On March 10, the Academy Awards took place at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. Here, hundreds of influences in the film industry gather to grace the red carpet and be an audience at the three-hour long infamous award ceremony. This year marked the 96th year of the Oscars, with a viewership rate that is the highest out of the last four years.
Jimmy Kimmel hosted this year’s ceremony for the fourth time as well, garnering positive responses from home viewers. Big names like Al Pacino, Zendaya, John Cena, and Danny Devito took the stage to present awards, and a multitude of musical performances from artists like Billie Eilish and Jon Batiste led to a well-received year at the Oscars.
A fan favorite moment of the night was Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” musical performance. Clad in a pink suit with a choreography that was inspired by an infamous Marilyn Monroe performance, Gosling weaved his way through the audience, singing alongside his fellow “Barbie” cast and crew members.
“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” had a summertime rivalry when they both premiered in theatres on July 21 this past year. As expected, they went head-to-head in a handful of categories, like Best Actor and Best Actress in a Supporting Role, as well as Best Picture. As many predicted, however, “Oppenheimer” swept the night, taking home seven awards out of their impressive thirteen nominations. Fans of Greta Gerwig’s box office-leading film were disappointed to see “Barbie” only taking home a single Oscar, Best Original Song.
Best Actress was a highly anticipated category. It was predicted that actresses Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone were the top two contenders, and the award ended up being presented to Emma Stone for her performance in “Poor Things.” Best Actor went to Cillian Murphy for his “Oppenheimer” performance, again, surprising no one.
An Oscars tradition, a tribute for those in the film industry that passed within the previous year, took place this past Sunday as well. Singer Andrea Bocelli performed with his son to honor names and faces like Matthew Perry and Lee Sun-Kyun.
Perhaps one of the most powerful moments of the night was when director Mstyslav Chernov took the stage to accept his award for Best Documentary Feature for his film, “20 Days in Mariupol.” The feature is a heart-wrenching documentation of the war and destruction taking place in Ukraine.
“I will be the first director on this stage to say I wish I’d never made this film. I wish to be able to exchange this to Russia never attacking Ukraine,” Chernov said. His act of highlighting the horrific violence taking place overseas caught the attention of many. While countries across the world are cutting his speech from their televisions, the 19.5 million viewers on the night of March 10 were able to witness his emotional provocation, feeling his hurt and grief from through the screen.
The 96th Oscars may have been predictable, but the ceremony itself was filled with moments that left audiences shutting off their televisions at the end of the night feeling satisfied. Predictions for the 97th Oscars are already being released by journalists, which reminds us all that the Academy Awards will not be stopping anytime soon.
Ava Stockstad is a Dakota Student General Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].
