This Year We’re Giving Awards to the Academy Awards

We’re honoring the best, boldest, and most ridiculous of this year’s political speechmaking at the Oscars.

By Katie Kilkenny

Halle Berry accepts the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in Monster’s Ball during the 74th annual Academy Awards in 2002. (Photo: Getty Images)

Every year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gives awards for achievement in film — but who gives awards for the winners’ heartfelt (and sometimes tin-eared) political monologues at the Kodiak Theater? We do!

In the spirit of this awards season’s extra-political tone — humanitarian crises and Donald Trump jokes have featured in acceptance speeches at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and Writers’ Guild Awards, to name a few — the Culture Pages will be honoring the best, worst, and bravest of the lot at this year’s top prize-giving ceremony. During the Academy Awards this Sunday at 5:30 p.m. PST, our writers and editors will be judging all political remarks, assessing them based on content and delivery: Which Trump reference was sliest? Which mention of geopolitics most inflammatory? Which celebrity in the audience provided the most meme-able reaction?

Honorees will receive two prizes: One, they will receive a shout-out within our online magazine and, two, they will be contacted via Twitter/Facebook/any means necessary to receive a free year-long subscription to Pacific Standard. Best luck in advance to all competitors.

Last week, Oscars telecast producer Michael De Luca told the New York Times that he welcomed political dialogue at the ceremony. “Winners have the right to express themselves,” he told reporter Brooks Barnes. We couldn’t agree more, and we’ll be watching as the night’s stars alternately distinguish and embarrass themselves.

---

The Fonda

Honors the coyest allusion to a political or social issue. Extra points will be awarded if the speaker devotes most of their allotted speaking time to these pointed (but — crucially — unnamed) concerns and/or does not thank the usual parties. Points will be deducted for the use of tired ceremonial phrases or adjectives — “uncertain times,” “urgent,” etc.

The Original Fonda: “There’s a great deal to say but I’m not going to say it tonight,” Jane Fonda said in her brief 1972 speech accepting the Best Actress Oscar for Klute. Later, she told reporters she was referring to United States’ foreign policy in Southeast Asia — in her words, “the murders being committed in our name in Indochina.”

Former Qualifiers: Hugh Laurie, 2017 Golden Globes (The Night Manager); Byron Howard, 2017 Golden Globes (Zootopia); Meryl Streep, 2017 Golden Globes (Cecil B. DeMille Award); Nina Jacobson, 2017 Golden Globes (People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story); Mahershala Ali, 2017 SAG Awards (Moonlight); Emma Stone, 2017 SAG Awards (La La Land); Errol Morris, 2004 Academy Awards (The Fog of War).

The Brando

Celebrates the use of a proxy speaker to make a political statement. The judges will turn an especially favorable eye to speeches delivered by a speaker not involved in the production and/or a symbolically significant speaker.

The Original Brando: In 1973, Brando sent actress and Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather to decline his Best Actor Award for The Godfather due to “the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry … and on television in movie reruns.”

Former Qualifiers: George C. Scott, 1970 Academy Awards (Patton).

The Redgrave

Is bestowed upon a super-inflammatory stand on international politics taken during the ceremony. Exceptional entrants in this category will elicit glazed-over expressions from audience and slack jaws and/or audible boos, alongside scattered and halfhearted applause.

The Original Redgrave: Upon receiving her 1978 Best Actress Award for Julia, Vanessa Redgrave addressed the Jewish Defense League picketers protesting her outside the theater (Redgrave had narrated and helped to fund a pro-Palestine documentary). “ “I think you should be very proud … you have refused to be intimidated by the threats of a small bunch of Zionist hoodlums whose behavior is an insult to the stature of Jews all over the world,” she told the crowd.

The Sarandon-Robbins

Honors an extra-salient example of a presenter ignoring the teleprompter to make an issues-driven statement.

The Original Sarandon-Robbins: At 1993’s Academy Awards, Best Film Editing presenters Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins also introduced the topic of refugees. “In the spirit of the red ribbons being held here, we’d like to call attention to 250 Haitians (being quarantined in Cuba) … their crime, testing positive for the HIV virus,” Robbins said, after which Sarandon asked the U.S. government to open its borders to those refugees.

Former Qualifiers: Richard Gere, 1993 Academy Awards (presenting Best Art Direction).

The Berry

Is bestowed upon a speech celebrating a significant moment for diverse representation at the ceremony. Tears and Oscar-pumping will be viewed especially favorably in this category.

The Original Berry: Accepting her 2002 Best Actress Award for Monster’s Ball, the first for a black actress, Berry dedicated the award to previous black actresses and “every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened.”

Former Qualifiers: Viola Davis, 2015 Emmy Awards (How to Get Away With Murder).

The Moore

Celebrates a scorching opinion on domestic politics expressed during the ceremony. Not a Moore unless the topic is a.) judged unpopular at the Dolby Theatre and/or b.) introduced in a way that throws shade at large segments of the populace. As with the Redgrave, you don’t qualify if you don’t piss off a vocal portion of the audience in the theater.

The Original Moore: After winning 2003’s Best Documentary for Bowling for Columbine, Moore said that non-fiction mattered more than ever because “We live in time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons.” As the members of the crowd audibly booed and jeered, Moore continued, undeterred, “Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you.”

Former Qualifiers: Sean Penn, 2009 Academy Awards (Milk).

The O’Barry/The Irving

Honors a conspicuous shout-out to a specific rights or awareness campaign during an awards or presentation speech. Note: Qualifies as an O’Barry if a telephone number or website is included. If not, it will be labeled an Irving.

The Original O’Barry: When The Cove, an exposé-like film about dolphin hunting in Japan, won Best Documentary in 2010, the film’s star Ric O’Barry, held up a sign bearing the message “Text Dolphin to 44144” behind the speakers accepting the award. The telecast cut the music and the cameras cut away before film’s director could make his speech. “The Academy panicked,” the Huffington Post later explained.

The Original Irving: Accepting Best Adapted Screenplay in 1999 for Cider House Rules, John Irving thanked Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Rights League alongside his studio, family, producer, and director.

Former Qualifiers: Sarah Paulson, 2017 SAG Awards (The People v. OJ Simpson).

The Leto

Recognizes a narcissistic speech delivered by a contributor to a film celebrated for its political message.

The Original Leto: Jared Leto dedicated the first half of his speech accepting the Best Supporting Actor at the 2014 Golden Globes to the physical transformation required to play a transgender woman in Dallas Buyers Club — “the bubble butt was all mine,” he joked, before assuring the audience he didn’t have to get a Brazilian wax. Slate’s Bryan Lowder later called the remarks “tone-deaf” given his film’s serious examination of the transgender experience.

Former Qualifiers: Sally Field, 1985 Academy Awards (Places in the Heart).

The Arquette

Is bestowed upon an attempt at progressivism that backfires brutally. Special attention will be paid to speeches that champion one minority group while entirely glossing over or dismissing another — or several others.

The Original Arquette: During an awards speech that argued for equal pay for women following her 2015 Best Actress win for Boyhood, Arquette said, “It’s time for all the women in America, and all the men that love women and all the gay people and all the people of color that we’ve all fought for to fight for us now.” As some later pointed out on social media and in publications, Arquette’s remarks didn’t make much space for queer women and women of color, and the fights for LGBT rights and rights for people of color are not yet over.

Former Qualifiers: Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett, 2010 Academy Awards (Music by Prudence). (Note: In this case, the award is shared. Burkett, who co-produced with director Williams, interrupted Williams as he was making his speech, later claiming it was typical of men to try and speak first. But hey, Williams was the first black director to win Best Documentary Short Subject.)

The Streep

Nods to an especially enthusiastic audience member’s reaction to an issue-driven speech. Extra points if memed and spread on Twitter, and on day-after news round-ups.

The Original Streep:

Former Qualifiers: Chris Pine, 2015 Academy Awards (reacting to Common and John Legend’s Best Song speech for their “Glory” song in Selma — “Selma is now, because the struggle for justice is right now,” Legend said.) It’s hard to top a crying Chris Pine or finger-pointing Meryl Streep — but maybe this year’s nominees have it in them to try.

Are the Oscars Still So White?

Bringing true representation to Hollywood requires that we pay attention more than one night a year.

By Brandon Tensley

Director Ava DuVernay speaks onstage at the Outstanding Director’s Award during the 32nd Santa Barbara International Film Festival at the Arlington Theatre on February 7th, 2017, in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Awards ceremonies this year have already been marked with racial tension, and it’s hard to think about the 89th Academy Awards without also thinking about Ava DuVernay’s snub in 2015 — the year that gave us #OscarsSoWhite. While Selma scooped up Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Song that year, its director, DuVernay, and its star, David Oyelowo, weren’t even in the running for any of that year’s gold statues.

Yet despite increased discussion around the awards’ pattern of excluding non-white work, 2016 was more of the same — all 20 of the nominees in the lead and supporting categories were white, leading critics to take up the hashtag once again. (Particularly galling to many was the fact that Ryan Coogler’s Creed, an all-around excellent film that revived the Rocky franchise and was tipped to land Oscar nods in several of the major categories, secured only one — for the film’s white co-star, Sylvester Stallone.)

Now, two very white years later, have the Oscars — a stamp of approval saying that you belong in American cinema — gotten better at recognizing the work of people of color? Let’s have a look.

Over the past year, black performers, especially, have ruled Hollywood both at the box office and critically. They’ve slapped down the idea that black isn’t bankable.

Denzel Washington’s role in Fences has earned him a nomination for Best Actor, and Ruth Negga is vying for Best Actress for her performance in Loving. The Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories are also noticeably less lily-white than in past years. In the former category are Dev Patel (Lion) and Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), with Viola Davis (Fences), Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures), and Naomie Harris (Moonlight) in the latter category. Meanwhile, Barry Jenkins is up for Best Director for his poignant drama Moonlight, a film that, with eight Oscar nominations, is tied for the second-most nominations at this year’s ceremony.

This isn’t nothing. Over the past year, black performers, especially, have ruled Hollywood both at the box office and critically. They’ve slapped down the idea that black isn’t bankable — Hidden Figures has raked in over $150 million globally, and Moonlight, despite having had only some $5 million to work with, has grossed over four times its budget — while also allowing black people to move and speak with a depth that we aren’t typically afforded onscreen, in a medium that carries huge cultural cachet.

Of course, Hollywood has a skittish relationship with racial progress — a relationship that’s almost as old as the ceremony itself. So the key concern should be one of momentum, and how people of color might keep it going.

https://psmag.com/i-am-not-your-negro-james-baldwin-and-a-new-black-history-57cf34ac8ea4

Perhaps one tack to keep the needle of progress moving is to shake up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hosts the awards each year. Luckily, this process is already underway. Last year, following the reanimated backlash against the Oscars, the Academy announced a series of changes in an attempt to fix the persistent paleness of the ceremony, making a commitment to “[double] the number of women and diverse members of the Academy by 2020.” (In 2016, the Los Angeles Times laid out just how ambitious this challenge will be, reporting that Oscar voters that year were 91 percent white and 76 percent male.)

Yet this doesn’t entirely crack the code of how to solve Hollywood’s race problem. Other, deeper aspects of the film industry’s racial myopia are its choice of black stories — almost invariably, award-worthy titles tend to center around slavery, where blackness is put onscreen to expiate a white audience — and the reality that structural racism within the business shuts out non-black marginalized groups too. To get at these more entrenched biases will require a fundamental shift behind the screen — not just on it.

As Jezebel’s Kara Brown, who’s doggedly followed Hollywood’s penchant for whitewashing, told me in an interview: “There’s a conversation to be had that asks, where else are people of color [besides on the big screen]? Are we in the boardrooms? In the development positions? Are we doing the editing? We should be everywhere.” She continued: “Think of all the films that have been passed over because the people making those decisions weren’t able to recognize art unfamiliar to them. We need to be in those positions.”

Indeed, involving artists of color throughout the entire production process, instead of merely plugging them in when it’s time to cast and shoot, is crucial. According to the University of California–Los Angeles’ 2017 Hollywood Diversity Report, minorities make up only 10.1 percent of Hollywood directors. Ramping up diversity behind the camera would, at a minimum, prevent the skewed representation that Hollywood has perfected. For instance, Hidden Figures tells the under-sung story of a small army of black women whose contributions to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the 1960s were key to several historic space missions, such as putting John Glenn into orbit. It’s an important, feel-good film, but it also shines a light on how whiteness so often takes center-stage, even in black work. We see this when Kevin Costner’s character dramatically desegregates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s bathrooms for his ace mathematician, played by Taraji P. Henson.

https://psmag.com/i-am-not-your-negro-james-baldwin-and-a-new-black-history-57cf34ac8ea4

“Hidden Figures wasn’t written or directed by black people, and I could tell that,” Brown said, drawing distinctions between the Space Race drama and other Oscar darlings, such as 13th and I Am Not Your Negro, directed by black filmmakers DuVernay and Raoul Peck, respectively. “But [Hidden Figures] is also in line with the sorts of experiences that Hollywood acknowledges. It’s set during the civil rights movement, and white Americans eventually come around and save the day — because God forbid black women overcome discrimination on their own.”

In a few days, Oscar chatter will address whether the ceremony actually reflects fundamental change — or is continuing as an avatar of whiteness. Davis, after sweeping the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards for her performance in Fences, spoke to this point, saying at a press conference, “I believe what still is a deficiency is that we have one year a plethora of African-American movies, and then the next year nothing.” Davis cautioned further, adding that, given how few black Americans feature in predictions being floated for next year’s awards, we may already be looking at black backsliding.

Correcting Hollywood’s genteel racism won’t come easily. Neither will it come comfortably. Rather, it demands that we recognize (including with our pockets, since the industry recognizes films that make a lot of money) the excellence of work by people of color. It demands, as well, that we don’t tune into the Oscars on Sunday and then tune out the conversations on the value — always real, never imagined — of non-white art for the rest of the year. Truly doing justice to the wealth of talent out there has to be an unapologetic, unflinching, and unyielding task — or else we’ll just return to another, paler time.

And the Oscar Goes to … an American

Both Academy Award and BAFTA voters tend to favor their own.

By Tom Jacobs

Leonardo DiCaprio in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

This year’s Academy Awards ceremony will no doubt include ridicule and denunciation of President Donald Trump’s nationalistic ideology. But if nationalism is defined as reflexively favoring one’s fellow countrymen, Oscar presenters shouldn’t press the point too hard.

Newly published research finds that basic human impulse plays a role in the choice of which actors get honored.

A study that looks at the Best Actor and Best Actress categories finds the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences prefers to honor its own — that is to say, Americans — while the British Academy of Film and Television Arts is more likely to recognize performers from the United Kingdom.

This tendency, found for both nominations and actual awards, occurs in spite of the fact that voters — people working in the film industries of the two countries — are nominally voting for the best performance of the year, regardless of the actor’s nationality.

https://psmag.com/how-to-win-an-oscar-nomination-acdf934a15de

“A creation is most likely to be regarded as outstanding when artists are seen by perceivers to be ‘one of us,’” concludes a research team led by psychologist Niklas Steffens of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Its study is published in the British Journal of Psychology.

Steffens and his colleagues looked at the nominees and winners of Best Actor and Best Actress awards in both the British and American competitions from 1968 (when BAFTA first presented those honors) to 2015. Not surprisingly, given Hollywood’s dominance of the international film market, American artists were recognized with a majority of nominations and awards in both categories.

“A creation is most likely to be regarded as outstanding when artists are seen by perceivers to be ‘one of us.’”

Nevertheless, there were major differences between the two competitions. Sixty-seven percent of Oscar nominees in those categories were Americans, compared to 19 percent who were Brits (the others were from other nations). Among BAFTA nominees, 53 percent were Americans, and 31 percent were Brits.

This difference was magnified for actual winners. Seventy-eight percent of Best Actor or Actress Oscars went to Americans, compared to 14 percent for British thespians. The ratio was much closer for BAFTA awards: 46 percent went to Americans, and 42 percent to actors from the U.K.

Oscar voters also showed a preference for films set in their own society. “A U.S. actor in a movie about U.S. culture was 21 times more likely to have received an Oscar merit prize than a U.S. actor in a movie about a non-U.S. culture,” the researchers write. Similarly, British actors were 20 times more likely to receive a BAFTA award if their film was set at home.

https://psmag.com/how-to-win-an-oscar-nomination-acdf934a15de

This real-world evidence confirms the results of a 2008 study, which found individuals tend to consider works more creative if they were made by members of a group with which they identify. Together, the studies suggest “shared-identity concerns” play an important role as we decide which cultural achievements we choose to recognize and celebrate.

So, even if you thought French actress Isabelle Huppert gave the best performance of the year among actresses in Elle, you should think twice before writing her name on your office Oscar pool ballot. The odds are very strong that an American actress will win.

And in the Best Actor category, where Casey Affleck, Andrew Garfield, Ryan Gosling, Viggo Mortensen, and Denzel Washington are nominated, they are 100 percent.