The 96th Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, took place in Hollywood on March 10th, 2024. Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer shone with 7 Oscars. Cillian Murphy clinched the Best Actor award for his role in Oppenheimer, while Emma Stone secured the Best Actress title for her performance in Poor Things.
Beyond the glitz and glamor of the entertainment world, the event also became a platform for political expression, as many nominees appeared adorned with pins in solidarity with Palestine, urging for a ceasefire in Gaza. The ceremony faced delays due to a pro-Palestinian rally causing disruptions in the streets of the film capital, Los Angeles. On this occasion, former adult film star Mia Khalifa's commentary on the Animated Short Film Category entry War is Over! by Dave Mullins and Brad Booker went viral. A Twitter (X) user posted “They just gave an animated film an Oscar for its anti-war message and none of the creators mentioned the war in Gaza. Perfect metaphor for Hollywood liberalism.” Khalifa responded, “But 'Zone of Interest' did, and I think that screams the whole point.”
The Oscars have often been surrounded by controversies, as they appear to be dominated almost entirely by white actors and filmmakers.
Marlon Brando famously refused to accept the Best Actor Award for his performance in The Godfather (1973), instead asking Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather to receive the award on his behalf. Littlefeather delivered a powerful speech despite the organisers' time restriction. The Academy later apologized to Littlefeather for their behaviour. This event, however, marked a turning point, prompting organisers to introduce award categories that welcomed talent from outside the Western world. Yet, this move introduced another layer of politics to the awards, as individuals from other regions had to align with Western ideals to gain recognition. This led to allegations and labelling, particularly towards women filmmakers from the Muslim world who were nominated or awarded.
Thus, the Oscars frequently become entangled with political motives, often influencing the outcome of the awards.
Films have been political from the onset of cinema. The first example of this may be seen in the use of film during the First World War, where both documentary and fiction films were used for propaganda, particularly by the Russians.
A well-known example of this type of controversy is Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy – a Pakistani woman filmmaker, who received Oscars for her two documentary shorts: Saving Face (2012), and A Girl in The River: The Price of Forgiveness (2015). Similarly, in 2023, Cyrus Neshvad, an Iranian-born American filmmaker, received an Oscar for her short film The Red Suitcase. Neshvad's film explores the struggle of a young woman against the odds she faces in a rigid Muslim society. Chinoy's documentaries also shed light on the dangers Pakistani women face, again within the context of Muslim society. While these similarities may be coincidental, their selection for the Oscars is likely not. In other words, the picks by the organisers of the Academy Awards from the Muslim world corroborate the assertion that they have a certain category of subjects in mind when nominating films from non-Western filmmakers, particularly from the Muslim world.
Films have been political from the onset of cinema. The first example of this may be seen in the use of film during the First World War, where both documentary and fiction films were used for propaganda, particularly by the Russians. It fast developed into a weapon of war, and its effective use refined with time. The first Academy Awards came during the interwar period – May 16, 1929. It was soon after this, when sync sound was introduced in films, marking an important turn in the history of filmmaking. Now the actors could speak, or in other words, make political statements, the audience could hear them cry and scream in pain, and therefore a further layer of emotions was added to the films. This was going to have a deep impact on how films talked to their audience, affecting them deeply, emotionally. Filmmakers capitalized on this enormously when the Second World War broke out in 1939 – both in foregrounding their experience of the war, as well as demonizing the enemy’s role in it.
The Academy Awards became a platform for appreciating those who stood on the right side of history – from the Western perspective. The 2024 Oscars are no different. It, however, remains to be seen if a pro-Palestinian filmmaker shall ever get nominated for an Oscar or a feature film, without raising voice for the LGBTQ+ or women from Pakistan or Iran shall ever draw attention of the Oscars nomination committee.