The Grumpy Feminist’s Guide to the 2014 Oscars

The 86th annual Academy Awards ceremony aired last night, and a billion viewers around the world struggled to stay awake. The show had a notably slow pace, with more time for introduction clips and acceptance speeches and less “Isn’t Hollywood Grand?” foofaraw (which, to be fair, a lot of people say they want. I happen to really like the foofaraw). Ellen DeGeneres’s hosting was more laid back than I am hosting an Oscar-watching party, and when I take a break to hand out pizza there’s still stuff to watch on screen. And ‘Gravity’ swept the technical awards, giving the overstuffed middle of the show a certain monotony.

If you fell asleep, never fear! I’ll recap for you the bullet points a feminist movie fan needs to know:

The 86th annual Academy Awards ceremony aired last night, and a billion viewers around the world struggled to stay awake. The show had a notably slow pace, with more time for introduction clips and acceptance speeches and less “Isn’t Hollywood Grand?” foofaraw (which, to be fair, a lot of people say they want. I happen to really like the foofaraw). Ellen DeGeneres’s hosting was more laid back than I am hosting an Oscar-watching party, and when I take a break to hand out pizza there’s still stuff to watch on screen.  And Gravity swept the technical awards, giving the overstuffed middle of the show a certain monotony.

Ellen DeGeneres hosted the 2014 Oscars
Ellen DeGeneres hosting the 2014 Oscars

If you fell asleep, never fear! I’ll recap for you the bullet points a feminist movie fan needs to know:

Pharrell Williams wears short pants with a tuxedo despite not being a three-year-old ringbearer.
Pharrell Williams wears short pants with a tuxedo , is not a three-year-old ringbearer.

Obsession with women’s bodies and dresses on the red carpet: ongoing

This is a complicated one. Fashion is fun and Red Carpet Style is a vital component to the glamour of the Oscars. But what bugs me is men largely getting a pass from this spectacle. Pharell had to wear SHORTS with his tux on the red carpet to hit ONLY SOME of the Worst Dressed lists.

 

Look at those shoes! No wonder she fell!
Look at those shoes! No wonder she fell!

Jennifer Lawrence tripped again, “she’s so fake” backlash threat level: midnight

Jennifer: JUST WEAR FLATS.

Jordan Catalano has an Oscar.
Jordan Catalano has an Oscar.

Cishet dude wins Oscar for playing trans woman

In 30 years, this is going to be as cringeworthy as white people playing characters of color. At least I hope. Also, said cishet dude was JORDAN CATALANO, and I’ve had over a month to prepare for this inevitability and I still can’t handle it.

Norma Rae one of five or so female heroes the Academy could think of
Norma Rae: one of five or so female heroes the Academy could remember

“Heroes” theme just as bogus as predicted

It essentially meant montages of male protagonists of movies. Being a man in a movie = being a hero. For women to be heroes, well, they have to be Norma Rae or Ellen Ripley, pretty much.

 

What attention whores!
What attention whores!

Ellen’s epic selfie breaks Twitter

(Insert 10,000 word thinkpiece on selfies and self-identity vs. self-objectification oh wait there are already a million of those and I don’t really care.)

Jennifer Lopez and Lupita Nyong'o backstage at the Oscars after Lupita won Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Lopez and Lupita Nyong’o backstage after Lupita won Best Supporting Actress

Lupita Nyong’o wins Best Supporting Actress, continues to be perfect

Expect coverage to focus on her “beating Jennifer Lawrence” instead of her brilliant performance and deeply moving acceptance speech.

This is what Wonder Pets! are, incidentally.
This is what Wonder Pets! are, incidentally.

Robert Lopez joins EGOT club, with an asterisk

His Emmys are Daytime Emmys (for the music for a kids show called Wonder Pets!). I am TORN on this because my gut tells me to be a purist and only count primetime Emmys, but seeing as how daytime television is  largely geared toward women and children, shouldn’t feminists champion the Daytime Emmys as an equally important award? Anyway, be sure to bring up that argument to any snobs like me who try to downgrade Robert Lopez’s EGOT.

Cate Blanchett: movies about women are not "niche experiences."
Cate Blanchett: movies about women are not “niche experiences.”

Feminists continue to feel conflicted as Cate Blanchett champions women in film, thanks Woody Allen

Her Best Actress acceptance speech deftly compressed months of feminist agita into something short enough she didn’t get played off.

Steve McQueen literally jumps for joy accepting his Best Picture Oscar.
Steve McQueen literally jumps for joy accepting his Best Picture Oscar.

12 Years a Slave wins Best Picture. Because it was the best picture, not because of white guilt.

Ellen’s joked in her opening chit chat, “Possibility number one: 12 Years a Slave wins Best Picture. Possibility number two: you’re all racists.” I laughed. It’s got a harsh ring of truth to it. But it sets up a narrative, bolstered by Gravity‘s sweep of the technical awards and Alfonso Cuarón’s win for Best Director, that the Academy only voted 12 Years a Slave Best Picture out of some feeling of obligation.  Nope. Nuh-uh. 12 Years a Slave won Best Picture because it was THE BEST PICTURE. Gravity is an astounding film and a technical marvel; it deserved its run of awards. And Best Picture/Best Director splits are not that uncommon—it’s happened six times in the last twenty years. I hoped we put this whole “HOW CAN THEY BE DIFFERENT?” conversation to bed last year with Argo, and I don’t want to see it popping up again as some way to undermine the achievement of 12 Years a Slave.

What else ruffled your feminist feathers or smoothed them back down during this year’s Oscars?

Oscar Acceptance Speeches: Honoring Other Women

One of the things I’ve always loved and admired about the award acceptance speeches by women is how often they mention other women. Kate Winslet, accepting her Oscar for The Reader, joked, “I don’t think any of us can believe we’re in a category with Meryl Streep.” And Sandra Bullock, accepting her Oscar for The Blind Side, turned to each of her fellow nominees one by one and congratulated them. It’s something we rarely see from the men who win awards, and I admire that women openly acknowledge the necessity of sisterhood, especially during a male-dominated event (like any awards presentation for film, ever) that so often neglects the contributions of women. Here are a few of my favorites from the past twenty years of Oscar Acceptance Speeches for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress:


1992: Jodie Foster, winning Best Actress for The Silence of the Lambs

This has been such an incredible year. and I’d like to dedicate this award to all of the women who came before me who never had the chances that I’ve had, and the survivors and the pioneers and the outcasts; and my blood, my tradition. And I’d like to thank all of the people in this industry who have respected my choices and who have not been afraid of the power and the dignity that that entitled me to … And thank the Academy for embracing such an incredibly strong and beautiful feminist hero that I am so proud of.


1993: Emma Thompson, winning Best Actress for Howards End

And finally I would like, if I may, to dedicate this Oscar to the heroism and the courage of women, and to hope that it inspires the creation of more true screen heroines to represent them.





1997: Frances McDormand, winning Best Actress for Fargo

It is impossible to maintain one’s composure in this situation. What am I doing here? Especially considering the extraordinary group of women with whom I was nominated. We five women were fortunate to have the choice, not just the opportunity, but the choice, to play such rich, complex female characters. And I congratulate producers like Working Title and Polygram for allowing directors to make autonomous casting decisions based on qualifications and not just market value. And I encourage writers and directors to keep these really interesting female roles coming, and while you’re at it, you can throw in a few for the men as well.


2001: Julia Roberts, winning Best Actress for Erin Brockovich

I would like to start with telling you all how amazing the experience of feeling the sisterhood of being included in a group with Joan Allen and Juliette Binoche and Laura Linney and Ellen Burstyn for these last weeks has been. It’s just felt like such a triumph to me to be in that list. My name starts with “R” so I’m always last, but I still love the list.



2002: Halle Berry, winning Best Actress for Monster’s Ball

This moment is so much bigger than me. This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. It’s for the women that stand beside me, Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, Vivica Fox. And it’s for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened.  



2006: Reese Witherspoon, winning Best Actress for Walk the Line

A very special thank you to Jim Mangold who directed the film and also wrote this character who is a real woman who has dignity and honor and fear and courage. And she’s a real woman, and I really appreciate that. It was an incredible gift that you gave me, so thank you … And I want to say that my grandmother was one of the biggest inspirations in my life. She taught me how to be a real woman, to have strength and self-respect, and to never give those things away. 


2007: Helen Mirren, winning Best Actress for The Queen

Now, you know for fifty years and more Elizabeth Windsor has maintained her dignity, her sense of duty, and her hairstyle. She’s had her feet planted firmly on the ground, her hat on her head, her handbag on her arm, and she’s weathered many, many storms. And I salute her courage and her consistency, and I thank her, because if it wasn’t for her, I most, most certainly would not be here.


2010: Sandra Bullock, winning Best Actress for The Blind Side(read our review)

I would like to thank the Academy for allowing me in the last month to have the most incredible ride, with rooms full of artists that I see tonight and that I’ve worked with before and I hope to work with in the future, who inspire me and blaze trails for us. Four of them, that I’ve fallen deeply in love with, I share this night with and I share this award with. Gabby, I love you so much. You are exquisite. You are beyond words to me. Carey, your grace and your elegance and your beauty and your talent makes me sick. Helen, I feel like we are family, and I don’t have the words to express what I think of you. And Meryl, you know what I think of you, and you are such a good kisser … 

But there’s so many people to thank, not enough time. So I would like to thank what this film was about for me, which are the moms that take care of the babies and the children no matter where they come from. Those moms and parents never get thanked. I, in particular, failed to thank one. So, if I can take this moment to thank Helga B. for not letting me ride in cars with boys till I was eighteen, ’cause she was right; I would’ve done what she said I was gonna do. For making me practice every day when I got home, piano, ballet, whatever it is I wanted to be. She said to be an artist you had to practice every day. And for reminding her daughters that there’s no race, no religion, no class system, no color, nothing, no sexual orientation, that makes us better than anyone else. We are all deserving of love. 

So, to that trailblazer who allowed me to have that, and this [referring to the Oscar], and this, I thank you so much for this opportunity that I share with these extraordinary women, and my lover Meryl Streep. Thank you.

2010: Mo’Nique, winning Best Supporting Actress for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (read our review)

First, I would like to thank the Academy for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics. I want to thank Miss Hattie McDaniel for enduring all that she had to so that I wouldn’t have to.

Oscar Acceptance Speeches, 2009

Leading up to the 2011 Oscars, we’ll showcase the past twenty years of Oscar Acceptance Speeches by Best Actress winners and Best Supporting Actress winners. (Note: In most cases, you’ll have to click through to YouTube in order to watch the speeches, as embedding has been disabled at the request of copyright owners.)
Best Actress Nominees: 2009

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married (read our two-part Ripley’s Pick here and here)
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader

Best Supporting Actress Nominees: 2009

Amy Adams, Doubt
Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona (read our Ripley’s Rebuke here)
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

**********
 

Kate Winslet wins Best Actress for her performance in The Reader.

Penélope Cruz wins Best Supporting Actress for her role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

 
**********
See nominees and winners in previous years: 199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Oscar Acceptance Speeches, 2007

Leading up to the 2011 Oscars, we’ll showcase the past twenty years of Oscar Acceptance Speeches by Best Actress winners and Best Supporting Actress winners. (Note: In most cases, you’ll have to click through to YouTube in order to watch the speeches, as embedding has been disabled at the request of copyright owners.)

Best Actress Nominees: 2007

Penélope Cruz, Volver
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet, Little Children

Best Supporting Actress Nominees: 2007

Adriana Barraza, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

**********

Helen Mirren wins Best Actress for her performance in The Queen.

Jennifer Hudson wins Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Dreamgirls.

**********
See nominees and winners in previous years:  199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004, 2005, 2006

Oscar Acceptance Speeches, 2006

Leading up to the 2011 Oscars, we’ll showcase the past twenty years of Oscar Acceptance Speeches by Best Actress winners and Best Supporting Actress winners. (Note: In most cases, you’ll have to click through to YouTube in order to watch the speeches, as embedding has been disabled at the request of copyright owners.)
Best Actress Nominees: 2006
Felicity Huffman, Transamerica
Keira Knightley, Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron, North Country
Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line
Best Supporting Actress Nominees: 2006
Amy Adams, Junebug
Catherine Keener, Capote
Frances McDormand, North Country
Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain
**********
Reese Witherspoon wins Best Actress for her performance in Walk the Line.
Rachel Weisz wins Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Constant Gardener.
**********
See nominees and winners in previous years: 199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004, 2005

Oscar Acceptance Speeches, 2004

Leading up to the 2011 Oscars, we’ll showcase the past twenty years of Oscar Acceptance Speeches by Best Actress winners and Best Supporting Actress winners. (Note: In most cases, you’ll have to click through to YouTube in order to watch the speeches, as embedding has been disabled at the request of copyright owners.) 
Best Actress Nominees: 2004
Keisha Castle-Hughes, Whale Rider
Samantha Morton, In America
Charlize Theron, Monster
Naomi Watts, 21 Grams
Best Supporting Actress Nominees: 2004
Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of Sand and Fog
Patricia Clarkson, Pieces of April
Marcia Gay Harden, Mystic River
Holly Hunter, Thirteen
Renee Zellweger, Cold Mountain

**********
Charlize Theron wins Best Actress for her performance in Monster.
**********
Renee Zellweger wins Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Cold Mountain.
**********
Click on the following links to see the nominees and winners in previous years: 19901991199219931994199519961997199819992000, 2001, 2002, 2003

Oscar Acceptance Speeches, 2001

Leading up to the 2011 Oscars, we’ll showcase the past twenty years of Oscar Acceptance Speeches by Best Actress winners and Best Supporting Actress winners. (Note: In most cases, you’ll have to click through to YouTube in order to watch the speeches, as embedding has been disabled at the request of copyright owners.) 

Best Actress Nominees: 2001

Joan Allen, The Contender
Juliette Binoche, Chocolat
Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
Laura Linney, You Can Count on Me
Julia Roberts, Erin Brockovich 

Best Supporting Actress Nominees: 2001

Judi Dench, Chocolat
Marcia Gay Harden, Pollock
Kate Hudson, Almost Famous
Frances McDormand, Almost Famous
Julie Walters, Billy Elliot

**********

Julia Roberts wins Best Actress for her performance in Erin Brockovich.
**********
Marcia Gay Harden (transcript only) wins Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Pollock.
**********
Click on the following links to see the nominees and winners in previous years: 199019911992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000

Oscar Acceptance Speeches, 1995

Leading up to the 2011 Oscars, we’ll showcase the past twenty years of Oscar Acceptance Speeches by Best Actress winners and Best Supporting Actress winners. (Note: In most cases, you’ll have to click through to YouTube in order to watch the speeches, as embedding has been disabled at the request of copyright owners.)


Best Actress Nominees: 1995

Jodie Foster, Nell
Jessica Lange, Blue Sky
Miranda richardson, Tom & Viv
Winona Ryder, Little Women
Susan Sarandon, The Client

Best Supporting Actress Nominees: 1995

Rosemary Harris, Tom & Viv
Uma Thurman, Pulp Fiction
Jennifer Tilly, Bullets Over Broadway
Dianne Wiest, Bullets Over Broadway
**********

Jessica Lange wins Best Actress for her performance in Blue Sky.
**********
Dianne Wiest wins Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Bullets Over Broadway.
**********
Click on the following links to see the nominees and winners in previous years: 199019911992, 1993, 1994

Oscar Acceptance Speeches, 1994

Leading up to the 2011 Oscars, we’ll showcase the past twenty years of Oscar Acceptance Speeches by Best Actress winners and Best Supporting Actress winners. (Note: In most cases, you’ll have to click through to YouTube in order to watch the speeches, as embedding has been disabled at the request of copyright owners.)

Best Actress Nominees: 1994

Holly Hunter – The Piano

Emma Thompson – The Remains of the Day
Debra Winger – Shadowlands
Stockard Channing – Six Degrees of Separation

Best Supporting Actress Nominees: 1994

Anna Paquin – The Piano
Holly Hunter – The Firm
Rosie Perez – Fearless
Winona Ryder – The Age of Innocence
Emma Thompson – In the Name of the Father
**********
 Holly Hunter wins Best Actress for her performance in The Piano.
Anna Paquin wins Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Piano.
See nominees and winners in previous years: 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993

Oscar Acceptance Speeches, 1993

Leading up to the 2011 Oscars, we’ll showcase the past twenty years of Oscar Acceptance Speeches by Best Actress winners and Best Supporting Actress winners. (Note: In most cases, you’ll have to click through to YouTube in order to watch the speeches, as embedding has been disabled at the request of copyright owners.)



Best Actress Nominees: 1993

Catherine Deneuve, Indochine
Mary McDonnell, Passion Fish
Michelle Pfeiffer, Love Field
Susan Sarandon, Lorenzo’s Oil
Emma Thompson, Howards End

Best Supporting Actress Nominees: 1993

Judy Davis, Husbands and Wives
Joan Plowright, Enchanted April
Vanessa Redgrave, Howards End
Miranda Richardson, Damage
Marisa Tomei, My Cousin Vinny
**********


Emma Thompson wins Best Actress for her performance in Howards End.
**********

Marisa Tomei wins Best Supporting Actress for her performance in My Cousin Vinny.
**********
Click on the following links to see the nominees and winners in previous years: 1990, 1991, 1992

Oscar Acceptance Speeches, 1990

Leading up to the 2011 Oscars, we’ll showcase the past twenty years of Oscar Acceptance Speeches by Best Actress winners and Best Supporting Actress winners. (Note: In most cases, you’ll have to click through to YouTube in order to watch the speeches, as embedding has been disabled at the request of copyright owners.)


Best Actress Nominees: 1990

Isabelle Adjani, Camille Claudel
Pauline Collins, Shirley Valentine
Jessica Lange, Music Box
Michelle Pfeiffer, The Fabulous Baker Boys
Jessica Tandy, Driving Miss Daisy

Best Supporting Actress Nominees: 1990

Brenda Fricker, My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown
Anjelica Huston, Enemies: A Love Story
Lena Olin, Enemies: A Love Story
Julia Roberts, Steel Magnolias
Dianne Wiest, Parenthood
**********


Jessica Tandy wins Best Actress for her performance in Driving Miss Daisy.
**********

Brenda Fricker wins Best Supporting Actress for her performance in My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown.
**********
Click on the following links to see the nominees and winners in previous years: 1991, 1992

Oscar Acceptance Speeches, 1992

Leading up to the 2011 Oscars, we’ll showcase the past twenty years of Oscar Acceptance Speeches by Best Actress winners and Best Supporting Actress winners. (Note: In most cases, you’ll have to click through to YouTube in order to watch the speeches, as embedding has been disabled at the request of copyright owners.)


Best Actress Nominees: 1992

Geena Davis, Thelma & Louise
Laura Dern, Rambling Rose
Jodie Foster, The Silence of the Lambs
Bette Midler, For the Boys
Susan Sarandon, Thelma & Louise

Best Supporting Actress Nominees: 1992

Diane Ladd, Rambling Rose

Juliette Lewis, Cape Fear
Kate Nelligan, The Prince of Tides
Mercedes Ruehl, The Fisher King
Jessica Tandy, Fried Green Tomatoes

**********


Jodie Foster wins Best Actress for her performance in The Silence of the Lambs.

**********


Mercedes Ruehl (transcript only) wins Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Fisher King.
**********
Click on the following link to see the nominees and winners in the previous year: 1991