When Hollywood’s voice was needed the most, it shied away

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When I shook my fist to the heavens during the Academy Awards and all-caps yelled “WHERE IS THE SUBSTANCE,” it was not because Demi Moore failed to win Best Actress for her starring role in that body-horror film. I was shouting into the void about the whole night.

Where, in all of those speeches, was the substance?

Some cinephiles might prefer their awards shows partisanship-free, but if ever there was a time to fit a political message in between thanking one’s long-time manager and loyal publicist, this was it.

An authoritarian President is wreaking havoc on democracy and decency and dismantling humanitarian aid, reproductive rights, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and the Kennedy Center, if you want to stick to arts-specific emergencies.

The dangerous destabilization is not contained by the U.S. border, as we very well know here in Canada. The Oscars took place two days after the unprecedented dressing-down of the Ukrainian President in the Oval Office, an episode which justifiably fuelled global concern. On Monday, America ended military aid for Ukraine.

I can’t be the only one who was expecting Hollywood, that most liberal and self-important of institutions, to have something to say about all of this. Or any of it. The Oscars stage offers a giant platform, cushioned by privilege. Say something!

And yet these Academy Awards were shockingly apolitical.

There were moments. Zoe Saldana, winning best supporting actress for Emilia Perez, spoke proudly about the immigrant experience.

Adrien Brody, who won for the Holocaust film The Brutalist, did eventually mention the lingering traumas of war, systemic oppression, antisemitism, racism and othering.

We got a “Slava Ukraine” from presenter Darryl Hannah.

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But it was mostly nada from Hollywood’s A-list.

Far be it for me to write someone’s Oscar speech for them, but it would have been entirely appropriate for Ms. Saldana, child of immigrants, to decry the ICE raids, or to show support for trans rights as Emilia Perez tells the story of a trans woman – or for Mexico, the setting of the film. Or for Mr. Brody to say not just that we cannot let hate go unchecked, but more specifically that we cannot let what is going on in the U.S. continue unchecked. “Let’s fight for what’s right,” he said, vaguely. Please be more explicit. Pretend it’s your piece of gum, and spit it out.

Kieran Culkin, affable and charming as ever, won best supporting actor for a film about intergenerational trauma resulting from the Holocaust. A Real Pain was filmed in Poland, next door to Ukraine. Yet his speech was devoid of any reference to the Holocaust, Ukraine, or any other catastrophe.

No Other Land’s filmmakers understood the assignment. They used their speech to amplify their anguish about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the subject matter of their now Oscar-winning documentary.

The makers of the Iranian short film In the Shadow of the Cypress referenced the difficulties of making a film in their country and dedicated their Oscar to people who are fighting battles, especially fellow Iranians.

But so many American A-listers speechified as if it was business as usual.

The best anti-Donald Trump zinger of the night was delivered by the one person who arguably should be less overtly political, the show’s host. As Anora – about a sex worker’s relationship with a wealthy young Russian – was racking up the trophies, Conan O’Brien quipped: “I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian.”

The indie film picked up five awards, four of which brought director/writer/editor/producer Sean Baker to the stage. (The fifth was for Mikey Madison, who beat out Ms. Moore.) Could he not have taken one of those moments to wax even a tiny bit political? Even after accepting one of those awards from Ms. Hannah, following her nod to Ukraine?

Mr. Baker did offer a shoutout to sex workers, which was appreciated. He also advocated for seeing films in actual theatres. But while the big screen experience is very nice, it’s not the kind of communal exercise this moment requires.

People should be marching in the streets. Those acceptance speeches could have been used to call for resistance, as Jane Fonda did in February when she received a lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild.

Hollywood does not usually shy away from the political – not in the content it creates and not in speeches past. The self-righteousness can be cringey, sure. But right now, it would be useful – a high-profile spotlight to drive some sort of protest movement. Regrettably, on Sunday night, the urgency of the moment was buried under obligatory thank-yous, shiny sequins and fuzzy platitudes.