Although it’s been a week since the Academy Awards ceremony ended and many declared it the best edition of the show in years, some still have some comments about the winners on Hollywood’s most important night. This time it was comedianBill Maherwho shared his hot take onthis year’s Best Picture winner, and how the victory ofAnorawas more a product of “cancel culture.”
In case you’re wondering how “cancel culture” can make a moviewinsomething, Maher is referring to the debacle faced by the Netflix musical crime filmEmilia Pérez, a.k.a. the favorite that fell from grace. As reported byDeadline, the host ofReal Time with Bill Maherspoke about “cancel culture,” and he used the recent Academy Awards as an example:
“There are people who say cancel culture isn’t a real thing and I would say to them, ‘It just happened at the Oscars.’ You may not think it happened but the movie that was going to win it all was Emilia Pérez.
And this movie, that was going to win it all, it was the frontrunner, and she was going to get all… suddenly was out to lunch. And good news for Anora. That’s what happened. So yes, cancel culture is still with us. It may just be a little more subtle.”
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With 13 nominations at the Academy Awards,Emilia Pérezbecame the absolute favoriteto win big at the Oscars. Star Karla Sofía Gascón was set to make history as the first transgender woman to win Best Actress, but the revelation of a series of old tweets with some controversial views soon killed off that idea. A media blitz followed, and suddenly,Emilia Pérezwas not the favorite anymore. Maher also spoke about Gascón’s tweets:
““t was a little Kanye-esque, just whatever’s on the brain comes out. Just don’t mention Hitler. I feel like it never comes out good. And then some things she said, which are just, ‘Oh yeah. You know what? I’ve said things like that.’ It’s just very, very honest. But of course, the woke community — it was way too far.”
Many viewers argue (on social media, in particular) thatAnorawon the Academy Award for Best Picture, and other awards, simply because it was a better movie than all the rest, and they may be right. This isn’t just a discussion about two movies. It was about ten competitors that were supposedly evaluated by all members of the Academy, and after voting,Anoracame out as the best movie of all. However, each year it becomes more clear that the voting process is not what we imagine. If a movie is instantaneously dismissed because it’s long (as is the case ofThe BrutalistorDune), we can’t imagine what could happen if the favorite of the season goes through the controversy thatEmilia Pérezwent through.
Maher does possibly have a point. We can’t deny that the general perception ofEmilia Pérezchanged due to Karla Sofía Gascón’s tweets. But no member of the Academy is able to admit this openly because votes are secret. The fact that a movie nominated for 13 Academy Awards only won in just two categories is a rare occurrence. However, when it comes to Oscars voting, it is sometimes hard to know what thought process goes into how members vote, and when it comes to a movie likeEmilia Pérez, which was already controversial in its own right, there could have been many reasons why people did not decide to vote for it.
Source:Deadline
