In February of 1929 the first Oscars awards ceremony was hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at a dinner party of approximately 250 people. Now, around 40 million viewers from around the world watch to see if their favorite actors or productions will win. This year the Oscars were postponed until Apr. 25, but the gathering commenced and several awards were given out. 

Oscar awards regularly lead to upsets amongst fans, according to junior Linda Shine. However, one of the largest and most surprising upsets of this year was Anthony Hopkins winning actor of the year in a leading role for his performance in “The Father.” Shine thought Chadwick Boseman should have won for his performance in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” which was his last performance before he passed away from cancer. 

“I think that Chadwick Boseman should have won because he deserved it and it would have been nice to remember him in this way,” Shine said. 

Along with Hopkins win, Daniel Kaluuya won best actor in a supporting role for his performance in “Judas and the Black Messiah” which was a fan favorite, said Shine. The Disney movie “Soul” won best animated feature film, which again was a fan favorite this year. Despite this, viewers still have some criticisms on how the Oscars are chosen. 

“I think that the Oscars are rigged and I always have, it’s becoming more apparent now, though,” senior Nicholas Antonowich said. 

The Oscars have had a long history for lack of diversity in their nominations, according to The Washington Post. This opinion was popularized by Eddie Murphy in 1988 with his speech at the Oscars calling on the Academy to recognize black actors and actresses’ success. Halle Berry was the first black woman to win best actress in 2002, where she recognized all of the other black women who were nominated before her, but did not win. 

“I think [the Oscars] have been more racially diverse recently but with that being said they shouldn’t just start letting people of color win just because they want to be more diverse because that would be for the wrong reasons,” Shine said. “People of color should win if they actually deserve to.”

History was made at the 2021 Oscars when Yuh-Jong Youn won best supporting actress for her performance in “Minari”, becoming the first Korean actress to win an academy award. The film and Youn were critically acclaimed all year, Youn received a Screen Actors Guild Award and an award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) before the Oscars, according to CNN. 

“Not only am I impressed with Yuh-Jong Youn’s Oscar win, I feel as though she definitely deserves it. Her work was amazing in the movie and she is very impressive,” Shine said. 

Predictions for the 2022 Oscars have already begun, according to Variety, who gives a list of what nominations they hope to see in future years. Some include; “Being the Ricardos” for best picture, Lin-Manuel Miranda for best director for his work in “Tick, Tick…Boom!” and Will Smith for best actor for his performance in “King Richards.” Shine also has a few hopes for the 2022 award season, not just the Oscars. 

“Cillian Murphy in Peaky Blinders should definitely win best film actor because he is an incredible actor and can really embody any role he’s given,” Shine said. 

According to The Washington Post, the Oscars are an extremely popular and everlasting event, due not only to actors and directors loving the peer recognition they receive, but also because they are a money maker in leveraging prestige to boost ticket sales. While the event may cause slight controversy and occasionally erupt into fiery discussions throughout the student body, the event is long awaited each year by students at Newton High School.