Following a year in which many prominent men in Hollywood have been accused of sexual harassment, assault, and rape, the 90th Annual Academy Awards should serve as the right platform in which actors, actresses, and filmmakers could champion the #MeToo movement and bring about a new era for women in Hollywood.
It failed.
Instead of inspiring hope and bringing about a change from the old, this year’s Oscars ended up going down as a regrettably forgettable show at a crucial time.
Of course, there were moments like Best Actress winner Frances McDormand using a unique way of calling on Hollywood executives to help tell the stories of women by having all the female nominees stand and be recognized. Yet, at the same time, her counterpart, Gary Oldman, who won the award for Best Actor, has a questionable past of being accused of assaulting his ex-wife and defending Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic-laden rant.
Ashley Judd, Salma Hayek, and Annabella Sciorra presented a tribute montage to Time’s Up, but earlier in the show, former NBA great Kobe Bryant, who was accused of rape in 2004, won an Oscar for Best Animated Short film.
Even the host of the Oscars, Jimmy Kimmel, got his big break by co-hosting “The Man Show” with Adam Carolla on Comedy Central, a show which constantly objectified women by having them jump on trampolines.
In addition to the politics of the show where President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were the butt of plenty of jokes, a lot of the jokes fell flat. Kimmel’s bit of bringing a bunch of celebrities with him to surprise the “peasants” has grown tiresome.
If you’re looking for a departure from an unfunny white man, why not bring on the likes of Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph? They’re two women of color who, while presenting in two different categories, skipped the politics. They were hilarious, charming, and showed promise for future collaboration.
If that’s too much to ask, why not Dave Chappelle or Kumail Nanjiani? They’re two men of color who have absolutely no problem making fun of the Hollywood elite.
The point is: Hollywood always says things will get better for the industry, and yet they’ve always resorted back to the status quo (see: Seth Meyers hosting the 2018 Golden Globe Awards as the first major awards show following the start of #MeToo). It’s the type of virtue signaling that moviegoers find tedious.
Maybe the culture of Hollywood will finally change to where more women and minorities tell their stories–politics or no politics. And maybe it could open the door for conservatives and libertarians to tell their stories – whatever they may be.
But the Oscars didn’t inspire a whole lot of confidence. The #MeToo movement deserves so much better.
Siraj Hashmi is a commentary video editor and writer for the Washington Examiner.
