The 2019 Oscars were filled with controversial winners, stunning live performances, and big upsets.
This year’s Oscars had people talking. Unlike any year before this year’s Oscars did not have a host. Actor and comedian Kevin Hart stepped down from job after homophobic tweets from his past were discovered.
One thing every Oscars has in common is the controversy. And this year was no different and people made their stance loud and clear.
The movie biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, about the lead singer of the band Queen, Freddie Mercury was up for five nominations. The movie was such a hit that Queen and Adam Lambert opened the award show. Performing Queen’s famous hits “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions”.
Most people who saw Bohemian Rhapsody can agree that it was a good movie, but some were questioning if it should have won so many awards. The movie won four awards at the Oscars, the most of any that night. The awards included Best Actor for Rami Malek’s role as Freddie Mercury, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing and Best Sound Editing.
When asked if Bohemian Rhapsody deserved so many awards, 19 year old hospitality major Jessica McMillan said, “I didn’t see the movie, I’ve just heard about all the hype behind it. I do think that it won appropriately for all categories.”
The Best Picture award went to Green Book. The movie was a lesser known then its competition, Bohemian Rhapsody.
Green Book’s plot follows a white man named Tony Vallelonga who accepts a job driving an African American musician named Dr. Don Shirley around the South for concerts. The pair forms an unlikely friendship. The directors and writers claim that this movie was based on a true story and a true friendship.
This win has many people very upset, and there a few reasons why people did not appreciate this film.
Firstly, the man who played the driver, Viggo Mortensen, casually dropped the n-word at a Q&A for the movie. People were very upset, that a man who starred in a movie about bringing two races together did such a thing.
When asked if the movie still should have won because of what the actor did, 19 year old Psychology major Alexxi Ramirez says “Yes, I think the movie still should’ve won Best Picture. The movie won because of the message it was trying to convey, not because the actor’s poor choice of words.”
Another controversy surrounding the movie was that the family of Dr. Shirley said that Shirley and Vallelonga were never friends and only had an employee/employer relationship. Audiences were very disappointed in this revelation.
When told that the pair weren’t actually friends, Early Education major Chloe Timet said “It’s sad that the movie producers misconstrued the story into something it wasn’t. For that, I don’t think it should have won.”
Another thing that was controversial with this movie was that some say it has the ‘white savior complex’, which is when a white person “saves” an African American, and people are tired of this trope in movies.
Every year at the Oscars, there always seems to be one big controversial story that everyone focuses on. Last year it was Three Billboards, and the year before that it was the infamous Moonlight and La La Land mix-up. Hopefully, next year everyone can focus on the art of movie making.