Okay, let's get this part out of the way. Screw you Will Smith. Screw you (I would use stronger language, but I'll refrain). The big screen was back, a normal Oscar ceremony celebrating films actually happened. Many of the films honored actually played in theaters. Many of them drew audiences back to the theaters. The return to some sort of semblance of normalcy in our culture seemed to be on the horizon. You, your outburst, your unnecessary ridiculousness dominated the headlines this morning, instead of what should have been dominating those headlines.
The Oscars rebounded their ratings. It is still lower than before, but it was a 56% increase from the pandemic ceremony, and as streaming increases, I suspect the numbers will always improve after a few days moving forward. We finally had hosts again, and overall, they were funny, and engaging, and did their job, although I would argue we needed more of them. The first openly queer person of color won an acting award sitting next to her co-star, who won for this role 60 years ago. The first deaf man, and only second deaf actor won an Oscar, and when YJ signed his name, it was one of the most openly heartfelt moments in recent awards history. Jessica Chastain, a hard working actor, finally won her first Oscar for a passion project of a misunderstood icon. Kenneth Branagh finally won an Oscar for his best film. Two female filmmakers, Sian Heder and Jane Campion, won Oscars. Jane Campion became only the third woman to win Best Director, and for the first time ever, we had back to back female winners. Dune, a box office success, won 6 awards. Summer of Soul's win, and Questlove's speech, were a lovely rebound from a dark moment. These are just a few of those great moments. Sure, everything didn't work. Despite cutting the fluff from 8 categories, they still ran 30 minutes over, the In Memoriam segment was just a bit too joyous, the fan voted stuff was ridiculous, and the ratings were still incredibly low for what should be one of the highlights of the year. But that is every major live event. The positives, far outweighed the negatives, and yet all we are talking about at the watercoolers is Will Smith being an ass. This was going to be his night. The first time he won an Oscar for a passion project. He was good in the film. He was deserving of recognition. He ruined that opportunity. The Academy may never invite him back, and they would be right in that decision.
In the end though, the less I thought about Will Smith, and the more I thought about those positive moments, the darkness of that moment started to fade away. The Oscars are a flawed experience. I have been watching this ceremony for decades now, and have been covering them as a blogger for now 12 years, and they have never gotten it 100% right. You know, the critics, with social media, and so many distractions, are always going to find fault. Unfortunately, the Will Smith moments, help that narrative. I still plead to all those out there that love film, that believe in its magic, that still find hope and love and community in the darkness of the shared moments of the theatrical experience. I plead that they will still care about the Oscars, despite their flaws. Because, at the end of the day, it is not about who wins, and who loses. It is about a celebration of an artform that we love. Maybe CODA will not be remembered as a cinematic classic. It will not be studied in film school and adored by cinephiles. But maybe, just maybe, it is the film that we needed at this moment. After two dark years of our history, with a war whose atrocities have united the Western world, but still remain atrocious, with a looming specter of a fragile democracy at the hands of a political party that seems hell bent on destruction for power, we need hope. CODA is a movie about hope. It is a movie that offends no one, because it unites everyone. It is about diversity, maybe in a way we haven't considered enough. It is about the power of family, the power of love, and again, the power of hope; and we all need that.
We are entering the unfortunate year thirteen here at The Awards Psychic. I know that this blog is more for me, than for those fans out there, the few and far between. But for those who have stuck it out all these years, thank you. The Oscars will continue to flabbergast, annoy, inspire, and dominate headlines for all the wrong reasons. But those of us who are not in it for the glory, are not in it because our favorite film always wins, but who are in it for the love of film, The Oscars will continue to dominate our collective conversation. Thank you for joining me again for another Oscar narrative. Today the story ends. I hate this day, I hate the void, and the quiet. At least I know that another season is always on the horizon, and I hope you continue to join me for the ride.
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