An Overview of the Oscars

Jana Hulaj, Staff Writer
March 11, 2016

The Oscars is one of the biggest nights in the movie making business. It honors the people on screen and off screen. It’s full of exiting performances, famous actors, and comedic jokes. The award show never fails to entertain us, and this year was no exception.

The 88th Annual Academy Awards was overwhelmed by controversy, expectations, and unexpected reactions. Before the Oscars even happened there was a prejudice against the academy for not having any black nominees. Many actors decided to boycott the awards because they thought the academy was showing discrimination towards the black actors in the film industry. Many believe that this drama is what prompted the academy to choose Chris Rock as the host for the show. Chris even made fun of the situation in his opening monologue, which was one of the biggest highlights of the night.

Chris Rock’s opening speech at the Oscars was undoubtedly hilarious. He made fun of the drama leading up the awards by stating that it was “the white people’s choice awards” and stating that “if they nominated hosts, I wouldn’t even get this job.” He also poked a joke at Kevin Hart, who has been very popular in the movie business lately, saying that he didn’t want to lose the gig to him. Rock talked about how the only reason people are protesting this Oscars is because they don’t have much to protest anymore. He explained that in the 60’s and 70’s there was a lot more going on that the black community had to worry about. Rock also suggested that if people want black nominees they should have “black categories,” and made fun of how women and men had different categories, stating, “Robert De Niro has never said, I better slow this acting down, so Meryl Streep could catch up.” He also got down to the question everyone wanted to know: is Hollywood racist? Rock answered this by expressing the idea that Hollywood is not the type of racist that people have become accustomed to, it is “sorority racist.” But ultimately he ended his speech by stating that black actors just want equal opportunities. The monologue wasn’t meant to offend the black or white community, but to create lightheartedness towards the situation and suppress some of the criticism. Overall it was very clever, and one of the funniest monologues that I have heard at the Oscars.

Rock’s monologue wasn’t the only highlight of the night; the musical performances throughout the show were very entertaining. The first performer was Sam Smith, who sang Writings on the Wall from Spectre, which won the Awards for best original song. The performance was very encaptivating and vocally incredible. Following him was The Weeknd, who performed Earned It from the film Fifty Shades of Gray. It was meant to be a recreation of the music video. The performance included female dancers dressed in lingerie, candles and chandeliers lining the state, and an acrobat. Though his performance was visually entertaining, vocally it was not one of his best. However, excitement was very high when Lady Gaga took the stage to perform Til it Happens to You from the documentary The Hunting Ground. Gaga was joined on stage by survivors of sexual abuse that had sayings written on their arms like, “not your fault” and “unbreakable.” Her emotional performance was easily one of the highlights of the night and earned a standing ovation from the audience. Gaga’s song was also nominated for best original song, but she didn’t end up taking home the Oscar. But that wasn’t the biggest talk of the night.

The most anticipated award of the night was “best actor in a leading role.” Even before the show people were supporting actor, Leonardo DiCaprio for his role in The Revenant. In the film he plays Hugh Glass, a frontiersman, left for dead by his hunting team after a vicious bear attack. He survives, seeking vengeance against those who left him for dead, and must find his way out of the uncharted wilderness. This was a very challenging role physically and mentally and was portrayed believably and emotionally by DiCaprio. His efforts in this role landed him his first Oscar. This was DiCaprio’s sixth nomination in the academy and many believed he was well overdue for an Oscar. There was no question of who would win the award. If winning the award wasn’t enough, DiCaprio gave an exceptional speech that was geared toward climate change and keeping our environment healthy and safe. It was the best way the Oscars could have ended.

The 2016 Academy Awards was full of unexpected turns and surprising wins, but in the end it honored many people in the movie industry who went beyond any expectations and transformed an idea into a film that that moved us in one way or another.

2016 Oscar Winners:

Best Picture: Spotlight

Actor in a Lead Role: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Actress in a Lead Role: Brie Larson, Room

Directing: Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant

Original Score: Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight

Original Song: “Writings on the Wall,” Spectre, Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith

Best Foreign Language Film: Hungary, Son of Saul

Live Action Short Film: Stutterer, Benjamin Cleary and Serena Armitage

Documentary Feature: Amy, Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees

Documentary Short Subject: A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Actor in a Supporting Role: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies