The biggest celebration at the Oscars? It’s the return to normal after Covid

There is plenty of hype surrounding Hollywood’s biggest night of the year – along with glaring flaws, writes Charlotte Cripps

Despite the return to its usual home, the Academy Awards is being called out for its lack of diversity this year (Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP)

It’s that time of year again – Oscar fever is in the air. But this time Hollywood’s biggest night is not set against the backdrop of a roaring pandemic.

The Academy Awards returns to its usual home of LA’s Dolby Theatre on 27 March and we are now rolling out informative pieces daily: actors who won the most Oscars, the oldest living Oscar winners, and predictions for this year’s winners.

There is plenty of hype – including the glamorous nominees luncheon earlier this week – along with glaring flaws. The Academy Awards is being called out for its lack of diversity this year, with just one female director nominated in a sea of men – Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog.  

There are also only four actors of colour nominated – Ariana DeBose (best supporting actress nominee for West Side Story), Aunjanue Ellis (best supporting actress nominee for King Richard), Denzel Washington (best actor nominee for The Tragedy of Macbeth), and Will Smith (best actor nominee for King Richard) – compared to nine actors of colour last year.  

The lack of diversity in the best actress category, which this year includes Kristen Stewart (Spencer), Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye), Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos), Olivia Coleman (The Lost Daughter), and Penelope Cruz (Madres Paralelas), has also prompted #OscarsSoWhite backlash on social media.  

Steven Spielberg – whose hit film West Side Story is up for seven Oscars including best picture and best director – is also hitting out at the Academy for its decision not to televise eight awards, in order to save time and keep the show to three hours, saying “one craft is just as indispensable as the next”.

But what is positive, is that after a year of pandemic delays, the 2022 Oscars is a return to normality – which surely is the biggest celebration of all? 

This year’s ceremony isn’t scaled-down like 2021’s Oscars, which was held at LA’s Union Station – and the film industry is back on its feet. It’s good to get heated about injustices – but I hope we don’t forget the magic of our newfound freedom.  

Yours,

Charlotte Cripps

Culture writer