Oscars - Fashion Over Substance

The list of Oscar nominations was recently announced, revealing who would be crossing their fingers on the night for that big Hollywood moment.  Film of the moment The King’s Speech has not only been a huge success story with both the critics and the general public, but on Tuesday the 25^th of January is was announced that it was leading the way with twelve Oscar nominations, including best actor, best film and best director.

Tags: Social Network, The Kings Speech, Coen Brothers, Natalie Portman, 127 Hours, James Franco, 2011 Oscars, Oscar nominations, Film Reviews

Second place for most nominations goes to the Coen brothers' western remake True Grit, which received ten nominations and sneaked in front of The Social Network, which received eight nominations.  Less surprisingly, Natalie Portman has received the best actress Oscar nod for her poignant role as a disturbed ballet dancer in the hit psychological thriller Black Swan, and James Franco’s solo performance in 127 Hours has earned him a well deserved nomination in the best actor category.

Yet winning the Oscar shouldn’t be all these starlets worry about.  The Oscars acceptance speeches have become just as important as winning the statuette, as the winner is given a short space of time to seal their glory without making a spectacle.  The best speeches heard at the Oscars are those that were kept short and sweet, with a few sincere yet emotional thank yous and possibly a joke or two.  Particularly memorable speeches include Gwyneth Paltrow’s breakdown on stage after accepting her best actress award and thanking her entire family individually (even deceased family members), proving that an excessive amount of tears makes a speech memorable for all the wrong reasons.  Sandra Bullock injected humour by asking, “Did I really earn this or did I just wear you all down?” during her acceptance speech for best actress in 2010.

Some of Hollywood’s finest have used their acceptance speech to address more than just the film or role they are being commended for.  Political correctness has always been an issue surrounding the Oscars.  In 2002, there was a small uproar after Denzel Washington received the best actor Oscar for Training Day, yet it was widely acknowledged that the performance Russell Crowe gave in A Beautiful Mind far surpassed Washington's performance.  Many critics wrote of their belief that Washington only received the Oscar to keep the politically correct crowd happy and to make up for previous injustice to black people at the awards.  Yet in the same year, Halle Berry won the best actress Oscar for her performance in Monster’s Ball and received critical acclaim for her acceptance speech in which she dedicated her award to “every nameless, faceless woman of colour that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened”.

Furthermore, many famous faces have used the Oscars as a stage to address political matters outside of the awards.  Although true radicals are few and far between; when Vanessa Redgrave denounced the ‘Zionist hoodlums’ heckling her at the Oscars, she was booed.  When Michael Moore won the best documentary feature for Bowling for Columbine in 2002, he spoke out against the Iraq war and called President Bush a “fictitious president” that had been elected due to “fictitious election results”.  This speech simultaneously received a standing ovation, cheering and booing.

The best speeches are always ones that effectively convey how happy the winner is without being gushy, teary or excessively lengthy.  If they choose to use their speech for humorous or political purposes it’s only going to make the night of the awards all the more interesting.  Despite this fact, the speeches are not the aspect of the Oscars that receives the most media attention.  Whether or not you choose to tune in, you can be sure that the following day’s newspapers will (unfortunately) be commenting on who wore what, not who said what.