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The 93rd Academy Awards (more commonly known as the Oscars) are rapidly approaching, scheduled for Sunday 25^th April (that's Monday 26^th in Australia). 

For some reason, I care about this arbitrary and arguably very stupid ceremony. As far as entertainment award shows go, the Oscars are undoubtedly considered the most “important”, despite the fact that viewership has been on a steady decline in recent years, with an all-time low of 23.6 million in 2020 (down from 29.6 million in 2019). It remains to be seen whether viewership improves this year. On the one hand, with much of the world still stuck at home, we’re perhaps more inclined to turn on our TVs than ever before (though it’s notable that only 6.9 million people watched the Golden Globes in February, a 63% drop from the 18.4 million who tuned in to last year’s show). On the other hand, given the struggles the film industry faced in 2020, whether anyone actually cares about the nominees enough to watch is another thing entirely.

So, just what are we in for this year? Perhaps most notably, the ceremony will be in-person, Zoom-free, and host-less, with on-site COVID-19 safety teams and testing protocols. What’s more, it’s being produced by director Steven Soderbergh, who is known for his creative flare. “The show itself is clunky and weird sometimes,” Soderbergh . “[H]ere’s the dirty secret: going to the big thing is not fun. It’s more fun to watch on TV. The trick would be doing something super cool and small.” Now, with COVID-19 having rewritten expectations, it appears Soderbergh will have his shot. 

In terms of nominees, the lineup is—dare I say it—pretty good. There’s David Fincher’s Mank, Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah, Chloé Zhao’s ���dz���������Ի���(starring fan favourite Frances McDormand), and Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal. There's also Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman, Lee Isaac Chung’s �Ѿ��Բ�����,��Florian Zeller’s The Father, and finally, Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7.  

It’s not that this year’s nominated films are particularly exceptional. Sure, there’s a lot of good stuff, and some of that good stuff is found in films which themselves are just fine. More than anything, it’s nice to see a selection that offers a corrective to a history of overlooking a particular people and stories. Truth be told, I’m okay with the ceremony being less about excellence and more about advocacy, particularly following last year, when South Korean director Bong Joon Ho won Best Picture for his film Parasite, in a landmark and much celebrated decision which felt like a step in a more inclusive, insightful, and frankly, ���Գٱ������پ��Բ���direction for the Academy.

Now, in 2021, for the first time, two men of Asian descent, Steven Yeun and Riz Ahmed, have been nominated for Best Actor. Also for the first time, two women, Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell, have been nominated for Best Director in the same year (following the controversy in 2020, when no women were nominated for Best Director, and only one female-directed film was nominated for Best Picture).

You could attribute these nominations to ‘wokeness’ – dog whistling from a body that, historically, has not championed diversity. Then again, it’s time we accept that these are barriers which should already have dissipated, and there shouldn’t be an asterisk next to these nominations simply because of the weirdness of the year, or the criticism previously imposed on the Academy. 

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be covering the lead-up to the ceremony, including film reviews and any breaking Oscars news. Stay tuned and happy watching!