Oscars 2017: Snubs and Wins

The 2017 Academy Awards was one of the most engaging and entertaining ceremonies in recent years. We got to see Leo present an Oscar to Emma Stone (this year’s Best Actress winner), enjoy big musical numbers from Timberlake and Cravalho, and witness an uncomfortable twist at the end which only Alfred Hitchcock could have come up with: La La Land being awarded Best Picture before the shocking announcement that Moonlight was the actual winner instead. While everyone will discuss this moment for years to come, Hollywood’s biggest night this year also had other note-worthy surprises.

1. Viola Davis Wins Much-Awaited Oscar

A terrific performer, whether on stage, television (How to Get Away with Murder) or in the DC universe (Suicide Squad), Davis deserved an Oscar much earlier in her acting career. She finally got her long-due award in the Best Supporting Actress category for her amazing performance in Fences, and delivered a heartfelt speech that also brought some audience members to tears.

2. Casey Affleck Wins Best Actor Award

It is not as if Affleck’s performance wasn’t amazing (it certainly is), but amidst claims of his past sexual harassment of female crew members, one would assume that the Academy would not even credit him with a nomination (case in point: Nate Parker). However, they overlooked Affleck’s case and went on to hand him his Oscar, hence proving once again that white privilege definitely exists in Hollywood.

3. Mahershala Ali’s Win

It’s quite common for the Academy to oversee the most deserving nominee in a category for whatever reason they deem significant. So it came as quite a surprise to everyone when Ali won his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in Moonlight, thus becoming the first Muslim actor to achieve this honour. After being subject to much discrimination in the past (having his funds frozen by the government, being put on the FBI watchlist after 9/11 and much more), this was certainly a moment for the history books.

4. Suicide Squad Bags an Oscar

This one seems more like a farce than a fact. After being nominated for the Razzies for its terrible storyline, over-the-top acting and atrocious dialogues, Suicide Squad actually became an Oscar-winning movie when it won in the Best Makeup and Hairstyling category. It’s difficult to wrap your head around this, isn’t it?

5. No Place for Deadpool

This is one snub that should not go unnoticed or ignored. It was even more of a surprise as the film did get nominated at the Golden Globes, and Ryan Reynolds himself had been campaigning heavily for the Academy to notice his hit movie. Once again, the Oscars failed to accept that even a superhero movie could deserve a nomination.

Editor: Minaal Shamimi

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