Jubilation
Celebration
Fashion
And the slap witnessed on live television.
Let's get to the shallow stuff first. What we always discuss at the Oscar's - the fashion! The women in red dominated my favorites list - Ariana DuBose, Kirsten Dunst, and Rosie Perez. Megan Thee Stallion was stunning both on the red carpet and in her musical number from Encanto, first in blue and then in yellow. Jada Pinket Smith wore a very dramatic emerald green gown, and even though orange is my least favorite color, Aunjanue Ellis' dress was stunning. On the flip side, Kristen Stewart, H.E.R, and Billie Ellish were easily my least favorite looks this year.
Usually I don't discuss what the men were wearing, but there were some bold fashion choices among the males this year, including Simu Liu, David Oyelowo, and Wesley Snipes. Encanto singer Sabastian Yatra was a man after my own heart, rocking a light pink suit on the red carpet, and a dark suit embellished with butterflies during his performance. Was I on the Timothee Chalamet train, applauding his lack of shirt on the red carpet and at the ceremony? No, but he can wear that when he's hanging out with me.
Now let's get to the awards:
Hooray for CODA!!
The little streaming movie that could won Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Motion Picture. And Troy Kotsur became the first Deaf male to win an Oscar - in this case, Best Supporting Actor.
Dune was the big winner of the night, taking home awards in six technical categories.
Jessica Chastain won Best Actress for portraying Tammy Faye Bakker Messner. I loved her acceptance speech and grew to like her brown and lavender dress.
I was also very pleased to see Kenneth Branagh win Best Original Screenplay for his autobiographical film Belfast.
The surprise of the night was that Power of the Dog, which was nominated in twelve categories, only took home one award, Best Director for Jane Campion.
And now on to what everyone is talking about - Will Smith, Chris Rock, and the slap seen around the world. Here's my hopefully brief take, for what it's worth: There was wrong on both sides. Chris Rock should not have made a joke about Jada's medical condition. Will absolutely should not have hit him. It was a terrible thing to witness. I don't know Will Smith, but I read his book recently, and he came across as a good, honest, hardworking person. Perfect? No. But a decent human being. And not prone to violence. In the heat of the moment, he made a really bad decision. I would hate to see his reputation tarnished over one very public outburst.
He apologized to the Academy and to his fellow nominees when he accepted the Best Actor Award. Tonight he released a statement where he apologized to Chris Rock, and the rest of the world. Maybe his lawyers made him do it. But it came across as sincere and heartfelt to me. He understands that he is a role model to many. He also acknowledged that violence is never the answer. But I believe him when he said, "Love can make you do crazy things."
So, back to the good of the Oscars: CODA! As Troy said in his acceptance speech, "This is dedicated to the Deaf community, to the CODA community, to the disability community. THIS IS OUR MOMENT." CODA winning doesn't erase the sting of Crip Camp losing to an octopus last year for the best documentary award. But at least we had reason to celebrate this year.
librarianintx
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