2016 Academy Award Participants Who Used Their Platform to Spread Awareness
- Mar 8, 2016
- 3 min read
More than recognizing immense talent since 1929, the Academy Awards are a unique platform for stars to communicate to millions of people across the globe. Here are six Academy Awards participants who took the opportunity to address specific issues facing our society:
1. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, honor killings awareness
(Photo from BBC.com)
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, director of A Girl in the River-The Price of Forgiveness, won this year's Oscar for best Documentary (Short Subject). Her acceptance speech for the award also brought to light the same injustice her documentary did, honor killings in Pakistan. Obaid-Chinoy said in her acceptance speech, “This week the Pakistani Prime Minister has said that he will change the law on honor killing after watching this film. That is the power of film." Honor killings occur in multiple countries including Turkey, Jordan, and Morocco. However, addressing issues in one country, such as Pakistan, is a good start.
2. Leonardo DiCaprio, climate change awareness
(Photo provided by Oscars.org)
Leonardo DiCaprio won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his part in The Revenant. This was a big moment for not only the actor himself, being that this was his first Oscar, but also for climate change awareness. In his speech, DiCaprio mentioned, “Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating…Let us not take this planet for granted."
3. Lady Gaga, sexual assault awareness
(Photo provided by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Lady Gaga gave an emotional performance on the Academy Awards stage singing the song “‘Til it Happens to You." The song, which was nominated for best original song, was performed on stage and was accompanied by 50 survivors of sexual abuse. The song was written for the film, The Hunting Ground, which is a film exposing the rape crimes that have occurred on college campuses around the U.S., and how those colleges covered what happened. The performance received a standing ovation from the Academy Award audience.
4. Chris Rock, racial inequality awareness
(Photo from the Associated Press)
Chris Rock was the host of this year’s Academy Awards, and he didn’t hold back from speaking his mind. By doing so, he was able to bring awareness to a very important issue: racial inequality, especially that of the nominees for the 2016 Academy Awards. You may recall the trending hash tag on Twitter, #OscarsSoWhite. Although a lot of his comments were controversial, some brought up good points, “Maybe one day they’ll make a movie about a skinny white lady who invented a mop…of course a black girl would have to invent the cure for cancer before they even give her a TV movie," Rock quipped.
5. Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, Clergy sex abuse awareness
(Photo from the Associated Press)
McCarthy and Singer, the writers behind the film Spotlight, won the Oscar for the best Original Screenplay. Their acceptance speech for the award brought up an important issue facing the world today, clergy sex abuse. This includes cases of child sexual abuse crimes by Catholic priests, nuns, and other members of the Catholic Church. This is also what their film, Spotlight, was about. “We made this film for all the journalists who have and continue to hold the powerful accountable, and for the survivors whose courage and will to overcome is really an inspiration. “ McCarthy continued, “We have to make sure this never happens again."
As you can see, communication is the best and simplest way to bring awareness to people who are unaware of certain issues. Even if you don’t have a big platform like these Academy Award participants had, it is still completely worth it to take up an issue close to your heart and speak up about its implications on our society.
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