2015 had the highest box office revenue in history because of movies such as Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn and Spotlight, creating great competition at the 88th annual Academy Awards, commonly referred to as the Oscars, which were held on Feb. 28. The announcement of the Oscar nominations is one of the most anticipated events for the award show; however, this year, people are disappointed at the lack of diversity.
“I feel like a bit more could’ve been done to incorporate a more diverse lineup of actors and movies, so that the nominations wouldn’t be so, well, white,” sophomore Julia Kun said.
The discussion ensues because this year, only white actors were nominated for awards. For two years in a row, the Oscars haven’t featured nominations for a person of color for the Academy. Actors and directors have commented on the absence of variety, including host Chris Rock, who referred to the Oscars as the “White BET Awards” on Twitter. The Oscars have not commented on the situation.
Along with the minimal range of races among nominees, people were also surprised by which actors and movies did end up getting nominated.
“I was surprised at The Revenant,” sophomore Aymeric Busigan said. The film was nominated for Best Picture along with The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian and Spotlight.
DiCaprio’s performance has received positive recognition and he’s been nominated for Best Actor, hoping to finally end the chase for his first Academy Award. After being nominated a total of six times in his career for an Oscar, many believe this is the year DiCaprio will finally have the chance to take one home.
Among those is Kate Winslet, DiCaprio’s co-star in Titanic, who stated that the only reason she will be attending the Oscars this year is in hopes of watching DiCaprio win. Fans have a similar mentality to Winslet.
“I think that he has done a lot in this particular role and character and it is far better than any of the other nominees,” sophomore Mia Toser said. “He definitely deserves this award.” While the some of the viewing audience are eagerly waiting for a DiCaprio win, most people, however, will wait to learn the results the next morning.
“I’m not sure if I’ll actually watch the awards. They’re a little boring to me,” junior Erin Guth said.
Guth isn’t alone in her decision to not watch the Oscars. Last year, viewing ratings for the ceremony went down 16 percent, the lowest seen in the past six years.
The low tune-in has been contributed to a lack of diversity and representation in the nominees for many of the categories and unfamiliarity with the majority of movies nominated for Best Film.
“I actually haven’t seen most of the movies that have gotten nominations,” Guth said.