The good, the bad, and the ugly characterized this year’s Academy Awards, and I’m not talking about any of the dresses. Neil Patrick Harris, normally a man known for his expert showmanship, fell flat in a number of his bits. The Red Carpet interviews ranged from the touching (Taya Kyle holding her husband’s dog tags) to the downright uncomfortable (Dakota Johnson and her mother). Most interesting of all was the wide variety of controversial issues that were taken up by actors, actresses, and filmmakers during their acceptance speeches. One or two may have made for a typical Oscars evening – all together, however, they put the 2015 Oscars in the running for the most political Academy Award show of all time.
John Legend and Common – Best Original Song
Singer John Legend and rapper Common won their very first Academy Award during the 2015 Oscars for their song “Glory” from the movie Selma. Their speech, which was preceded by a moving rendition of the song with a full ensemble, could be considered one of the most powerful of the entire night. Its message was also starkly political, as both award-winners used their acceptance speeches to inform the audience on inequality in voting rights and incarceration.
“Nina Simone said, ‘It is an artist’s duty to reflect the times in which we live,’” said John Legend. “We wrote this song for a film that was based on events that were 50 years ago. But we say that Selma is now, because the struggle for justice is right now.”
The social media response to their words was overwhelming. Some people who were previously unaware of these issues realized that many of Legend/Common’s statements check out. The pair has faced some backlash for their comments.
Laura Poitras – Best Documentary
Director Laura Poitras was awarded for her documentary, Citizenfour, a “real life thriller” about Edward Snowden as he hands over classified documents about the NSA. The film was controversial itself, possibly helping it land the Best Documentary slot, but Poitras’ thanks in her speech made it even more so.
“The disclosures that Edward Snowden reveals don’t only expose a threat to our privacy but to our democracy itself,” explained Poitras, “When the most important decisions being made affecting all of us are made in secret, we lose our ability to check the powers that control. Thank you to Edward Snowden for his courage, and for the many other whistleblowers.”
Poitras was joined on stage by Edward Snowden’s girlfriend, Lindsay Mills, a move that created a lot of media buzz.
Patricia Arquette – Best Supporting Actress
Her role as a single mother in Boyhood made Ms. Arquette a shoo-in for the title of “Best Supporting Actress” at this year’s Oscars. While her speech started off simple enough, “Thank you to the Academy, to the nominees, etc…” she used the last 15 seconds of her speech to make a rousing call for gender and wage equality.
“To every woman who gave birth, to every tax-payer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights,” she said, building confidence with each word. “It is our time to have wage equality, once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America.”
The statement was met with rousing applause, most notably from Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez, who almost leapt from their seats with enthusiasm. Ms. Arquette was later criticized for some comments she made backstage at the show, which seemed to say that women are owed the same backing that was given to those when fighting for equal rights based on race and sexuality. She has since apologized.
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu – Best Picture for Birdman
Though Mr. Iñárritu had accepted another award for Best Director for the same film, he decided to dedicate his acceptance speech for Best Picture to his fellow Mexicans, “the ones who are leaving Mexico” and “the ones who live in this country.” He called for immigration reform and for his countrymen to “find and build a government that they deserve.”
His parting statement about Mexican immigrants was: “I just pray that they can be treated with the same dignity and respect of the ones that came before and built this incredible, immigrant nation.”
Julianne Moore and Eddie Redmayne – Best Actress/Actor
Finally, taking on topics that were slightly less controversial were Julianne Moore and Eddie Redmayne, who both spoke to raise awareness about incurable illnesses that played a major part in their roles and their films. Moore, who starred in Still Alice, spoke for those suffering from Alzheimer’s, and Redmayne, who starred in The Theory of Everything, recognized those with ALS.
Above all, these speeches showed the platform that filmmakers have to shine light on important topics.
Follow HCND on Twitter, like us on Facebook, Pin with us and show our Instagram some love!