The Oscars of 2022 were a night to remember. So many big achievements in talented people’s careers occurred, but one event has been overshadowing said achievements. An altercation between Chris Rock and Will Smith occurred after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, a woman who suffers from alopecia, being the next GI-Jane. Smith and his wife, Jada, seemed visibly upset after the joke had been made and mere seconds later Will was on the stage prepared to defend her. There is a lot of conspiracy around whether the slap that Smith inflicted on Rock was staged or not, but one thing is for certain; it will be talked about and memed for weeks to come.
Moving away from the topic of assault and onto some extraordinary wins, the Academy Award for Best Picture went to CODA, or Child of Deaf Adults. Though I am an avid fan of Don’t Look Up, I truly believe CODA was a heart warming film that provided a beautiful example of a family sticking together through hardships such as communication issues and difference in wants and needs. It definitely deserved the award, as well as the others it won, such as Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Academy Award for Best director was given to Jane Campion. Campion is a New Zealand director, screenwriter, producer, and the third woman ever to win Best Director at the Oscars. She won for her work on the film Power of the Dog, which was an adaptation of a novel published in 1967.
Jessica Chastain won the award for Best Leading Actress for her role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, a movie about a couple’s creation of a large religious broadcasting network which then begins to crumble when scandals and rivals begin to arise.
Will Smith proceeded to win Best Leading Actor for his role in King Richard. In his speech, he addressed the Chris Rock scenario and apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees. He proceeded to connect himself to the character Richard Williams and stated “, Love will make you do crazy things.”
The Award Best Supporting Actress went to Ariana Debose for West Side Story. Debose is the first ever openly LGBTQ woman of color to win an Oscars acting award. Another first for the Oscars, Troy Kotsur, the winner of the Best Supporting Actor Award for CODA, became the first deaf man to win an Oscars acting award.
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune won a total of 6 Oscars including Best Cinematography, Film Editing, Original Score, Sound, Product design, and Visual Affects placing it at the top with the most awards for the evening.
The Oscars are a time of year that so many hard working people in the film industry get to see their work and dedication pay off. And even if they don’t win an award, it’s difficult to not be happy for a fellow person in your line of work getting one of the most prestigious awards they can. So many emotional and heartfelt speeches were delivered this year and even though a certain issue casted a large shadow on the whole ceremony, people were still able to go home proud of their accomplishments.