This past Sunday was the 93rd Academy Awards and it's hard to tell if it was a success or not. It had the lowest ratings in Oscars' history and many are upset about quite a few things. A positive note was that Chloe Zhao became the second woman and first woman of color to win the Best Director category, and her film "Nomadland" won Best Picture. Unfortunately, the few positives were severely overshadowed by the negatives.
The main source of viewers feeling unsettled was the way the passing of Chadwick Boseman was handled not only by the Academy but also by the producers of the show itself. The In Memoriam segment was also something that sparked some confusion. The segment was incredibly rushed, shortly after global television watched Glenn Close do 'Da Butt'.
For those who do not watch the Oscars every year, the last category of the night is always Best Picture. However, this year Best Picture was the third to last award presented. Many viewers became extremely confused thinking they had missed the winners for both lead acting categories. Now, what happened. Since the producers moved the Best Actor category to the very end of the night, it appears they assumed that Chadwick Boseman would be walking away with the win for his role in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." Boseman had been the front runner all award season, so it seemed like a lock for his win, and the producer probably wanted to end the show on a nice tribute to Boseman. Sadly this is not what happened, and Anthony Hopkins won for his performance in "The Father." One thing people don't always think about is that, to keep absolute secrecy, the producers of the show do not know the winners of each category. So, when they decided to move Best Actor to the end, they had no idea who would be getting the Oscar. The producers took a gamble and were expecting Boseman to win and it didn't pay off. Keeping the category in its second to last or third to last place would have had the same impact if Boseman did win, and wouldn't have left viewers with a sour note if he didn't.
Though a posthumous Oscar isn't always guaranteed, many were hoping for Boseman to receive one last reward for his incredible, yet short career. His performances meant so much to a lot of people and it seemed like Boseman was snubbed for his impact. Anthony Hopkins also was not at the show so the night ended without a final speech and was pretty abrupt, which did not help the situation. The reality most likely was poor planning from producers and Academy members unsure of how to vote. Unfortunately, this may go down as one of the Oscars' worst mistakes. Even topping the "La La Land" and "Moonlight" mixup from back in 2017.
