Well, another Oscars has come and gone. Host Ellen DeGeneres was, of course, the biggest winner on the night, breaking the record – and, momentarily, Twitter itself – for the most retweeted tweet with her star-studded selfie. (By the same logic, poor Liza Minnelli lucked out with her fervent attempts to get in on the action.)
Liza Minelli was at the back of the Ellen Degeneres Oscar selfie. Liza is the new Keanu. # foreveralone pic.twitter.com/XqcdVuPuB1
— Daddy (@LifeisSavage) March 4, 2014
But, more significantly, the ceremony was also widely celebrated as the most diverse in the Oscars history.
Gravity, directed by Alfonso Cuoron, won the most awards of any film ("I'm Mexican so I hope some Mexicans were rooting for me," he told reporters), while Best Actress winner Cate Blanchett took the opportunity at the podium to criticise Hollywood's history of sexism. “To the audiences who … are still foolishly clinging to the idea that female films, with women at the center, are niche experiences, they are not,” she said. “Audiences want to see them, and, in fact, they earn money.”
But it was the success of Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave – astonishingly, the first time the work of a black director has been named Best Picture – that was most widely celebrated as a step in right direction for an event that has often been accused of prioritisng the mainstream experience at minorities' expense. The fact that it prevailed over American Hustle and Wolf of Wall Smart – critically acclaimed, commercially successful films about white people, by white people – is even more significant. (Sorry, Leo.)
As Variety's awards editor Tim Gray wrote, the commercial and critical success of 12 Years a Slave could go on to have flow-on effects for the cinema:
The success of the pic proves there’s an audience for films with tough subject matter, handled with artistry and without the sop of sentimental concessions. It will be even more encouraging if it motivates studios to trust serious pictures made by and starring blacks, beyond lightweight fare like “Barber Shop” and Tyler Perry movies.
Upon accepting the gong for Best Supporting Actress, 31-year-old Lupita Nyong'o – one of the undeniable stars of the red carpet – acknowledged the real events and people upon which 12 Years a Slave is based. "It doesn't escape me for one moment that so much joy in my life is thanks to so much pain in someone else's, and so I want to salute the spirit of Patsey, for her guidance," a tearful Nyong'o told the audience.
Dallas Buyers Club, in which Matthew McConaughey portrays a homophobe turned Aids victim and Jared Leto, a trans character, also scored a few awards on the night, but the victory was bittersweet for the trans* community, given its problematic depiction in the film. Jared Leto made no reference to the under- and misrepresented group in his acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor, which only compounded the negative response to his being cast over a transgender actor in the first place.
We'll have more on the Oscars from our resident film bloggers Adam Goodall and Judah Finnigan early next week (a lot more; we've been warned there's at least a couple thousand words in the pipeline), but in the meantime, here's Adam's review of the "painterly" display of "gruelling injustice", 12 Years a Slave.
