The Oscars 2024 prove that they’re on the wrong side of history
If Hollywood is an industry of excesses, the Oscars are the culmination of it all. While the Academy maintained the illusion of being an institution capable of critical insight for a while, its real nature has become increasingly apparent. Every year, the world’s most prominent celebrities congregate to congratulate each other and this iteration has been no different. The people who tried to bring some real discussion to the table were quickly reminded what the Oscars are really about.
Many artists have been repeatedly criticised for using the Academy Awards as a platform for political protest, not just by the eminent members of the live audience but also by people sitting at home who do not want to be lectured by the elites. There is an unsaid acceptability meter that gauges which opinions are allowed and which aren’t, with the former often making it into the hosts’ tired comedy routines.
When Michael Moore won an Oscar for Bowling for Columbine, he took to the stage to publicly condemn the Bush government and the Iraq War, only to be met by a wave of boos from a crowd of actors and directors who were never going to be affected by the contents of the speech anyway. It demonstrated the kind of superficial global discourse that has been codified by the Academy, always responding in a hostile manner to things that exist outside that domain.
The same can be said of Sacheen Littlefeather’s famous appearance, who was invited by Marlon Brando to the Oscars in order to talk about the plight of the Native American community. Littlefeather was booed as well, later admitting that she was blacklisted by the industry and received multiple threats for daring to speak truth to power.
Although many would believe that things have come a long way since then, Lily Gladstone’s snub shows that there’s no real change. The Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese’s latest work that dives deep into a disturbing chapter of the US government’s violence against and oppression of Native Americans, proved to be too uncomfortable for Academy voters as it was largely ignored despite the many Oscar nominations.
Some might point to the Oscars’ focus on the Russian invasion as proof of its political relevance, citing the tribute to Alexei Navalny and the Oscar win for 20 Days in Mariupol. It’s true that Ukrainian director Mstyslav Chernov did get the chance to speak out about the horrors of the war.
Chernov said: “I wish to be able to exchange this to Russia never attacking Ukraine, never occupying our cities. I wish to give all the recognition to Russia not killing tens of thousands of my fellow Ukranians. I wish for them to release all of the hostages, all the soldiers who are protecting their land, and all the civilians who are now in their jails.”
However, even Chernov swiftly realised just how little his words meant to the people he was talking to as he was guided away from the stage to the romping tune of ‘I’m Just Ken’. While one war received most of the attention, another ongoing atrocity was only brought into focus when Jonathan Glazer accepted his Oscar for The Zone of Interest.
Glazer noted: “Our film shows where dehumanisation leads at its worst, it shaped all of our past and present. Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation that has led to conflict for so many innocent people… Whether the victims of October 7th or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all of the victims of this dehumanisation, how do we resist?”
Oppenheimer winning over The Zone of Interest in the ‘Best Picture’ category is symptomatic of the kind of artistic expressions that are actually endorsed (not just nominated) by the Academy. Glazer’s boldly experimental exploration of the nature of evil that fuelled the Holocaust directly addresses our complacency during the Israel-Palestine conflict, making it the most interesting nominee by far.
Unfortunately, it never stood a chance because judging the urgency and importance of a work of art is not the Academy’s concern at all. As long as the studio executives are satisfied by award counts and box office numbers, it’s all good in Hollywood.
