to promote it.

This year, the ceremony was streamed through Hulu, which tried to show how streaming services can merge live feeds. However, it only proved that streaming cannot compete with cable on all fronts. 

Before the show started, over 30,000 users reported that their Hulu login had stopped working. While the service soon fixed it, various watchers were booted from the broadcast or experienced lag throughout. Worst of all, during the best actress announcement, the stream ended, meaning that users missed two of the biggest awards of the night, as best picture was saved for last. 

Many parts of the night felt uneven. It seemed that the academy wanted to send a message about revitalization, an attempt to catch greater attention, but for every convention they broke, they would backpedal it while upholding their pretentious stereotypes.