The Academy has made an enemy: Highs and lows of the Oscars
By Madalyn Mirallegro - Co-Editor-in-Chief on March 7, 2025
Graphic by Audrey Garcia
Let’s just forget the 2025 Oscars ever happened and go back to last year with Messi the dog. No, seriously. He was greatly missed by the audience.
This year’s Academy Awards had some highs but were mostly a joke and an insult to the hardworking craft that is filmmaking.
The lows
We need to address the most glaring issue that this year’s awards faced, which is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in films.
“The Brutalist” is what first comes to mind, seeing as Adrien Brody won Best Actor for his role, an award he did not deserve. It is no secret that AI was used to enhance Brody’s Hungarian accent in the film.
Those who say that the use of AI did nothing to his performance are wrong. Dialect is a key part of one’s performance, especially if it is an accent or a portrayal of a real person, because it helps tell a story.
Take a look at Sebastian Stan who dared to portray President Donald Trump in his film, “The Apprentice.” To expertly nail the way Trump talks, Stan would sit down and watch interviews from Trump’s past to learn his mannerisms. He also had constant meetings with his vocal coach to truly transform his voice.
In the end, Stan’s hard work paid off because he was able to improvise multiple scenes, including the one where he lists off multiple facts about Trump Tower, and match the exact mannerisms that Trump had during the time the movie was portraying.
That is what a true actor should do. Not to shrug off a performance and allow AI to do the work for you because you couldn’t get an accent. You train so you, yourself, can accomplish a role.
Moving on to the next movie that not only used AI but also had horrible portrayals of both the transgender community and Mexican culture, “Emilia Pérez.” Everyone involved showed no care towards the cultures that they were portraying. It insulted both communities and left a bad taste in pretty much everyone’s mouths.
This point was proven even more during the ceremony, where the songwriter Camille decided to sing while accepting the award for best original song, giving everyone watching second hand embarrassment.
It only got worse when actress Zoe Saldaña got interviewed for her Best Supporting Actress award and gave a misguided apology to the Mexican community.
“I don’t share your opinion. For me, the heart of this movie was not Mexico. We were making a film about friendship. We were making a film about four women,” Saldaña said in response to an interviewer telling her that the movie was hurtful toward Mexicans.
If the heart of the movie was not about Mexico, why include so many hurtful stereotypes? Plus, the past controversial tweets that were published by lead actress Karla Sophía Gascón should’ve disqualified her from the race for Best Lead Actress.
Not to mention, no one involved in the film thanked the transgender community for their wins.
One last negative point before we can finally move to the small rays of sunshine from the awards is “Anora” and the lack of an intimacy coordinator on the film’s set.
In a film with multiple sex scenes, there is no excuse not to have an intimacy coordinator present. While the actors did say that they felt comfortable enough on set to not have one, that does not take into consideration how the rest of the crew felt.
An intimacy coordinator is not just for the actors; they are also for the camera operators, the sound operators, directors, producers and everyone on set. It is harmful not to have someone there to make everyone feel comfortable and safe.
This completely takes away all the work that everyone put into “Anora” because they didn’t care enough about those off-screen.
The highs
Admittedly, the Oscars weren’t all bad.
The movie “Flow” won Best Animated Feature Film, giving the country of Latvia its very first Oscar. This deserves some applause not only because of that feat but also because “Flow” is a silent film that still manages to capture the audience’s attention for its entire run time.
Paul Tazewell became the first Black man to win the award for Best Costume Designer for his work on “Wicked.” Honestly, no one deserved it more than him. Tazewell was able to transport viewers from the theatre to feeling like they were there in the OzDust Ballroom, feeling the wind of the swishes from skirts.
Last but not least, Kieran Culkin earned all of his flowers for his role as Benji in “A Real Pain.” He played his part beautifully and deserved every award he received.
Despite the fleeting good moments, the bad overrides it all. Now, the Academy has made quite a few enemies, myself included.
The Academy has made an enemy: Highs and lows of the Oscars
Let’s just forget the 2025 Oscars ever happened and go back to last year with Messi the dog. No, seriously. He was greatly missed by the audience.
This year’s Academy Awards had some highs but were mostly a joke and an insult to the hardworking craft that is filmmaking.
The lows
We need to address the most glaring issue that this year’s awards faced, which is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in films.
“The Brutalist” is what first comes to mind, seeing as Adrien Brody won Best Actor for his role, an award he did not deserve. It is no secret that AI was used to enhance Brody’s Hungarian accent in the film.
Those who say that the use of AI did nothing to his performance are wrong. Dialect is a key part of one’s performance, especially if it is an accent or a portrayal of a real person, because it helps tell a story.
Take a look at Sebastian Stan who dared to portray President Donald Trump in his film, “The Apprentice.” To expertly nail the way Trump talks, Stan would sit down and watch interviews from Trump’s past to learn his mannerisms. He also had constant meetings with his vocal coach to truly transform his voice.
In the end, Stan’s hard work paid off because he was able to improvise multiple scenes, including the one where he lists off multiple facts about Trump Tower, and match the exact mannerisms that Trump had during the time the movie was portraying.
That is what a true actor should do. Not to shrug off a performance and allow AI to do the work for you because you couldn’t get an accent. You train so you, yourself, can accomplish a role.
Moving on to the next movie that not only used AI but also had horrible portrayals of both the transgender community and Mexican culture, “Emilia Pérez.” Everyone involved showed no care towards the cultures that they were portraying. It insulted both communities and left a bad taste in pretty much everyone’s mouths.
This point was proven even more during the ceremony, where the songwriter Camille decided to sing while accepting the award for best original song, giving everyone watching second hand embarrassment.
It only got worse when actress Zoe Saldaña got interviewed for her Best Supporting Actress award and gave a misguided apology to the Mexican community.
“I don’t share your opinion. For me, the heart of this movie was not Mexico. We were making a film about friendship. We were making a film about four women,” Saldaña said in response to an interviewer telling her that the movie was hurtful toward Mexicans.
If the heart of the movie was not about Mexico, why include so many hurtful stereotypes? Plus, the past controversial tweets that were published by lead actress Karla Sophía Gascón should’ve disqualified her from the race for Best Lead Actress.
Not to mention, no one involved in the film thanked the transgender community for their wins.
One last negative point before we can finally move to the small rays of sunshine from the awards is “Anora” and the lack of an intimacy coordinator on the film’s set.
In a film with multiple sex scenes, there is no excuse not to have an intimacy coordinator present. While the actors did say that they felt comfortable enough on set to not have one, that does not take into consideration how the rest of the crew felt.
An intimacy coordinator is not just for the actors; they are also for the camera operators, the sound operators, directors, producers and everyone on set. It is harmful not to have someone there to make everyone feel comfortable and safe.
This completely takes away all the work that everyone put into “Anora” because they didn’t care enough about those off-screen.
The highs
Admittedly, the Oscars weren’t all bad.
The movie “Flow” won Best Animated Feature Film, giving the country of Latvia its very first Oscar. This deserves some applause not only because of that feat but also because “Flow” is a silent film that still manages to capture the audience’s attention for its entire run time.
Paul Tazewell became the first Black man to win the award for Best Costume Designer for his work on “Wicked.” Honestly, no one deserved it more than him. Tazewell was able to transport viewers from the theatre to feeling like they were there in the OzDust Ballroom, feeling the wind of the swishes from skirts.
Last but not least, Kieran Culkin earned all of his flowers for his role as Benji in “A Real Pain.” He played his part beautifully and deserved every award he received.
Despite the fleeting good moments, the bad overrides it all. Now, the Academy has made quite a few enemies, myself included.