A limited guest list last year due to COVID and lackluster ratings didn’t stop the Oscars from returning in 2022 with more stars, more outstanding films, and more drama. Despite this backlash, the Academy continues to remain unshaken.

After many hurdles in previous years, specifically regarding their neglect of people of color and women nominees, the Academy continues to transform the awards into fitting the new societal norms. These changes are becoming prevalent. This year was the first time in the show’s history that two women have won best director back to back, Chloe Zhao for directing “Nomadland” last year, and Jane Campion for “Power of the Dog” this year. On top of this, Riz Ahmed became the first South Asian and Muslim to ever win an academy award. The lights from these successes, while certainly important, were dimmed to cover the real issues plaguing the ceremony.  

Sophomore Emily Dabre, who watched many of this year’s nominated films and annually watches the awards, thinks that the Oscars can be boring unless audiences are invested in the nominees and categories.  “I think the main reason there’s been so much negative attention towards the Oscars recently is the new producers, who have been focusing more on popularity than on the actual movies,” Dabre said. “Despite all this, I’m still going to keep watching.” While more and more runtime is spent on bland skits and out of the blue reunions, the actual artists involved in the films themselves are being neglected. They’ve taken a turn for commercializing the night, awards given for reasons beyond just performance. 

Although these problems cloud the ceremony, there were some big winners of the night. “Dune’s” technical feats received multiple accolades, winning a total of six Oscars by the end of the night; Disney’s “Encanto” was placed into the spotlight and came out on top in the animation categories; “CODA” collected multiple awards, including best picture and actor Troy Kotsur winning best actor in a supporting role; and the rather quiet film of the year, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” where Jessica Chastain earned best actress. 

However, it is almost impossible to talk about the night without discussing the best actor winner, Will Smith, and the events that unfolded prior to his win for his performance in “King Richard.” While preparing to present an award, comedian Chris Rock started to warm the crowd up with a few jokes, one of which was directed at Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Rock compared her current hairstyle to the film “G.I Jane” with her bald cut. This struck a nerve with them, as Jada is currently dealing with a hair loss condition known as alopecia. After gauging his wife’s reaction, Will then stormed to the stage and abruptly struck Rock, leaving Rock and the audience in shock. Though the rest of the encounter was blocked in America, unedited versions released across the world show Smith yelling profanities at Rock.

The moment made waves across the internet, with users on Twitter and TikTok instantly creating jokes out of the situation, while others left in confusion. Sophomore Antonio Martinez was one of the many who did not know what was happening at first. “When I saw Will Smith go up,  I thought it was part of the skit, since everyone was talking, but when it got muted I knew it was real and my family was very surprised,” Martinez said.  Many other celebrities, who were in attendance, as well as the Academy themselves, condemned Smith’s actions, saying violence has no place anywhere, let alone an awards ceremony. Smith himself released a statement calling his actions “unacceptable and inexcusable,” as well as apologizing and  stepping down from his position as a part of the Academy. 

The question of whether or not Smith should be allowed to keep his award after his actions sparked an overflow of internet thinkpieces. Smith’s performance itself earned plenty of praise on its own merit however, many also wished for another outcome for various reasons. “I think Andrew Garfield really deserved the best actor win, I feel that his performance was genuinely the best of the year, [and] the main reason for Will’s win is that he himself is really popular and the movie he was nominated for is exactly the kind that academy voters love,” Dabre said. This debate puts the Academy in a very difficult position, but all things aside, he won the award on his merit, his first ever, and the monument of that is significant in contrast to the events that unfolded. 

As the world continues to pick sides and quander, the Oscars maintain their place in the limelight. Although Smith’s incident was one of the main contributors to viewership being 60% higher than last year; nevertheless, it was still the second lowest recorded numbers in the show’s whole history. The future of the Academy Awards is foggier and foggier, and their next move could make or break the elite status of the show for decades to come.