Captain America, an army commander and a philanthropist. What do these all have in common? They are all people who we might consider to be heroes in one way or another. Last night “Heroes” was the celebrated theme of the 86th Academy Awards as the ceremony investigated what it means to be a hero in today’s world while successfully incorporating humorous jokes and creating memorable moments that will be compared to future Oscars ceremonies.
As the dazzling and star-studded actors and actresses chattered and quickly made their way to their seats, the lights dimmed, the ruby red velvet curtains rose and the show’s witty host traipsed out onto the stage. This was Ellen DeGeneres’ second time hosting the Oscars, and boy, oh boy, did she put on quite the show.
Her opening comedic hazing session seemed to lack the usual “Ellen energy” she possesses, but her calm and sincere demeanor made for some good laughs, mostly through the irony of her disposition combined with her outrageously funny personal stabs at those sitting in the audience. However, Liza Minnelli didn’t seem to appreciate DeGeneres pointing to her saying, “One of the most amazing Liza Minnelli impersonators I have ever seen in my life. Good job, sir.” But it did make the spectators roar with laughter.
DeGeneres proceeded to give the Awards a contemporary edge by taking a selfie with a handful of the nominees, including Bradley Cooper, Kevin Spacey and Meryl Streep. DeGeneres challenged the audience as well as home viewers to make the picture the most retweeted picture ever. It was retweeted more than 1.3 million times in less than an hour, and ended up crashing Twitter temporarily.
To top everything off, DeGeneres ordered pizza and handed it out to the crowd. One of my favorite moments of the evening came when the camera swooped past Jennifer Lawrence and caught a glimpse of her eagerly stuffing her face with a slice.
As for the big winners of the night, “Gravity” weighed down the competition, taking seven Oscars for the categories of Best Cinematography, Best Directing, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing.
Perhaps one of the biggest heroes of the evening was Angelina Jolie. She didn’t win an Oscar for her acting abilities, but rather she won for her selfless love. Jolie was presented with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her incredible efforts to reach out to people in need throughout the world through her generous contributions as well as her time spent in personal visits.
Lupita Nyong’o, winner for the category of Best Actress for the role of Patsy in “12 Years A Slave” (which also won Best Picture), looked absolutely ravishing in her baby-blue Prada gown with a plunging neckline and sparkly train. As this incredibly humble and grateful princess accepted her Oscar, she ended by saying, “When I look down at this golden statue, may it remind me and every little child that no matter where you’re from, your dreams are valid. Thank you.”
The Oscars reminded us that it doesn’t matter whether you’re a doctor, an actor, a police officer or a parent — anyone can be somebody’s hero. Anybody can set a heroic example without being a character out of a Marvel comic book. As Matthew McConaughey so rightly pointed out in his acceptance speech after winning Best Actor for his role of Ron Woodroof in “Dallas Buyers Club,” all of us need something to look up to, something to look forward to and something to chase.
And to THAT we say amen, and “Alright, alright, alright.”
