February 22nd, the 87th Academy Awards was held in Hollywood. As the spotlight hit center stage, each actor and actress had a total of about one minute to accept his or her award and thank everyone involved in the production. In the past, winners have taken this time to talk about all of the people who helped them get to where they are. A more common theme during this show and in most recent award shows is that people have started to take this time to raise awareness about issues in society. Celebrities are taking matters into their own hands and using shows with millions of viewers to get their point across. The question becomes how appropriate is this subject for acceptance speeches during the middle of a show aimed at praising the hard work of these actors over the year?
As Patricia Arquette came to accept her award for Boyhood, she took the time to discuss the issue of wage equality for both men and women. Graham Moore, recipient of the award for Best Adapted Screenplay, used his time to talk about gay rights and equality. Dana Perry, recipient of Best Documentary Short award, talked about suicide prevention and awareness. This common theme goes beyond the Oscars with artists such as Miley Cyrus using the Video Music Awards as a chance to bring awareness to the homeless youth of America.
Not only have these speeches raised awareness among millions of viewers, but large sums of money have been donated to charities to help the cause. After the VMA’s, Cyrus paired up with a local charity, My Friend’s Place, offering people a chance to win VIP tickets to her Bangerz tour if they donate to the cause. Given the opportunity to raise money for charity and meet Miley, fans were quick to donate over 200,00 dollars to this great cause.
Although there are positive things that come out of these speeches, there has been a lot of negative feedback from fans on Twitter. Many people are criticizing the speeches as being racist by not mentioning certain races when raising awareness. Sean Penn during the Oscars, made a reference to the green card US immigrants must receive to get residence. This didn’t go over too well with the press, but Mexican director Alejandro Inarritu found it hilarious.
Not only have these speeches caused controversy, it is not the time and place to talk about these very serious issues in our society. Award shows are a chance for people to be congratulated for their hard work. Although I do agree that because of these famous actors and actresses’ large followings, it is easy to make a difference in the world. There are plenty of opportunities to make a difference, but awards shows are just not the place.
