As most people know, the Oscars took place on Sun. Feb. 24th in Los Angeles. The show was filled with beautiful outfits, graceful acceptance speeches and many winners but, interestingly, no host. Nonetheless, the night was a success, filled with many tears of joy. A few of the big winners include:
Best Picture: Green Book
Actor in a Leading Role: Rami Malek
Actress in a Leading Role: Olivia Colman
Actor in a Supporting Role: Mahershala Ali
Actress in a Supporting Role: Regina King
While some of the awards were well deserved, others were not. Below are three films I feel were snubbed during the celebration.
(Poster taken from IMBb)
BlacKkKlansman:
All the films nominated for Best Picture this year were engaging and fantastic films but the one that stood out and, in my opinion, deserved to win was BlacKkKlansman: a hilarious, well crafted movie that accurately brings about a much needed conversation surrounding race in America. One of the most emotional and important parts of the film appears at the ending as videos from the Charlottesville attack on Aug. 12, 2017, which was perpetrated by a white supremacist and resulted in the horrific death of Heather Heyer, play out. The choice to include real, recent footage in a film that is set in the 1970s helps remind viewers that the issues of racism, white supremacy and Neo-nazism are not ideas of the past. This film is absolutely Oscar worthy.
A Star is Born:
Another influential film of the night was A Star is Born, starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Although not politically charged with such a strong message as BlacKkKlansman, A Star is Born is filled with emotional and phenomenal acting. While “Shallow,” as one of the most popular songs so far this year, deserved to win Best Original Song, this movie and its characters deserved more celebration. The on (and perhaps off) screen chemistry between Lady Gaga and Cooper is extremely palpable to the audience. The music and acting in this movie transports the audience into the tragic love story, making it 100% worthy of winning an Oscar. Specifically the ending draws the reader into the emotions through both auditory and visual techniques, the build up of the second half of the film will leave the viewer in tears by the time the credits roll.
RBG:
(Poster taken from IMDb)
The winner of Best Documentary Feature Film was Free Solo, which is about a free solo rock climber named Alex Honnold and his attempt to climb El Capitan in Yosemite. Although an incredible feat and a thrilling film to watch, another documentary in the category worthy of winning was RBG. The film illustrates the life and accomplishments of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. The film does an amazing job of creating a historically accurate and informational portrait of Justice Ginsburg while still engaging the audience. Personally I didn’t know many of the specifics on Ginsburg’s life before watching this biography, and she is an iconic feminist figure whose fight for equality should be known by all. This documentary is not only well crafted and artistically created, but also spreads an incredibly powerful message.
Information from Oscar’s website.