The Oscars Aren’t Stupid, They’re Just Discriminatory

Ryan Jones, Managing Editor

The Oscars, once again, came and went this year without a host, with the true stars of the broadcast being the record low ratings and lack of inclusion and diversity.

After 2018’s then-record low ratings with host Jimmy Kimmel and the controversy surrounding potential 2019 host Kevin Hart, the 2019 broadcast went without a host. This led to an 11 percent bump in viewership from the year prior with 29.6 million viewers.

This year’s broadcast, despite following the same formula, saw a six million drop in viewings (23.6 million), the lowest number ever recorded in the award ceremony’s 92 year run.

The Oscars were in murky water long before their broadcast started Sunday. When nominations were announced last month, many were quick to point out the shocking lack of diversity among the nominees, especially considering the star studded names who were snubbed.

Out of the 20 nominees eligible for best actor and actress, Cynthia Erivo (starring in “Harriet”) was the only person of color to get the nomination nod for Best Actress. This coming while performances from Lupita Nyong’o (“Us”) and Park So-dam (“Parasite”) were highly praised, but left off the list.

Likewise, women were notably snubbed in many facets of the night, something Chris Rock and Steve Martin joked about during their opening monologue.

“There’s so many great directors nominated this year,” Rock said, to which Martin replied, “I don’t know, Chris, I thought there was something missing from the list this year.”

“Vaginas?” Rock replied.

While funny, Rock’s revelations are the sad truth about the Oscars. The nominations for Best Director were glaringly male-oriented. Despite “Little Women” getting a nod for Best Picture, the movie’s director, Greta Gerwig, was missing from the Best Director list.

Apart from the lack of representation, the Oscars went largely as expected, minus a few surprises.

“Parasite” swept some of the night’s biggest awards, taking home Best Picture and Original Screenplay while its director Bong Joon-ho won Best Director. Both wins knocked out some early favorites such as “Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood” and “1917.”

Renee Zellweger won Best Actress for her performance in “Judy,” while Joaquin Phoenix won his first ever Oscar for his performance in “The Joker.”

The night included many musical performances: Janelle Monae started off the night with an exciting number, highlighting some of the movies nominated and even getting some audience participation. She also took some time t0 remark on the Academy’s lack of inclusion as she stopped her song to say “we celebrate all the women who directed phenomenal films.”

Eminem performed his classic “Lose Yourself” to what can best be described as mixed reactions, while up and coming stars like Billie Eilish wowed with a rendition of The Beatles’ “Yesterday.”

One of Hollywood’s most awarded soundtrack writers, Randy Newman even made an appearance and came out to perform his song, “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” from “Toy Story 4.”

While Hollywood continues to boast about woke culture and being ahead of the times, Sunday’s showing of the Oscars only further proves this to be anything but the truth. But hey, at least there was some great wardrobe moments.