Rory Wei (10) | STAFF REPORTER
Even without Will Smith galvanizing people to tune into and bash the Oscars 2022, the general public and film fanatics all agreed that this event was an hot, awkward mess.
Viewers were not impressed, discovering after the show aired, that the had Academy robbed them of eight award categories. In response, ABC tried to pitch in the idea of championing quality over quantity. In fact, many believed that these categories were awarded live. However , the show did not hike up its quality, even after omitting the show’s highlights on the actual winners – and instead, added dysfunctional, gratuitous elements to leave the audience confounded and disappointed. This year, the show relied way too heavily on pre-recorded segments and tried to spice up the dull scene with a DJ and a wedding band ushering winners giving their word of thanks off-stage mid-speech with flagrant, abrupt music. Choppy transitions and sudden cuts to acceptance speeches lacking introductions were not enjoyable at all, displaying a sense of unprofessionalism on the producers’ part.
In addition, the comedy was debatable; with viewers being unable to decide whether the trio, Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes, performed to the best of their abilities. Some of the jokes were pretty solid, goofily poking at some of the film’s shortcomings and “hot” actors, but many of these Sunday evening monologues were cringeworthy.
Notwithstanding the rushed events occurring at the Oscars, the nominations and awards distributed to the directors and actors set several milestones that viewers were quite pleased by. Representation in the marginalized communities gained the spotlight on Sunday evening, with Troy Kotsur setting the record in history for being the second deaf actor to win an Academy Award. Ariana DeBose, an Afro-Latina and openly LGBTQ+ actress, won the Best Supporting Actress award and Canada’s sci-fi film Dune took home six awards.
In conclusion, the 94th Academy Awards were certainly a function that neither the actors nor viewers revelled in and hopefully, the 95th Academy Awards fare better than its predecessors, without the help of another Will Smith move to make the Oscars’ legacy more entertaining.
