I found last night’s Academy Awards less annoying than usual, perhaps because the political comments were, considering the current leadership, more than warranted. The In Memoriam segment was well done, with full-screen views of the deceased, though it omitted some prominent people like Brigitte Bardot. There were some moving acceptance speeches, particularly from best actors Michael B. Jordan and Jessie Buckley. And I was pleased that awards were given to a few of the movies I actually watched this year: Sentimental Value and One Battle After Another, which has stayed with me despite the fact that I found it ridiculously implausible while I was watching it. And Conan O’Brien, as host, for the most part kept his silliness in check.
Though I frequently thought back to Bill Maher’s show on Friday, which ended with a brilliant rant against the Academy Awards. Maher suggested that the hashtag #oscarssowhite should be changed – now that that’s no longer accurate – to #oscarssowrong. And then he listed all the great movies that, over the decades, have been snubbed by the academy. He also noted that awards are often given not for the quality of the work but for the nature of the subject. If you play a great historical character, or a person with an illness – physical or psychological – you have a distinct advantage. Though this year that bias didn’t apply.
