Academy Awards platform

Academy Awards: Platform for descent and social conscience

The 87th Academy Awards ceremony host Neil Patrick Harris took the pulse of the audience in person and at home when he opened the show with a controversial quip welcoming everyone to the best and “whitest.”  This was intended as a play on the word “brightest,” setting an activist tone for the evening.  The awards have been under criticism for not recognizing people of color.

Sunday night’s reference by Harris was not the first time the Oscars have been used as a venue bring attention to lack of diversity in movies.  In 1973 Marlon Brando refused to accept the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in “The Godfather.”  He boycotted the academy show and sent Sacheen Little Feather to speak in his stead to decline the award protesting the treatment of Native Americans by the film industry.

The first declaration in the evening was delivered by Patricia Arquette as she received the Best Supporting Actress award for her portrayal as the mother in “Boyhood.”  Her acceptance speech echoed what many women have in their heart:  “To every woman who gave birth to a tax payer and citizen in this nation:  We fought for everybody else’s equal rights, It’s time to have wage equality.”

Likewise Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern spoke out after the awards. Witherspoon said she was frustrated with roles for women in Hollywood, and that is why she created her own production company.  She produced and acted in the movie “Wild,” for which she was nominated for but lost as Best Actress.

Personal history and motivations by those in the industry add quality and substance to entertainment, thus, enhancing the credibility and veracity of themes and the magic of the big screen. Graham Moore who won Best Adaptation for writing for “Imitation Game” recounted his personal struggles as his motivation for writing about the genius Alan Turing who happened to be gay.

“When I was 16 I tried to kill myself because I felt weird and different, and I felt like I did not belong,” he said. “ I would like this moment to be for the kid out there who feels she is weird and different and feels like she is doesn’t belong…You do.”

Among the testimonies, there was also an opposing view—albeit subtle. Laura Poitas accepting the award for “Citizenfour” a documentary about Edward Snowden said threats to privacy and democracy should be exposed.  But when the cameras went back to the host Harris he said, “The subject of “Citizenfour” could not be here for some treason,” obviously a challenge to Poitas’ remark absolving Snowden of any crime.  Living in a free society means everyone has a chance to voice their views—even to a billion TV watchers!

The performance of the best movie song “Glory” from “Selma” won the adoration of all present as John Legend and Common were rewarded with Oscars in the category.  John Legend called on protecting voting rights and the incarceration rate of African American males, which he said was higher than the number of slaves in the South before the Civil War. In comments after the ceremony, Legend said, “When you think about equality and freedom and justice, we’ve got a lot more work to do.”

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These are few of the social/political proclamations that stood out.  The over arching question remains is the Academy Awards an appropriate venue for declarations?

One of the most important aspects of writing a good story is the ability to develop a coherent point of view. 

Stories that become movies usually have something to say, whether it’s social, political, or emotional. A movie with a weak or undeveloped point of view leaves the viewer empty neither wanting more, nor caring about the characters. Excellence, however, is satisfying with subject matter and characters—not only do we identify with them, but also it stimulates our curiosity to know more or seek knowledge and understanding.  

The vision of the storyteller/writer becomes at once tangible through the performance arts. The writer and the actor merge in one single vision.  In an awards ceremony, the recipient steps back inside the story giving relevance to the theme and, indeed, their own relationship to it.  Personal anecdotes and experiences inject life into the auspiciousness of an award; therefore, I would argue that it is entirely appropriate to humanize art with an event or cause that propelled a person to create.

The body of performance arts, whether on the page or screen, reaches out to us poignantly from the mouths of those charged with capturing humanity in all its glory and degradation. And the fact that in America we have free expression is greatest gift of all.