The 88th Academy Awards stirred up controversy this year, but as they passed this Sunday, many were satisfied. Host Chris Rock mercilessly criticized the lack of black nominees this year, making frequent jokes that landed well with the audience.
The Winners:
Mad Max: Fury Road cleaned up, winning a total of six awards for everything from makeup to sound mixing.
Alicia Vikander won best supporting actress for her role as transgender woman Einer Wegener (Eddie Redmanye’s) wife in The Danish Girl.
Inside Out, a movie about growing up featuring colorful emotions portrayed by actresses like Amy Poehler (Joy) and Mindy Kaling (Disgust) took the prize for best animated feature.
Mark Rylance took best supporting actor for his role in Bridge of Spies starring Tom Hanks.
Sam Smith won best original song for “Writing’s on the Wall” from Spectre, dedicating his win to the LGBTQ community.
Brie Larson won best actress for her role as Ma in Room. She thanked movie goers in her speech.
The Revenant‘s Alejandro González Iñárritu won best director, his second award. The movie also produced a win for Leonardo DiCaprio (his first Oscar) for best actor.
Best picture went to Spotlight starring Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and Michael Keaton.
The Highlights:
Lady Gaga’s performance of “Till it Happens to You” introduced by Vice President Joe Biden, called for an end to sexual assault, with a spotlight on college campuses. The performance ended with a crowd of sexual abuse survivors joining Gaga on the stage with messages like “survivor” written on their arms.
First Oscar wins for Brie Larson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Alicia Vikander and Mark Rylance.
Chris Rock’s comedy clip of black actors in white roles, including himself as Matt Damon in The Martian.
An appearance by C3PO, R2D2 and BB8 from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
All and all the message of the night seemed to be a call for the diversification of the notoriously white awards show. We’ll have to wait for the 89th Oscars to see if the message was received.
