From clippable moments to controversial decisions, the 2025 Oscars created quite the stir amongst social media users. Although the internet already raised concerns regarding whether the award show acts as a meritocracy, this year’s Oscars wins pushed it too far.
For multiple years, both nominations and wins fail to represent popular culture in the general public, with upsets like the wins of Anora at this ceremony. While the Oscars act separately from public opinions, straying so far from pop culture often causes people to perceive the awards less favorably. This disconnect may simply occur due to the demographics of The Academy’s members, the organization that both nominates films and votes on winners.
The Oscars carry a lot of prestige and nominations often serve as a way to attain new viewership. Still, the decisions may spark controversy and lead to more harm than good for the productions. Take, for example, this year’s debate with The Brutalist’s best actor nomination for Adrien Brody. Although Brody proves his talent again and again across different projects, this movie felt like an odd nomination since production refined his Hungarian accent with artificial intelligence. We could look into a more in-depth discussion on the use of AI and its consequences to decide if it seems right to use within movie production, but Brody’s Oscars win requires a different conversation.
Separate from the pitfalls of AI, he won best actor for acting that did not completely belong to him. If students use AI on an assignment we would face disciplinary consequences, no matter how good the end product – not get an award. How could that feel fair? One must note that Hungarian accents famously cause difficulty for non-Hungarian actors since the language uses completely different sounds than other languages. The celebration of AI usage should elicit fear for both the future of the film industry and the quality of what it produces.
Remember when Ke Huy Quan won Best Supporting Actor for his role in Everything Everywhere All At Once in 2022? Near tears, he famously said “Mom, I just won an Oscar” during his speech. Immediately, people agreed that the right person won. Someone who dedicated himself to his art for decades, finally getting recognition for such an amazing job. The 2025 Oscars failed to capture this, and instead the audience received a too long and too dull speech from an actor who copped out on a major aspect of his acting. That does not feel like art.
If you found the Bond tribute weird – do not worry – you are not alone! The entire display felt out of place in many ways other than its very existence. While talented individuals took the stage, some like Doja Cat did not seem the right fit for the gig. It felt confusing why the performance had a place in the ceremony, as the Bond franchise continues production. Not only are the films continuing, but the full creative rights were just sold to Jeff Bezos for a bargain of a miniscule one billion. This made the tribute feel like somewhat of a funeral for the traditional Bond films that many know and love.
Speaking of death and memorials, David Lynch had a moment of remembrance during the In Memoriam part of the awards. The director, who passed away this January, immensely shaped the film and TV industries, so much so that the term “Lynchian” exists. In fact, David Lynch and Mark Frost’s television show Twin Peaks completely changed the way that television production and writing occur today. Rich scenes of complex characters and small towns in tv shows like Gilmore Girls and Stranger Things? Thank you David Lynch. Prequels? They became more mainstream after the release of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, thank you David Lynch. Critics also credited his revolutionary work with so many more things, such as the impact of a cohesive score and making audiences feel more comfortable with not understanding everything in a film. His eleven seconds of celebration did not feel enough.
Maybe some of the six-minute Bond tribute could have honored him instead. Maybe he could have garnered acknowledgement when the devastating Los Angeles fires, which happened earlier this year, had a moment of recognition as they claimed his life. Either way, the lack of appreciation for the late director feels frustrating, yet tracks with The Academy’s treatment of his work, as he never won an Oscar despite four nominations.
The failures of The Academy do not reflect a failure of pop culture, especially with the relevance moves in 2024 garnered. It increasingly feels like awards are just being thrown at a wall rather than recognizing and remembering the media that feels publicly important. With all of the divisions this award season caused, do they even speak for the popular opinion anymore?