Why The Oscars Matter

Apathy is the air we breathe, thanks to the mind numbing scrolls of content we are constantly surrounded by. Sarcasm is the preferred form of wit, while sincerity is met with smirks, as we all shrug our way into our apparent doom as prophesied by the very people who have successfully conflated their smug cynicism to superior intelligence. Romance has been infiltrated by the metaphors of war – red flags, boundaries, gaslighting, love bombing etc, while the same anti romance overlords predict that AI therapists are our saviors. This is not the future I am describing and neither do I endorse any of those things. This is the year 2024 and those are the reasons why I refuse to hate The Oscars. One of the last remaining globally televised celebrations of passion and dedication of real people with real emotions in the age of aggrandizing apathy.

Let's first lay down the ground rules for what The Oscars are not. They are not for the most popular movies. We have a website for that. It has the word Mojo in it. They are not about the literal 'Best Movies' of the year. Oh you sweet child of post modernism 'gender is a construct' but we shall fight online comment battles on 'Best Movies'. Get a Discord server. It is not for the most critically acclaimed movies, we have another website for that with the word Tomato in it. It is not for pretentious cinephiles – I am one of them, thanks for showing us the way Ethan Hawke, we have Richard Brody for that. It is also not for the most important movies. Things become important in hindsight – hello Cloud Atlas. Lastly it is not for capital C, Cinema - for that we have The Criterion Collection.

The Oscars exist and should keep existing for 2 simple and yet very important reasons.

Incentives for the movie makers. Conversations for the movie viewers.

Incentives: Denis Villeneuve has done the unthinkable two times over - adapt Dune, AND make it profitable. The first domino for this to even be possible happened after being noticed by Hollywood when his masterpiece Incidences got nominated for Best Foreign Film in 2010.

This is what he said about his early days in Hollywood

For many years, I felt like a tourist in the room, trying to be invisible and having fun with the toys, and eating as much as I could off the buffet.

He went from eating as much as he could at the buffet to becoming the Marco Pierre White of Sci Fi movies. Being nominated at The Oscars was the beginning of his transformative career. Dennis has been serving us spice ever since he has arrived in Hollywood, and we are ever so lucky to be consuming it right now and for the foreseeable future.

I know exactly what a hater would say here. I have an example to counter that ideologue driven thought. I am glad that hater is not you - my dear reader 💖

Remember Barkhad Abdi? Mr 'I am the Captain now' from Captain Philips. This is the 10 year anniversary of his Oscar nomination. He went from being a cab driver in Minneapolis to having a legitimate career in the motion pictures, thanks to the nomination. In the last decade he has starred opposite Helen Mirren in Eye in the Sky, in Good Time with Robert Pattinson, had a 10 episode run on Castle Rock and even more recently was seen in The Curse with Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone.

The Oscars changed his life. Don't take my word for it. Take his

It opened doors for me to chase my dreams...It’s also changed how people look at me and how people say my name. It’s with respect. It’s no longer just Barkhad Abid. It’s now Oscar-nominated Barkhad Abdi.

Getting goosebumps yet? No? Keep going – the apathy takes a while to wear off.

Conversations: Have you ever wondered why everyone is usually talking about the same shows from the same streaming service at the same time at every single party, you can't wait to leave? It's the algorithms.

Algorithms have flattened taste - quite evident in the coffee shops of any water elite city. Aesthetics have been overtaken by these algorithms, and serendipity has been taken over by the 'For You' section of your favorite drug.. sorry I mean streaming platform of your choice. It is to no ones surprise that Daniel Day Lewis refuses to come out of retirement, even saying no to Martin Scorsese because he 'opens up the streamers and there’s 7,000 choices, none of them good'. I agree with you there Daniel - curative gatekeeping of taste is the way out of this algorithmic driven taste spiral we are in and that's why we need The Oscars.

In a world where curation is becoming more important than ever for the sake of preserving taste - The Oscars curate one of the last widely distributed and accessible list of movies, which are worthy of your attention and not because someone made a 6 second video about it. It's because a bunch of mostly well meaning people went through hundreds of movies to decide which 10 of them would resonate with the english speaking, western narrative driven audience of the world - while also doing a phenomenal job in the International Feature category, personally my favorite list.

The Oscars exist so that more people could learn the Korean word Inyeon, after learning about an independent film from a first time director about two past lovers whose paths cross again in New York City. If the streamers and Vision Pro evangelists have their way, we will be heading straight into the world that Wall-E warned us about - where this movie will only show up on your screen if you clicked on K-Pop content and were showing interest in nostalgia driven rom coms. Bleak.

We are not there yet. We are in 2024 and here are my picks for my favorite categories from my favorite night of the year - The Oscars. Remember we are fighting apathy - so expect a lot of unbridled passion, personal bias and irrational hot takes in this section of the essay. Let's go! And of course, mild spoilers ahead.

Short Film - Live Action: The After Knight of Fortune was my favorite because of the reliance on subtext and silence. Danish cinema has that flair (shoutout Jagten). This category is truly a toss up and I would be happy with anyone winning except Henry Sugar. Because that defeats the purpose. This award is for emerging film makers not for the one of the most definitive and established auteurs of our generation.

Documentary - Short: The ABC's of Book Banning Because my bestie's friend worked on it and will be at the ceremony and we shall be lighting Oscar summoning candles to make sure she wins. Go Marissa.

Documentary - Feature: 20 Days in Mariupol Last year's winner was Navalny and with his extremely infuriating assassination by Trump's favorite dictator - I think the Academy will rally behind another look at the ongoing war. With a BAFTA in the bag, this seems like a lock.

International Feature Film: The Zone of Interest While Perfect Days has a special place in my heart, Zone has pulled off something never been done before in any holocaust movie ever. Making the viewers project themselves on to the perpetrators and not on the victims. The technical superiority of the film is pretty astounding as well. Wim Wenders would not mind Jonathan Glazer picking this one, I think.

Animated Feature Film: The Boy and The Heron Yes Spider-Verse might take it and it was an almost perfect film but hey they will get their chance with the sequel. This is Miyazaki San's last chance 😢

Writing - Original Screenplay: Anatomy of a Fall Just for the 'Your generosity conceals something dirtier and meaner' scene. In my opinion, this is a total lock, and for obvious reasons.

Writing - Adapted Screenplay: Oppenheimer I believe American Fiction will win here because that's what the previous awards indicate. It's the least offensive and challenging of the list, and quite ironically so. I haven't read the book, so my assessment is limited, but the satire in the movie ventures into caricature territory, and the 'Let's call it Fuck' scene was seriously insulting to the audience it aims to criticize. On the other hand, Oppenheimer uses the motif of subjective and seemingly objective reminiscence of the same set of events from the vantage point of two men – one with a bruised ego and the other with a bruised morality. While Oppenheimer deserves this award, it probably won't receive it. I will be ok with an upset in this category.

Actress in a Supporting Role: Da’Vine Joy Randolph It takes a very special talent to elevate a scene which already has Paul Giamati. Da'Vine does that in every single scene. Her role as a grieving mother in some choice fits (shoutout costume designers) was central to The Holdovers – and she thoroughly deserves this award. Sorry Emily Blunt - there will be a next time for you.

Actor in a Supporting Role: Robert Downey Jr There is a scene in Oppenheimer, where a character moves the vase on the table, so we could see Downey's face. In that moment he gives a smirk, which is a micro expression so subtle and yet so genius, you have to see it on a 70MM IMAX to truly appreciate. When I saw it, I knew he is going to win this year. Also the voters love a comeback story - of someone who was the face of theme park movies for over a decade and then came back to deliver one of the finest acting performances of his career. Sorry Ken.

Actress in a Leading Role: Emma Stone Lily Gladstone should have been nominated in the supporting category, given her screen time. She picked up the SAG award, so she could totally win this award - and it would be a well deserved win. BUT Emma Stone does what The Academy loves - the most acting. She plays 5 stages of her growth and she does it exceptionally well. She has won an Oscar before, and she will win another soon, and that might work against her. She has my vote.

Actor in a Leading Role: Cillian Murphy This category could pull the upset of the night with Paul Giamati. Both deliver a powerhouse performance, and the best of their respective careers. Cillian deserves it just a touch more than Giamati. Moral dilemma is harder to pull off – especially over a few different time periods. While Giamati delivers some phenomenal lines with his signature wry style, Cillian's acting is on display even when there are no words on the script. Also this wholesome billboard from his college in Cork is the best bit of campaigning from this Oscar season.

Sorry Bradley - I know you lost to prosthetic teeth last time. Wish your prosthetic nose had done the trick - but it did not.

Directing: Christopher Nolan - Oppenheimer Tenet came out during peak Covid: Warner Bros released that movie on HBO Max way before Nolan wanted them to. This is what he said about that incident:

“Some of our industry’s biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service,”

Baller. He then went on to write and direct a story about a theoretical physicist, the Manhattan Project, and the fragile ego of a wannabe senator while working with Kodak to create a specially manufactured black and white 70mm film for the movie. He then releases the movie alongside Barbie, which then goes on to become the highest-grossing World War II film, the highest-grossing biopic, and the third highest-grossing film of 2023. The man does all this without owning a smartphone or ever opening his email. Goals. Please give this man an Oscar: also, thank him for bringing back people to the movies.

The only upset I will tolerate here is Zone of Interest. Both are diametrically opposite in how they are putting their key message across. Oppenheimer relies on its grandiosity, sharp screenplay, and close-up shots of some of the best actors of our generation to warn us about the perils of uncontrollable power in the wrong hands. Whereas Zone of Interest reminds us of our complicity in the face of evil, without ever showing any evil on the screen, practically no dramatic dialogue, and the actors blend in as everyday people – they just happen to be living beside the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. If Zone of Interest does win, it will be the best upset in this category in over a decade.

Best Picture: Oppenheimer

What an incredible slate of movies in that list – except American Fiction. We are the lucky ones with 2 international features jostling for space in what is usually an all-American affair – and for good reason.

With 13 nominations and some significant wins leading up to the big night, Oppenheimer should and will win this award. The movie has everything The Academy loves and more. It was a commercial blockbuster with almost unanimous critical acclaim, except Richard Brody, of course. The movie business is struggling, and the Academy will want to give this to a movie which brought back people to the theaters. They could not do that with Top Gun, last year. Yes, Barbie did it too, but it has also a scene mocking studio executives - not something these voters like.

There are years when the split between Best Director and Best Film made sense - this is not one of those years. It's 2024, and Oppenheimer should win both these awards.

We love The Oscars because after tonight, there will be thousands, if not more, of people in the world who will watch some of these movies. Some of them will learn about the parallels between the nuclear anxiety and the anxiety of AI we face now; some will dive into 'The Banality of Evil' by Hannah Arendt and contemplate the passive nature of our worst tendencies, and some will learn that French courtrooms have more philosophy in one scene than an entire season of 'Love is Blind.' Some will go on to become cinephiles, and some will become insufferable movie critics, and some will go on to write hopeful stories – something this world desperately needs. You see, you don't get to Persona before having watched 'Jurassic Park' in a theater with your dad.

The Oscars are a gateway to stories that matter, and for that reason alone, The Oscars matter.