The Oscars, also known as the Academy Awards, took place on Sunday, March 10. The annual award ceremony honors achievements in the film industry for acting, directing, writing and other technical aspects of filmmaking.
The Oscars are organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and it includes live performances, presentations, and the distribution of awards. This event is attended by celebrities, filmmakers and industry professionals from around the world.
According to AP News, “Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ won seven Oscars and cemented Nolan’s place in Hollywood history.”
Source: Chris Pizzello, AP News
Source: Chris Pizzello, AP News
“Oppenheimer” took home seven awards this year in categories including Best Picture, Best Director accepted by Christopher Nolan, Best Actor accepted by Cillian Murphy, Best Supporting Actor accepted by Robert Downey Jr., Best Cinematography accepted by Hoyte Van Hoytema, Best Film Editing accepted by Jennifer Lame, and Best Original Score accepted by Ludwig Göransson, AP News reported.
“The amount of awards that ‘Oppenheimer’ won stood out to me the most because there were many strong films and performances but Nolan seemed to be the champion,” said Todd Barnes, SHU’s Chair of Media and Performing Arts.
The Oscars is more than just the distribution of awards, so many performances take place throughout the event as well. A performance that stood out during the event was Ryan Gosling, in his bright pink suit performing “I’m Just Ken” as well as the performance from Billie Eilish and Finneas, singing “What Was I Made For?,” which received the award for Best Song.
According to AP News, “The night, though, belonged not to ‘Barbie’ but to its partner in the cultural and marketing phenomenon known as ‘Barbenheimer,’ Greta Gerwig was left out of the directing category and Margot Robbie missed out on best actress.”
“I was surprised that Barbie didn’t win more awards. Given all the buzz it created this year, I thought that it would be recognized for more than just best song,” said Mario Miranda, a communications professor at Sacred Heart.
This year’s Oscars took a different approach to presenting the nominations.
“I liked the new feature of having former winners pay tribute to this year’s nominees, and hope they keep that for future ceremonies. It was especially effective when Lupita Nyong’o gave such a heartfelt introduction of Da’Vine Joy Randolph. Radolph’s speech was also very moving, and a great way to kick off the show,” said Sara Ross, a professor of Media and Performing Arts at Sacred Heart.
In most years, there are often films that are overlooked during the Oscars award season.
“The Oscars are mostly an advertisement for the film industry as a whole. I don’t know if it represents the best in film because that depends on taste. There are certainly great films out every year (especially indies) that have nothing to do with the Oscars,” said Barnes.
Regardless, the show is still popular each year.
“I really enjoyed watching the Oscars because it is so interesting to see who ends up winning the awards and being able to see all of the performances that take place throughout the night,” said sophomore Katie Stockmal.