For almost a century, the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, has been a staple in Hollywood. This year, the Oscars have some sure-fire surprises in their nominations across multiple categories.
On Jan. 22, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for the 91st Academy Awards, which will air on Feb. 24, 2019 from Los Angeles, CA.
The two front runners of the Oscars include the Netflix movie “Roma” and the period drama “The Favourite” with 10 nominations, respectively, beating out “A Star is Born” which earned eight nods.
One of the biggest surprises for this selection includes the hit Marvel blockbuster
“Black Panther,” which has been nominated for seven awards, including Best Picture. This marks “Black Panther” as the first superhero movie to be nominated for Best Picture. Winthrop Professor
of Screenwriting Lance Beilstein noted the appeal of “Black Panther” on the Academy.
“I thought ‘Black Panther’ may have been the biggest surprise for Best Picture. I believe it is the first ‘superhero’ movie to be nominated for Best Picture. Hollywood is making ‘Black Panther’ a groundbreaker, so to speak, for the Oscars,” Beilstein said.
Despite the variety of films nominated for this year’s Oscars, some students, like freshmen psychology major Brandon Fuller, don’t have the ability to watch all the movies that are released around “award season.”
“The only one I saw was ‘Black Panther,’ while my parents and siblings loved ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’” Fuller said.
Another film of note this year is the biographical “Bohemian Rhapsody,” chronicling the life of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the band Queen. Winthrop alumni Kelley Jordan was impressed with actor Rami Malek’s portrayal of Mercury, which landed him the Golden Globe for Best Actor-Motion Picture Drama and a nomination for Best Actor.
“I thought that he did a phenomenal job,” Jordan said. “If he’s chosen [for Best Actor], I think it would be a good call.”
A film’s nomination for the Oscars is based on the votes of prominent actors and directors in Hollywood. “You have to be a member of the academy to select which movies are nominated. You also have to be invited to join the academy,” Beilstein said.
Sophomore biochemistry major Kayla Commodore commented on how more films with diverse casts like “Black Panther” and “Blackkklansman” are present in the Oscars this year, attributing to inclusion in Hollywood.
“I just feel that it is a good thing to strive for diversity [in films] because that’s what we have in America,” Commodore said.
However, there is criticism of the choices as the Oscars trying to be more inclusive with their choices for Best Picture and Actor. Students like Jordan feel that films with diverse cats should be recognized for their acting ability.
“The Oscars shouldn’t add films to the awards that have diverse casts just to fill a quota,” Jordan said. “We need to recognize performances of actors outside the color white.”
Other criticisms include that of senior psychology major Mikayla Kelleher, who notes how most of the students usually don’t go to see films that are nominationed and do not tune into the Oscars.
“I think those [other movies] appeal to an older generation, which doesn’t go with what younger people like to watch,” Kelleher said.
In Hollywood, the Oscars are the biggest night of the year. For the majority of typical movie-goers, it’s just a glamorous night on television.
“The public and the marketplace seems to ‘award’ what movies they choose to embrace by spending their hard-earned money and free-time on what they want to see. I think it is great that they are awarding these movies, or any movies that they determine they need to award. Yet, I always wonder what they miss and sometimes I know what they missed,” Beilstein said.
