Where the 93rd Academy Awards Failed—And Where They Succeeded
Prior to Sunday night’s ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were lauded for holding the most diverse Oscars in years. Did they deliver?
Last year, I wrote an article for my university’s student newspaper titled, “2020’s Oscar Nominees Reflect An Antiquated System.” Dramatic, I know. Some context: It was January, and the nominees for the 92nd Academy Awards had just been announced. This was pre-pandemic. I had absolutely zero sense of what awaited me in the months to come. Like many others, I was livid over this trivial ceremony I looked forward to once a year.
This was different from the #OscarsSoWhite discussion that permeated much of awards season in 2015 and 2016. This was the year of Parasite, Hustlers, Dolemite Is My Name, Us, The Farewell and The Last Black Man In San Francisco. With all but one of those films being ignored by the Academy’s voting body, I set out to write a rebuttal against the centuries-long narrative that only white, western art holds any kind of cultural grandeur. Awards bodies, I argued, needed to recognize diverse talent that went against their boundaries of comfort.
It’s been over a year since then, and quite a few things have changed. Most notably, many or most of last year’s films were delayed or made difficult to access amidst the looming threat of COVID-19. The effects on this year’s crop of nominees? Indie and streaming domination. Diversity across all categories. And general audiences going, “wait, that came out last year?”
So in other words, this was an excellent opportunity to get those smaller films that are normally overshadowed by awards bodies some recognition. But of course, they screwed it up.
In a baffling decision from producers, performances of the nominated songs were moved to the red carpet event and clips weren’t shown for almost any of the categories. This resulted in a ceremony so dry, even I found myself checking how much was left on more than one occasion. And, in probably the worst twist in years, the awards for Best Actress and Actor were announced last.
With late actor Chadwick Boseman being expected to win Best Actor, it was evident that producers meant to end the ceremony on a poignant note. Unfortunately, the Academy wasn’t able to pat themselves on the back while exploiting a widow’s teary acceptance speech.
As it turns out, the winner ended up being not Boseman, but Anthony Hopkins—who wasn’t there to accept the award. It was later revealed that Hopkins had been denied the request to give his speech over a video call or have someone accept on his behalf. The ceremony ended with the announcer saying, “these have been the 93rd Academy Awards,” over a photo of Hopkins, followed by a fade-to-black transition.
The backlash was as bad as one would imagine. Apart from the high risk and sensationalistic nature of the rearrangement, this performative move also blatantly overshadowed other huge, history-making wins that night.
Statistically, this was the most diverse year of Oscar nominees ever. Nine of this year’s 20 acting nominees were people of color—more than any year prior. This included three Asians, which had never happened before.
In addition, two women, Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell, were nominated in the directing category—also a first. When Zhao won, she became the first woman of color (and second woman overall), to win that award. Her film, Nomadland, was also the first WOC-directed Best Picture winner, which just makes producers’ decision not to save this triumphant moment for last even more mind-boggling. And Frances McDormand’s Best Actress win made her only the second woman to receive three lead acting awards.
“In principle, awards should be given on the basis of merit rather than identity politics, but that is far from what’s happening,” I wrote last year. We’ve come a long way since then. Not only were huge strides made in 2021, but this critic can attest that each and every nomination was entirely deserved.
I’ve said before that this year’s Best Picture winner, Nomadland, isn’t your typical Best Picture nominee. The Academy just doesn’t gravitate towards quiet, meditative, character studies dealing with subject matter so far beyond their insular tastes. That the Academy chose to nominate it, Sound of Metal, Minari, Time, Collective, Wolfwalkers and so many more creative, high-quality pictures at the same time, made this the most exciting and worthwhile race for me in years.
I just wish they’d gotten their due.