Illustration by Kai Henthorn-Iwane
29 million people spent their Sunday night in front of a television watching the 90th Oscars on March 9. There was a lot of anticipation leading up to this year’s Academy Awards; following the #MeToo and Times Up movement, and a year of intersectionality in the film industry with Get Out, Wonder Woman, Call Me By Your Name, and powerful female directors like Greta Gerwig and Patty Jenkins. Last year’s boycott of the Oscars due its predominantly white nominations left a lot to be desired this year. The speeches, presentations, and monologues did a lot to reflect upon that issue humorously and positively.
Jimmy Kimmel hosted the Oscars. Kimmel said in his monologue, “We can’t let the bad behavior slide anymore. The world is watching us.” He proceeded with jokes about Mel Gibson, Harvey Weinstein, Donald Trump, and others notorious for their shameful actions.
Salma Hayek, Ashley Judd, and Annabella Sciorra spoke together and reflected on the #MeToo and Times Up movements. Hayek called upon people to praise the “unstoppable spirits who kicked ass and broke through the biased perceptions against their gender, their race and ethnicity to tell their stories.”
One of the night’s most political and intelligent speeches was given by Lupita Nyong’o and Kumail Nanjiani. Before presenting the award for production design, they talked about being immigrants, and shared their allegiance with the Dreamers. Nyong’o, who won an Oscar in 2014 for 12 Years a Slave, was born in Mexico, and grew up in Kenya. Nanjiani, who was nominated for best original screenplay for the The Big Sick, is from Pakistan. They talked about their experiences as immigrants in Hollywood and about having names no one could pronounce. Nanjiani closed by saying, “To all the Dreamers out there, we stand with you.”
Among the incredible and brilliant women who presented were Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph. Their relatable and hilarious speech was a highlight of the night, some even calling for them to host the 2019 Oscars. The women took the stage in slippers, heels in hand, and joked about the lack of diversity in the Academy Awards. Rudolph said they were happy to be here presenting after the Oscars had been called “too white.” Haddish continued, saying that their presence on stage might cause people to question “Are the Oscars too black now?” But Rudolph assured the audience that in fact, there were many, many white people there that night. “Tons of them,” Rudolph added.
The diversity reflected in the presenters also serves to remind us just how much is left to be desired. Halle Berry is the only African American woman to win best actress in the ninety-year history of the show for her performance as a maid in Monster’s Ball in 2001. There have been no African American people to win Best Director, and only five women to be nominated in that category (only one has won). Although we are taking a step forward by identifying the disparity in opportunity and recognition that take place in Hollywood, the Oscars displayed that those injustices are still very much in place.