Oscars’ nod to the past, and the shape of things to come
“I HAVE two words to leave with you tonight, ladies and gentlemen: Inclusion. Rider.” That was Frances McDormand concluding her speech after accepting the Oscar for best actress at the 90th Oscars, a moment that aptly captured the mood of a ceremony that involved few genuine surprises, but proved quietly galvanising nonetheless. After demanding that all the women in the room stand up, McDormand suggested (ordered) that the executives in the audience take note of the stories and talent on display, then take meetings a few days later.
The evening’s most genuine nail-biter was reserved for the final moments, when the wide-open race for best picture was finally decided. The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro’s Cold War-era fantasy about a mute cleaning woman who falls in love with a fish creature, took home the big award – no doubt because it was a love letter to 1950s Hollywood, and also a plea for compassion.
But as a fanciful, if occasionally ham-handed, portrayal of tolerance and respect across races, sexual orientations and even species, The Shape of Water reflected a zeitgeist that seemed to permeate every moment of the ceremony.
This was a year when everything seemed to be in flux, from the way Hollywood conducts its business to the canon itself. Perhaps the most palpable presence at the ceremony was its most conspicuous absence: Harvey Weinstein was once again a force, even if invisible.
Since charges of sexual harassment and assault emerged against Weinstein last year, unleashing a cascade of similar accusations and the creation of such movements as #MeToo and Time’s Up, the movie industry has been embroiled in a push-pull of self-examination and defensiveness.
Both impulses were on display at a ceremony that addressed those issues head-on, in the form of Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue, montages and presenters such as Ashley Judd, Annabella Sciorra and Salma Hayek, whose stories about Weinstein were among the most scathing.
Hayek concluded her remarks by calling for more “equality, diversity, inclusion and intersectionality”, which were celebrated throughout the evening, from the visibility of Latino projects (The Shape of Water, Coco and A Fantastic Woman) and transgender artists (Daniela Vega and Yance Ford) to glorious appearances from such veterans Eva Marie Saint, Rita Moreno and screenwriter James Ivory, who became the oldest Oscar winner in history when he won the award for best adapted screenplay.
While observers could celebrate the nomination of Greta Gerwig for best director for her comingof-age drama Lady Bird, it was still outrageous that she was only the fifth female nominee in that category in 90 years of the awards.
Like a gentle see-saw, the Oscars fluctuated between honouring generations that have come before and recognising up-and-comers, including Jordan Peele, the first black writer to win best original screenplay.
His horror satire about racism and liberal hypocrisy, Get Out, was one of the most socially relevant hits of last year.
Director Lee Unkrich, while accepting the award for best animated feature for Coco, presaged McDormand’s remarks when he observed: “Representation matters.”
In one of several montages, film-maker Kumail Nanjiani noted that not only is inclusion the right thing to do, but with the success of such films as Wonder Woman and Black Panther, it’s a proven moneymaker. Gloria Steinem used to say before we had terms like sexual harassment and domestic violence, those things “were just called life”.
As heartening as it was to see Hollywood celebrating a wider array of voices and visions, real progress will come when that doesn’t come under headings of “inclusion” or “diversity”, but will just be called “the movies”. – The Washington Post