Oscar 2017: Lessons In Life And How To Be Unforgettable

This year’s Oscar’s was more fun than the awards show has been in years.

WrittenBy:Rajyasree Sen
Date:
Article image
  • Share this article on whatsapp

Sometimes real life really is more entertaining than films. So there was actor Warren Beatty staring at the envelope in shock before announcing La La Land as Best Film. It seemed like Beatty didn’t approve of the name he’d read and his co-presenter Faye Dunaway announced La La Land had won Best Picture. Then, halfway through the La La Land team’s acceptance speech, they had to be stopped. Because Beatty had been handed the wrong envelope. The La La Land crew announced this mistake and then handed the Oscar for Best Picture over to Moonlight.

subscription-appeal-image

Support Independent Media

The media must be free and fair, uninfluenced by corporate or state interests. That's why you, the public, need to pay to keep news free.

Contribute

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel had said at the start of the show that he didn’t expect to be invited again (considering the turnover rate of Oscar hosts), but from the look of things, it’s Beatty who may not be trusted on the Oscar stage again and if there are heads that will roll, they will be those of producers. As poor Beatty explained later, his puzzled expression earlier hadn’t been because he didn’t want Moonlight to win, but because he didn’t understand why the envelope he’d been given had the words “Emma Stone” written on it.

Not that it was amusing for La La Land, but this was one of the rare light-hearted moments during the Oscars 2017 ceremony. Gone are those halcyon days when we watched film award shows to look at good looking people and see which films had won the awards. Now we watch awards shows to see how political they are and how non-white they are.

The tone of the ceremony had been set since a few days before. The morning before the Oscars, President Donald Trump was already upset. The New York Times had released their new advertising campaign on the importance of truth and the campaign was to be aired during the ceremony. Trump, using his favourite mode of communication, tweeted, “For first time the failing @nytimes will take an ad (a bad one) to help save its failing reputation. Try reporting accurately & fairly!”

The ad should prove that Trump’s taste in commercials is as bad as his taste in hairstyles.

Before Trump’s tweet, on Friday, the directors of the five foreign-language films nominated issued a statement condemning “the climate of fanaticism and nationalism” in the United States of America and other countries. Their statement said, “We believe there is no best country, best gender, best religion or best color. We want this award to stand as a symbol of the unity between nations and the freedom of the arts.” A statement made even stronger when Iranian director Asghar Farhadi won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film for The Salesman. Representing him on stage were two Iranian-Americans who received the award on his behalf – Anousheh Ansari, the first Iranian woman to go to space, and Firouz Naderi, a former director at NASA. They read a beautiful speech.

“I’m sorry I’m not with you tonight. My absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those of other six nations whom have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S. Dividing the world into the ‘us’ and ‘our enemies’ categories creates fear. A deceitful justification for aggression and war. These wars prevent democracy and human rights in countries which have themselves been victims of aggression. Filmmakers can turn their cameras to capture shared human qualities and break stereotypes of various nationalities and religions. They create empathy between us and others. An empathy which we need today more than ever. Thank you on behalf of Mr. Farhadi.”

Which was followed in the US by the New York Times ad being aired.

The ceremony was also preceded by news that Syrian cinematographer Khaled Khatib, who made the documentary The White Helmets wasn’t attending the Oscars – because Syria cancelled his passport. Khalib is a member of the Syria Civil Defense, which is profiled in the film, and was scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles from Istanbul. He was denied entry into the US after the Department of Homeland Security said they had discovered “derogatory information” about him. The White Helmets won an Oscar and got to comment on the ban against immigrants, to a global audience.

From the get go, it was clear that Oscars had decided it would be a platform for all those who wished to comment on Trump’s divisive policies and blatant racism. Kimmel was egalitarian in his digs though. Making barbs at our favourite dishy anti-Semitic, Mel Gibson: “There’s only one Braveheart in the room. And he’s not going to unite us either”. Commenting on Trump’s policies: “This telecast is being watched by 225 countries that now hate us”. He threw some shade at his BFF and pet peeve, Matt Damon, for refusing Manchester By the Sea to star in a “Chinese ponytail movie instead and that movie went on to lose $80 million. Smooth move dumbass”. He ended his opening monologue with, “Some of you will [win tonight] and give a speech that the president of the United States will tweet about in all caps…I want to thank Donald Trump. Remember last year when the Oscars seemed racist?” There were also OJ jokes, alluding to America’s blind love for him and celebrity, which were made all the more poignant by the fact that Casey Affleck, with multiple sexual harassment allegations against him, is today’s toast of Hollywood and Gibson has been welcomed back into the fold.  

All is fair in celluloid and celebrity in Hollywood.  

There were subtler digs at Trump without naming him. Even some of the wins seemed to take a jibe at Trump, like when Zootopia, a film about racial diversity, won Best Animated Feature. Actor Mark Rylance in his introduction speech for Best Supporting Actress, put it simply – “Sometimes the best way to support is to oppose”. While Sting performed, the backdrop had the words “If we don’t have the moral courage to challenge the authority, then we don’t have journalism” projected on it. Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal slipped in a comment about the wall before announcing the nominees –  “I’m against any form of wall that wants to separate us.” With a smile and savoir faire.

Last year, the trending hashtag was #OscarsSoBlack, but this year, the Oscars worked very, very hard to make up for that oversight. From Halle Berry sporting an afro that would be Diana Ross’s envy,  to the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress going to Viola Davis – she’s the first black person to ever win the Oscar, the Emmy, and the Tony for acting – and Mahershala Ali winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and becoming the first Muslim actor to win this award, there was a lot to celebrate on the diversity front.

But my favourite moments weren’t political. They were when actors and celebrities showed that you can rise up against any adversity thrown your way. Michael J Fox, who came out to announce an award with Seth Rogen, is a lesson in beating all odds. He’s had Parkinson’s Disease for 27 years and it has not stopped him from working. Lyricist Benj Pasek, who won Best Song for “City Of Stars”, described how his mother let him leave football in  school to start singing. “This is dedicated to all the kids who sing in the rain. And all the moms who let them,” said Pasek. Brandy Barry and Tarell McCraney won Adapted Screenplay for Moonlight, a film based on McCraney’s life in Liberty City, Miami. They’re teachers and playwrights today. “This goes out to all those black and brown boys and girls, and non gender-conforming… who don’t see themselves…”.

There was much to love in the ceremony and many statements to remember. More than the politics, though, this time Oscars showed that you can be of any colour or sexual orientation or country or economic background, and still achieve whatever you want. It also offered the dreamers a reality check: because even when you’re rich and famous and talented, you can still wipe away all that fame by being best remembered for handing out the Oscar for Best Picture to the wrong film.

The funniest moments are indeed the unscripted ones.

subscription-appeal-image

Power NL-TNM Election Fund

General elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans together to focus on the issues that really matter to the voter. From political funding to battleground states, media coverage to 10 years of Modi, choose a project you would like to support and power our journalism.

Ground reportage is central to public interest journalism. Only readers like you can make it possible. Will you?

Support now

You may also like