Oscars 2020: Out of touch and a Step Backwards
Every year when Oscar nominations come out we expect some snubs and surprises, but this year was especially disappointing after groundbreaking work and conversations about diversity and representation were completely ignored by the voting members. In a year of comebacks, mesmerizing documentaries, and daring performances voting members stuck to what they know: white male-driven stories or beautiful women transforming into emotionally unstable characters. This year award shows were moved up causing many voting members to not watch all of the contending movies and put in the lazy choices of the ones they watched. They gave us another predictable and underwhelming year. Please keep in mind that this is the same group that gave Green Book best picture and has awarded films that deal with inappropriate age gap romances the same prestigious award. The Oscars should no longer be a measure for being successful in the film industry; awards shouldn't dictate the stories we tell. It is more important that a film still resonates with audiences years down the line and many of the snubbed performances and movies this year will definitely stay with people for many years we will look back on 2020 and regret not giving these performances the same praise.
I want to bring up some points in Oscar history that explain the predictability of the nominations.
Campaigning: Award seasons truly changed the moment Shakespeare in Love dominated the Oscars. This was partly due to former film producer Harvey Weinstein's intense campaigning and has spread itself into the modern-day award season system. Many times people have the questions of "how did that win?" or "why wasn't __ nominated?" and this can be best explained by both Hollywood's inability to accept the change or welcome newcomers and the campaigning system instilled during this time of the year. It is very obvious that many past winners have earned their awards because studios have given so much money to the campaign. It can also be argued that Bohemian Rhapsody's wins in many categories didn't make sense due to Rami Malek campaigning the heck out of the movie by showing up to every single event and smooth-talking every voting member. Taron Egerton took note and did the same for his performance as Elton John which was arguably better than Malek's and still was shut out. Some films have better campaigning than others especially when studios have multiple contenders like A24 this year who obviously pushed The Farewell more than Uncut Gems, Waves, and The Lighthouse, and all were shut out. with the exception of the Lighthouse in one below-the-line category.
It gets boring to see the same actors win and give the same acceptance speeches because of the marketing team and narrative that is driving their entire campaign. The whole narrative element of the season needs to stop. People shouldn't be nominated or win because it will make a great headline the next day. The artist and actor need to be entirely separated. Are we awarding an actor because we like them or did they give one of the best performances of the year? Renee Zellwegger has been winning for best actress for a film no one has talked about since it came out but since this is her comeback it puts her as the lead of the pack.
Safe, Fossilized Choices: Last year's Roma streaming debate between Steven Spielberg and the streaming services should have been a red flag that the voting members are still stuck in the past. The fact that The Favourite a film about three queer women who all want power lost to a movie that tried to pretend racism ended in the 1960s is truly a disgrace.
Instead of looking to visionary movies that expose us to new ways of filmmaking like Uncut Gems, Us, and Hustlers the Academy decided to stick to the basics and their obsession with nostalgia by picking WWI and WWII movies, a love letter to pre-modern Hollywood and the wildcard of a movie they think breaks barriers as it calls out for humanity to reflect on itself. 1917 was extremely underwhelming and if we were going to award a film about the world wars in modern times it should have been Dunkirk.
The exclusion of other participants during this season showcase that the Academy as a whole has turned its back on the future of the art in filmmaking and the newer generations. The Academy continues to ignore horror even with outstanding performances from Toni Colette and Lupita N'yongo. It seems the Academy thinks they do something right by nominating or awarding a movie like The Favourite or Moonlight but they continue to be stuck in the past and make no real progress.
One of the most talked-about categories is best director. Scorsese's nomination makes him the most nominated director living and poses the question: Did we really need to give Scorsese a nomination? The Irishman was way too long and a major nod to the past. There were so many other directors that brought something new to the screen and got people excited about movies. The Safdie brothers with their anxiety-inducing Uncut Gems managed to attract crowds of younger generations and maintain the attention spans of moviegoers. The editing is a mixture of logical chaos and madness that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats the whole time because they can't look away from this man making the worst decisions. Their film is definitely one people will look back on and regret not including them anywhere. They racked up many awards and nominations at major critic associations but many Oscar voters were reported to have skipped the screenings of this masterpiece.
Greta Gerwig beautifully re-imagined Little Women for newer generations and was acknowledged for her screenplay but was snubbed for directing. A notable director that brought us powerful stories this year is Lorene Scafaria who told a side of the 2008 financial crisis no one has explored on the screen until now. She perfected a capsule of the years 2007-2012 through her sound, clothing, and setting. I am shocked that this film missed out on those categories as it was a perfect modern period piece that spoke about the forgotten group of working women who were severely affected by the financial crisis and have always been disadvantaged in life. Women directors proved they could make box office films and strong narratives but were still shut out.
Two of the best performances that were completely shut out were from Jennifer Lopez and Adam Sandler. Adam Sandler won the National Board of Review Best Actor and has gained praise from so many people for his performance of Howard, a New York City Jeweler, with a serious gambling problem. Sandler proved to so many people that as a comedy actor he can transform into drama and give a career-best performance. Sandler's performance with the direction of the Safdies has created a new movie energy that not even Leo could do. Justice for the Sandman.
Jennifer Lopez was also done so wrong in this award season. She was acknowledged by critics associations and some major awards for her portrayal of Ramona. She owned the entire movie and from watching her behind the scenes getting into character this role was made for JLo. If a male was playing the anti-hero JLo portrayed he would easily get the nomination but because she wasn't stripped down to a slightly unattractive version of herself and continuously breaking down over trauma she was wrongfully overlooked. These two renaissance performers were instead replaced by the most mediocre Leo performance ScarJo and her two nominations and Kathy Bates in a film the internet boycotted before it even came out. It is just lazy on the voters' part to nominate an actor in two categories for performances that weren't exactly groundbreaking.
Parasite made groundbreaking history as the first film nominated from South Korea. Its performers are deserving of nominations for giving complex performances in this chaotic movie looking at social class warfare. The film has become embraced by a lot of people and has been winning major awards but it doesn't seem the message of it is hitting those who are watching it. It is one of the most entertaining movies this season that is bold in everything it does with twists and a story no one was expecting.
The only category that wasn't messed up was best supporting actor with Pitt, Hopkins. Pesci, Pacino and Hanks. I would also like to shout out Hildur Guðnadóttir for being the first woman nominated for best score.
The Academy continues to distance itself from reflecting the real world and awarding true art. They continue to have biopics and war films as their standard of what makes a good film. They are keeping the industry tightly locked making it harder for new voices to bring their visions to the screen that include more representation and take audiences to worlds wee haven't seen before.
At the end of the day, this is just a televised award show and should in no way dictate what art is. Young filmmakers should continue to make their stories in the new wave of storytelling. The industry as a collective needs to take a self-assessment and have more room at the table for new voices and stop nepotism and nostalgia elements.
We should be proud of films like Honey Boy, Hustlers, Waves, The Portrait of A Lady on Fire, Uncut Gems, The Lighthouse, and The Farewell for reaching large audiences and leaving such an effect on them that people are speaking out for their snubs. These have broken out of the mold of the classic Oscar film with their normal budgets and reliance on story and actors who can actually carry it rather than high-paying celebrities to generate box office numbers. Ratings for the televised event aren't slipping because of the lack of big names its because it is boring and predictable. If the Academy wanted to solve the problem of ratings they would nominate films and people that actually resonated with audiences.