For more than a year, we’ve heard how we live in “unprecedented” times, but when it comes to oscars being interrupted by a global crisis, 2021 is the first.
The 1942 Oscars were almost completely cancelled, following the attack on Pearl Harbor and U. S. access to World War II. The Academy feared that a dazzling and self-compacting occasion might send the message.
“The Oscars have had to walk along a very fine line,” says Dave Karger, oscar expert and 31-Day Oscar presenter for Turner Classic Movies (and EW alumni). “Because even though there are tens of millions of other people who are fascinated with it and honor the highest productive achievements of cinema, which is one of this country’s top vital exports, it also hits a smart component of the population as rich and dead Hollywood elites, hitting back. “
Precisely this concern led the Academy to temporarily cancel the awards in 1942 before, although everything decided to continue with a more austere rite that identified and revered existing circumstances. As Variety said in a headline of the time, “The Academy will hold the After All, Academy Dinner, but Nix Finery, Hoofing and Glitter. “
Bette Davis helped the occasion move forward. Then, the academy president proposed a plan to move the rite from a ballroom to an auditorium and move from a celebratory dinner to a show. He even came up with the concept of promoting entries. to the public, whose product would pass to the Red Cross.
In the end, the Academy came up with another plan, but Davis’ effect on him is undeniable. “I’d like to think hollywood heavyweights like Bette Davis have helped change course,” Karger told EW. He foreshadows Davis’s upcoming paintings with the war effort as co-founder of Hollywood Canteen, an informal club that offers dance, food and entertainment to the U. S. military.
Therefore, the awards continued even in a simplified way, “without orchid shine” as Variety put it so vividly. The culture of an after-party dance has been cancelled. Women wore easier dresses and men opted for cuts than tuxedos. Presenter Jimmy Stewart and best supporting actor Donald Crisp were among those wearing military uniforms. As Variety has announced, “black ties and neckline will be strictly taboo, with informal and mandatory business cuts and women’s clothing. “
Politician Wendell L. Wilkie was appointed as guest of honor and key speaker, acting as a representative of Roosevelt’s leadership and asking Hollywood to act in the war effort. “The effect of the war was clearly felt in the ceremony, ” said Karger. “Both with what other people were saying and with what other people were using. “
Today, nearly 80 years later, the Oscars face a global crisis of another nature: the COVID-19 pandemic. In the middle decades, national crises, coupled with the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the start of the war in Iraq, led to postponements, but it has not yet been reported about the cancellation or review of the entire rite technique on a giant scale.
“1942 is the closest year to the cancellation of the Oscars,” Karger says. “A global war, whether it’s a fight or a virus, is the only thing that will jeopardize the Oscar rite. The big difference between 1942 and 2021 which in 1942 is a question of whether a rite feels good . . . Today we talk about whether organizing a rite is physically safe. “
Talks for the 2021 Oscars followed a trajectory in 1942. At first, as the pandemic was unleashed, many wondered if they could happen. The Academy preemptively postponed the rite in April instead of its popular February date in early February. march.
So, like other awards like the Emmys and The Golden Globes adapted to a virtual format (with more or less success), questions arose: would others simply approach the house path, dressed in what suits them, echoing the most austere sartorial Possible options of 1942?Could the rite take centre stage with one in person?Would they still be home for the past two decades, hollywood’s Dolby Theatre?
Just as the 14th Academy Awards ceremony had to adapt to the expectations of the wartime, the 93 will now have to adapt to our new reality. “In 1942, I think you may have noticed it anyway: you deserve to do it or you deserve not to. Karger’s dream, in 2021, of course, can’t be a typical Oscar. They had to throw all the same ancient traditions and parameters out the window and almost start from scratch. In 79 years since 1942, nothing has profondeur. de to the COVID-19 crisis. “
The answers came, basically through a letter to manufacturer nominees Steven Soderbergh, Stacey Sher and Jesse Collins. The rite will not be virtual, but an intimate occasion for the user at Union Station in Los Angeles, with more elements of Dolby’s live functionality. Although Bette Davis recommended a replacement for the scenery in 1942, the exhibition did not replace the hotel banquet stage until 1944; however, this marked a permanent replacement in the dinner-banquet format. to be unique, an adjustment designed to allow social estinement and other precautions opposite the COVID-19.
Austere or informal clothing is not rigorous as it was in 1942, the dress code requires anything from strictly informal to formal, if desired. Initially, Zoom’s acceptance speeches were banned, but in reaction to a backlash, manufacturers gave in and issued plans for more remote locations in London and elsewhere to respect travel restrictions. Academy, whether it’s the 40s or 2020s.
And while 1942 shows a simplified issue, it turns out that 2021 will take a completely different social approach, distantiating itself from old banquet models and classic TV awards. film,” with recent ads from presenters taking the form of movie credits.
While we will have to wait until April 25 to find out precisely how this cinematic technique manifests itself, the big question remains: will last year’s chances influence who wins?In 1942, Gary Cooper won the Best Actor award for betting on an army hero. and, infamously, How Green Was My Valley beat Citizen Kane in the most productive film.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that that year [just after we went to war] you saw someone like Gary Cooper win the Best Actor award for Sergeant York,” Karger adds. “Or a film like How Green Was My Valley,” which is a more sentimental story in the family circle, winning a much more cynical film like Citizen Kane. “
The 2021 candidate harvest does not directly address the pandemic, yet it reflects issues that speak of our current moment, i. e. in its commitment to civil rights and social justice issues. Karger sees connections between the favorite of the nomadic countries and our situation. film that embraces the concept of living more simply without so much material, and I think it’s something many of us have been thinking about over the next year,” he says. “I don’t think that’s the explanation for why Nomadland wins, however, it can be an attractive parallel. “
Whether in 1942 or 2021, one thing remains true: the Oscars will have to evolve over time and rise to cope with the demanding situations of our global situation.
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