Acceptance speeches highlight political issues amidst the sparkle of Hollywood.
Every year as the cold of winter settles into my creaking bones and no sign of sun rises on the horizon there is one night that manages to lift my spirits and give me a reason to cheer, argue, wonder about and remind me why I fell in love with film in the first place- The Oscars.
Yes- I understand the Academy is corrupt, I understand that what is decided that night is not the most objective determination of what the best things happening in the industry are, and I understand you have to take it with a grain of salt- but when you see the glamour, the discussion, the bright lights and big performances- you can’t help but be swept away in it all.
This year Oscars were hosted by none other than Neil Patrick Harris. Harris kept this year’s style light and quippy with a few pointed jabs here and there that ultimately won over audiences both at the event and at home. However the witty host also made the first challenging comment of the night saying in his opening speech, “Tonight we honor today’s best and whitest- I mean brightest.” The joke opened what was to be a theme that night- using the Academy Awards as an opportunity to question the status quo.
Historically the awards have been just that- a night set aside to rain accolades and pat backs. The winners would give quick thank-you speeches and the night was, although glamorous, quite brief. Over the years there have been exceptions- speeches that surprised us or moved us. Who could forget Halle Berry’s acceptance speech when she was the first black woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress? But in recent years the Oscars have become increasingly more political, more profound and more thought-provoking. Speeches have begun to stand for something and this year is the best example to date.
This year we saw two exceptionally well-deserved Oscars go to performances portraying lives wrought with severe illness- Julianne Moore playing a professor fading from early onset Alzheimer’s (Still Alice-heartbreaking, beautiful, powerful) and Eddie Redmayne as none other than Stephen Hawking as he deteriorates from ALS (The Theory of Everything– classic, methodical, elegant). Both winners dedicated their awards to those suffering with the illnesses and Moore spoke eloquently on the red carpet speaking to the misconceptions of Alzheimer’s in general.
But Moore was not the only woman to give an interesting interview on the red carpet. Much attention was given to the launch of the campaign “AskHerMore” which encouraged interviewers to ask the actresses on the red carpet more than just about her outfit. Fittingly this was followed later in the night by Best Supporting Actress Patricia Arquette’s acceptance speech in which she called for equal pay and treatment of women in the workplace. The speech, though somewhat controversial, caused an outcry of support- even bringing the one and only Meryl Streep to her feet in excitement.
Arquette won her award for the innovative film Boyhood by Richard Linklater which follows the lives of a single mother and her two children for twelve years, the same amount of time he used to film it. As the viewer watches the film unfold he or she are also watching the actors grow along with it. The film is new and interesting and beautifully made. It also ultimately calls into question issues of abuse and women’s rights and is therefore so fitting to be a voice for Arquette’s call to arms.
Not-so-subtle Arquette was followed by a similarly long-standing issue of social justice which still needs some work- the civil rights movement. The film Selma, though not a front-runner, is a beautiful look at Dr. Martin Luther King’s march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. This year the film took home the award from best original song which left barely a dry eye in the house. Upon accepting their speech writers John Legend and Common used the opportunity to discuss current discrimination in the US saying, “We know that the Voting Rights Act that they fought for 50 years ago is being compromised right now in this country today. We know that right now, the struggle for freedom and justice is real. We live in the most incarcerated country in the world. There are more black men under correctional control today than were under slavery in 1850. We are with you, we see you, we love you and march on.”
And lastly, this year’s best picture and best director awards were given to the incredible film, Birdman and even it was sure to make sure it made a political point. Birdman is a dark comedy which follows the dying career of an ex-superhero film star. We see him struggling to hold himself together with a last-ditch effort at re-boosting his career through a self-directed Broadway play. The film is surreal and beautiful and shot as one continuous tracking shot almost to the very end. Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, and the whole cast deliver performances that are edgy, surprising, and heart-wrenching. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu keeps each scene singular with innovative crossing narratives and beautiful ways of playing with time. The film is truly a masterpiece and the director a treasure. As he moved to accept his second Oscar of the night he closed with a brief silence, a look of humility and said he dedicated his award to “My fellow Mexicans. The ones who live in Mexico, I pray that we can find and build a government that we deserve and for the ones who live in America I hope you are treated with the same dignity and respect as those who came before them and helped build this country.”
It seems fitting that such a night full of glamour and opulence should end on such a note of humility. Film has always been about other worlds- other ways of seeing. But it is refreshing to see it challenged as art should be. For that reason this year’s Oscars should be one to be remembered- not only for the fine films and deserved awards, for Lady Gaga’s awesome performance and John Travolta’s second hilarious bumble- but also for the ideas that were challenged and hope that films and those making them can aid in changing our world for the better.