Opinion
Oscars 2024
Historic opportunity missed: Why Emma Stone’s Oscar win is deserved but still wrong
Emma Stone won the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in “Poor Things.”
© dpa
With the second Oscar for Emma Stone, the Academy is depriving itself of a real Hollywood moment: a victory for Lily Gladstone would have been so much more significant.
It was one of the few small surprises at this year’s Oscars: Emma Stone won the award for best actress for her role in “Poor Things.” She accepted the trophy overwhelmed and seemed to be unable to believe what was happening. Stone is one worthy winner, no question – and yet her triumph leaves many disappointed. The Academy missed the historic opportunity to honor a Native American woman for her acting for the first time.
Lily Gladstone from Martin Scorsese’s epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” was the first Native American ever to be nominated for an acting Oscar. A sad, telling delay, and yet all signs were that the Academy would at least make amends by awarding Gladstone the Oscar, also representing many missed opportunities in the past. The famous scandal of 1973 had already shown how complicated the relationship between Hollywood and the indigenous community is: Back then, Marlon Brando sent the activist Sacheen Littlefeather on stage to reject his Oscar and to protest against the poor treatment of Native Americans in the film industry . The audience booed.
German film also benefits from the realignment of the Oscars
It wasn’t until 2022 that Oscar officials apologized. Seven years after the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite trended and highlighted a structural problem within the Academy. Since then, something has changed in the film industry, slowly but steadily: the pool of voters at the Oscars has become younger, more female and overall more diverse. There are now certain minority quotas that have to be met in order to be considered for Best Film, for example. The Oscars have also become increasingly open to international productions, from which German films have benefited enormously this year, with nominations for Sandra Hülser, İlker Çatak and Wim Wenders.
Stylewatch
Burst dress, baby bump and lots of silver: the looks from the 2024 Oscars
Nevertheless, it is much more difficult for indigenous actors to even get offers, roles and jobs, let alone be nominated for awards. It’s been all the nicer to experience Gladstone’s journey over the past few months. It was clear early on that it would be a race between her and Stone. The performances were as different as day and night: While Stone throws herself into a loud, anarchic, revealing performance with her whole body, Gladstone impresses with subtle acting and carries entire scenes with just her looks.
Hollywood needs new faces
First Emma Stone was ahead, winning both the British film award Bafta and the Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy. Recently, however, many people were betting on Gladstone’s victory again. She won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama and won the prestigious SAG Awards. The industry award is awarded by actors and is considered particularly groundbreaking.
But it’s not just the historical component that would have been more significant, the event would generally benefit from a breath of fresh air so that we don’t always see the same faces. An anecdote she told in advance shows how difficult it is for even an exceptional talent like Gladstone to gain a foothold in Hollywood: Shortly before Martin Scorsese booked her for the role of Mollie Burkhart, the 37-year-old wanted hers Give up acting career. She almost enrolled in a data analysis course for further education. Then came the big Oscar opportunity.
The film industry loves stories of redemption, and it loves underdogs who win. It’s all the more unfortunate that the Oscars missed this real Hollywood moment.