There are many aspects to the choice of winners at the 95th Academy Awards held in Los Angeles on 12 March. There is a story behind every Oscar presented on the occasion that reflects changes taking place in US society and the general intellectual discourse. These include political and cultural elements, also.
Indians are delighted that the popular song ‘Naatu Naatu’ has won the Oscar for ‘Best Original Song’, after a string of wins at other award ceremonies around the world. Opinion can be divided on whether the song projects the best of Indian cinematic music and dance, but the increased international appreciation for this specific element of movie making is indicative of a more integrated global culture. This is good because it has opened the door for not just movie-makers from ‘elsewhere’, but also opened the eyes somewhat of the American audience to popular entertainment from around the world. It is very possible that the spread of internet platforms and social media has much to do with it; also, with the growing profile of the immigrant population, particularly the NRIs.
‘The Elephant Whisperers’, another Oscar winner from India in the ‘Best Documentary Short Category’, represents recognition of India’s emerging skills in capturing reality in an informative way for global audiences, rather than having the David Attenboroughs doing it for us. No matter well made or informative a specific documentary may prove to be, but the perspective also depends on who is making it.
Other awards also reveal the continuously changing mindset in Hollywood. Some of it has been brought about by the social transformation taking place in the US, going beyond the stereotypical ‘white male bastion’ that shaped the narrative for many decades. So, it was that Michelle Yeoh received the Best Actress Award for ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’, the first Asian actress to do so. That this never happened before could not be because there were no great performances, just that the barriers were too high.
Similarly, Brendon Fraser, who received the Best Actor Award for ‘The Whale’, had to get past a more recent prejudice of the ‘woke’ kind that demands politically correct narratives and roles. This requires there is no ‘appropriation’ – in his case playing an obese man with the help of prosthetics, when an ‘actual’ such person could have done so. This new kind of pressure that Hollywood is having to face will have been balanced by the further internationalisation of the awards, so it works both ways.
Award ceremonies can encourage people to see movies they would not have otherwise seen – that is the purpose of receiving recognition from peers. This is because the box office is not always the best judge of great art!
