by Josh Sewell
“Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?”
I doubt we’ll forget the 94th Academy Awards anytime soon. It was a disastrous ceremony, full of boneheaded choices from producers and hosts who didn’t care about – or even pretend to respect – the nominated films, as well as an attendee who lost his mind in front of a global audience.
At this point, the show has been discussed and analyzed to death. Most people, myself included, want to dispose of this garbage in the pop culture landfill where it belongs and move on. However, before we do that, I want to reflect on some of the genuinely great moments that were instantly overshadowed by the Will Smith/Chris Rock fiasco. Do yourself a favor and seek them out on YouTube.
As far as predictions go, I didn’t do too shabby, getting 19 out of 23 winners correct. It would’ve been 21 if I’d gone with my gut instead of my head at the last minute, but alas. Granted, that’s because the endless awards season slog made most of them inevitable, but you can always count on the Academy to deliver a few surprises. (How was I supposed to know this year’s shocker would be an on-stage assault instead of an unexpected victor?)
Hosts Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes genuinely tried their best to make the night entertaining, even valiantly attempting to regain control after everything went off the rails. (Schumer’s “Did I miss anything? There’s, like, a different vibe in here…” was particularly inspired.) Nevertheless, you could practically feel the flop sweat, particularly when Hall pretended to sexually harass handsome men for the sake of comedy.
In fact, the pacing of the entire night seemed erratic, with pointless segments (like those non-tributes to The Godfather, White Men Can’t Jump, Pulp Fiction and the 007 franchise) placed seemingly at random, and viewer-voted categories that allowed director Zack Snyder’s rabid fanbase to stuff the ballot box via social media. That’s how we ended up with “Flash enters the Speed Force” as the year’s “most cheer-worthy moment” and the instantly-forgettable Army of the Dead winning fan favorite.
To add insult to injury, this pandering was done at the expense of eight technical categories being rudely demoted to a separate, non-televised event like some kind of Oscar kiddie table. The disrespectful move was allegedly made to keep the live show short, but it ended up running almost four hours anyway.
Who knows? Perhaps that chaotic pacing and lack of traditional pomp and circumstance are what caused attendees to let their guard down and act like they weren’t at the industry’s most important night of the year.
Whatever the case, when you treat an honored ceremony like just another ratings-obsessed night of TV, don’t be surprised when the whole thing turns into an episode of Real Housewives. ABC and Oscar producers wanted watercooler conversation and they certainly got it – at the expense of tarnishing an almost century-old reputation. Be careful what you wish for.
Most tragically, while the embarrassing moment allowed the show to dominate social media (memes and TikTok videos appeared online almost instantly), it overshadowed historic wins. Truly great films that mainstream viewers might have actually sought out didn’t get the spotlight because it was stolen by nonsense.
Best Supporting Actress winner Ariana DeBose became the first Afro Latina and openly queer actor of color to take home the prize, while Best Supporting Actor Troy Kotsur became the first deaf man to earn an acting Oscar. Both of them gave lovely, heartfelt speeches that quickly evaporated into the pop culture ether.
Long-overdue Best Actress winner Jessica Chastain (I’m pretending she won for 2012’s outstanding Zero Dark Thirty) used her moment to bring attention to behind-the-scenes crew members and call out bigoted legislation aimed at the LGBTQ+ community. The incredible Drive My Car won Best International Feature and director Ryusuke Hamaguchi expressed his gratitude in a sweet, measured response (before getting rudely played off the stage).
Jane Campion won Best Director for The Power of the Dog (the film’s only award of the night as it turned out, even though it was nominated for 12), becoming only the third woman to do so in Academy history – and the first time it ever happened in back-to-back years. The excellent CODA overcame its underdog status to win Best Picture, becoming the first release from a streaming service (Apple TV+) to take home the top prize.
Then there’s poor Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, who made his directorial debut with the masterful Summer of Soul and won Best Documentary on his first try. But he had the misfortune of taking the stage mere seconds after the slap heard ’round the world, when everyone in the room and at home were still trying to figure out what the heck just happened. I’m sure he was too; combine that with the excitement of winning and it’s no wonder his beautiful acceptance speech came off so flustered.
Sadly, all of these impressive stats are pretty much just footnotes now, because nobody’s going to remember them. They deserved so much better than the ceremony surrounding them. I recommend seeking out these moments to help get rid of the bad taste the rest of the night left in everyone’s mouths.
I doubt we’ll forget the 94th Academy Awards anytime soon. It was a disastrous ceremony, full of boneheaded choices from producers and hosts who didn’t care about – or even pretend to respect – the nominated films, as well as an attendee who lost his mind in front of a global audience.
At this point, the show has been discussed and analyzed to death. Most people, myself included, want to dispose of this garbage in the pop culture landfill where it belongs and move on. However, before we do that, I want to reflect on some of the genuinely great moments that were instantly overshadowed by the Will Smith/Chris Rock fiasco. Do yourself a favor and seek them out on YouTube.
As far as predictions go, I didn’t do too shabby, getting 19 out of 23 winners correct. It would’ve been 21 if I’d gone with my gut instead of my head at the last minute, but alas. Granted, that’s because the endless awards season slog made most of them inevitable, but you can always count on the Academy to deliver a few surprises. (How was I supposed to know this year’s shocker would be an on-stage assault instead of an unexpected victor?)
Hosts Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes genuinely tried their best to make the night entertaining, even valiantly attempting to regain control after everything went off the rails. (Schumer’s “Did I miss anything? There’s, like, a different vibe in here…” was particularly inspired.) Nevertheless, you could practically feel the flop sweat, particularly when Hall pretended to sexually harass handsome men for the sake of comedy.
In fact, the pacing of the entire night seemed erratic, with pointless segments (like those non-tributes to The Godfather, White Men Can’t Jump, Pulp Fiction and the 007 franchise) placed seemingly at random, and viewer-voted categories that allowed director Zack Snyder’s rabid fanbase to stuff the ballot box via social media. That’s how we ended up with “Flash enters the Speed Force” as the year’s “most cheer-worthy moment” and the instantly-forgettable Army of the Dead winning fan favorite.
To add insult to injury, this pandering was done at the expense of eight technical categories being rudely demoted to a separate, non-televised event like some kind of Oscar kiddie table. The disrespectful move was allegedly made to keep the live show short, but it ended up running almost four hours anyway.
Who knows? Perhaps that chaotic pacing and lack of traditional pomp and circumstance are what caused attendees to let their guard down and act like they weren’t at the industry’s most important night of the year.
Whatever the case, when you treat an honored ceremony like just another ratings-obsessed night of TV, don’t be surprised when the whole thing turns into an episode of Real Housewives. ABC and Oscar producers wanted watercooler conversation and they certainly got it – at the expense of tarnishing an almost century-old reputation. Be careful what you wish for.
Most tragically, while the embarrassing moment allowed the show to dominate social media (memes and TikTok videos appeared online almost instantly), it overshadowed historic wins. Truly great films that mainstream viewers might have actually sought out didn’t get the spotlight because it was stolen by nonsense.
Best Supporting Actress winner Ariana DeBose became the first Afro Latina and openly queer actor of color to take home the prize, while Best Supporting Actor Troy Kotsur became the first deaf man to earn an acting Oscar. Both of them gave lovely, heartfelt speeches that quickly evaporated into the pop culture ether.
Long-overdue Best Actress winner Jessica Chastain (I’m pretending she won for 2012’s outstanding Zero Dark Thirty) used her moment to bring attention to behind-the-scenes crew members and call out bigoted legislation aimed at the LGBTQ+ community. The incredible Drive My Car won Best International Feature and director Ryusuke Hamaguchi expressed his gratitude in a sweet, measured response (before getting rudely played off the stage).
Jane Campion won Best Director for The Power of the Dog (the film’s only award of the night as it turned out, even though it was nominated for 12), becoming only the third woman to do so in Academy history – and the first time it ever happened in back-to-back years. The excellent CODA overcame its underdog status to win Best Picture, becoming the first release from a streaming service (Apple TV+) to take home the top prize.
Then there’s poor Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, who made his directorial debut with the masterful Summer of Soul and won Best Documentary on his first try. But he had the misfortune of taking the stage mere seconds after the slap heard ’round the world, when everyone in the room and at home were still trying to figure out what the heck just happened. I’m sure he was too; combine that with the excitement of winning and it’s no wonder his beautiful acceptance speech came off so flustered.
Sadly, all of these impressive stats are pretty much just footnotes now, because nobody’s going to remember them. They deserved so much better than the ceremony surrounding them. I recommend seeking out these moments to help get rid of the bad taste the rest of the night left in everyone’s mouths.
Reach out to Josh Sewell on Twitter @IAmJoshSewell
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