Last night at the Oscars, awards were won, and great achievements in cinema and storytelling were celebrated by some of the biggest names in the business. But the night wasn’t all fun and games; some celebs approached very serious issues in their acceptance speeches. Everyone from Patricia Arquette to Common and John Legend to Graham Moore discussed everything from gender inequality to racism to suicide and more.
Upon winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Boyhood, Patricia Arquette very eloquently addressed the gender wage gap, both in and out of Hollywood. In her speech, Arquette said, “It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all. And equal rights for women in the United States of America.” This impassioned call for change roused Meryl Streep and J-Lo, among other celebrities, and it certainly roused us, too.
Issues with suicide were also discussed in the speech of Best Adapted Screenplay winner Graham Moore. He gave a personal narrative of his own experience with suicide:
“When I was 16 I tried to kill myself because I felt weird and I felt different and I felt like I did not belong. And now I’m standing here. So I would like this moment to be for that kid out there who feels like she’s weird or she’s different or she doesn’t fit in anywhere. Yes, you do. I promise you do. Stay weird. Stay different. And then when it’s your turn to stand on this stage please pass the same message to the next person who comes along.”
And among some of the night’s best performances was Best Original Song winner “Glory,” written and performed by Common and John Legend. While the song itself promotes awareness of racism in our nation and activism against such issues, the two addressed these issues much more directly in their acceptance speech. John Legend said, “Selma is now because the struggle for justice is right now.” He went on to reiterate that the struggle for voting rights seen in Best Picture nominee Selma is still being fought in this country today and continued by pointing out that the US is the most incarcerated country in the world. He said, “There are more black men under correctional control today than were under slavery in 1850.” In his portion of the shared speech, Common opened up about some of the more pressing international issues facing the world today. He bridged the Civil Rights Movement of 50 years ago to more current racial and political issues. “The spirit of this bridge connects the kid from the south side of Chicago, dreaming of a better life, to those in France standing up for their freedom of expression, to those in Hong Kong protesting for democracy,” he said. “This bridge was built on hope, welded with compassion, and elevated with love for all human beings.” The two also proclaimed their support to those who march to their song, saying, “We are with you, we support you, and we love you.”
Best Actor and Actress winners Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore raised more awareness for sufferers of ALS (like Stephen Hawking, whom Redmayne played in The Theory of Everything) and Alzheimer’s (like Moore’s character in Still Alice).
Overall, it was as good a night for movies and awards as it was for awareness and activism. And we’re so happy to see celebrities using their privilege to bring up these issues in such a public forum. Hopefully last night leads us to a better tomorrow.
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