THE OSCARS AND EVERYTHING WE DON’T TALK ABOUT

 Hey, my fellow MHCC students and staff: Welcome to a new term! 

Now, I know we all have at least heard about the Oscars show on Sunday, March 27, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. So let’s not beat around the bush, and let’s get into it! 

This year we had three beautiful and talented female hosts for the Academy Awards, an historic first, by the way – Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall, and Amy Schumer – along with a crew of amazing presenters to keep the crowd feeling light, and full of laughter and smiles as the night went on. 

It was a whirlwind of a night, to say the very least, but, before things got out of hand there were some amazing moments that took place, some great highlights and other moments and awards that will definitely go down in history. I won’t be able to cover every single thing, but here are some highlights: 

“CODA” was crowned Best Picture for 2021, taking home not only the top honor but also setting a milestone for deaf representation in the entertainment industry. It was also a big moment for its distributor, Apple TV, the first streaming platform to ever take home a win for Best Picture. 

Troy Kotsur also won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in CODA, which I think is amazing because we are seeing more diverse representation in film, including people with disabilities, giving people of all ages and types a chance to see people that are more like them on the big screen. 

History was made yet again when Ariana DeBose became the first Afro-Latina queer woman to win an Oscar, for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film “West Side Story.” As I have already said, representation matters – especially now with so much going on and so much anger in the world, people deserve to see themselves in the media and in books. Not only is it educational for them and those around them, but it’s nice to see a part of yourself, whether it be color, accent, sexuality, gender or a disability, on TV or the movies because it shows that we are evolving and that changes are being made. 

HAPPY SURPRISES 

Did you happen to catch the hosts sketch? If you didn’t, you definitely missed out on a good chuckle when Schumer flew across the stage as Spider-Man, Hall came out as Tammy Faye Bakker, and Sykes came out in full Richard Williams garb. Though the skit was funny, I know I wasn’t the only one a little disappointed in the lack of screentime the three women got, overall. 

We did get what for me was a surprise “Juno” reunion, with the movie’s stars, Jennifer Garner, Elliot Page, and J.K Simmons, presenting the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (missing, of course, was Juno’s own screenwriter, Diablo Cody). The creator of “Belfast,” a coming-of-age tale, won that honor for 2021, beating out the writers of “Don’t Look Up,” “Licorice Pizza,” “The Worst Person in the World” and “King Richard.” 

Moving on… we finally could talk about Bruno, and at the Oscars, no less! While saved for the show’s final hour, it was definitely worth the wait to finally see a live performance of the much-anticipated and played song of the year, from the film “Encanto.” We also got to have some surprise guest appearances by the rapper Meghan Thee Stallion, Becky G, and Luis Fonzi, who helped close out the performance alongside several Encanto cast members. (Encanto did win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film.) 

There was a moment of silence held acknowledging the war in Ukraine after Reba McEntire performed Best Original Song nominee “Somehow You Do” from the movie “Four Good Days,” (and to go off topic briefly please show your support in any way you can, because what is happening right now is not right… Please try to help in any way you can and don’t forget #STAND WITH UKRAINE.) 

NOT JOKING AROUND 

And now, I come to the moment we have all been talking about since, the memorable slap incident between actor Will Smith and comedian/actor Chris Rock. 

So, how it appears to have gone down, Rock had made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, comparing her to the shaved-head actress from the movie “G.I Jane” and saying he couldn’t wait for the sequel. Rock says he was unaware of Pinkett-Smith’s battle with alopecia when he made the joke but right after we saw Jada roll her eyes in distaste and then not a moment after, Smith proceed to walk onstage and hit Rock across the face and after he sat back down loudly told him to keep his wife’s name out of his mouth, with a spicy expletive. 

Rock, while visibly thrown off, still managed to keep the situation lighthearted and kept the show rolling. And so minutes later, Smith won the Best Actor Oscar for his role in King Richard and gave an emotional, tearful speech where he apologized to the Academy, but not to Rock. 

Rock will not be pressing charges for the slap nor will he file a police report and seems to just want to let the situation go. The Academy quickly issued a statement on Twitter that evening stating it does not condone violence of any form, and tried its best to bring the attention back to the awards ceremony itself. 

There were plenty of other awards, and performances such as that by singer Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, but here I am unable to cover it all moment-by-moment. 

Ultimately this was a night that will go down in history and one we will not soon forget – let’s just hope eventually that it will be for the right reasons.