Editor’s Opinion on The Oscar Winners

The 94th Academy Awards were full of beautiful presentations, artists, and even a little bit of drama. With so many great films and actors nominated, I was very excited to see the winners of this year’s Oscars. I am pleased with most of the results; however, there are a few that I feel like somebody else earned the award. In this article, I share my opinion on several Oscar winners.  

For this year’s Awards, many expected Dune to win for Best Visual Effects, myself included. However, I was amazed by the number of Oscars it received in multiple categories: Cinematography, Film Editing, Music (Original Score), Production Design, Sound, and Visual Effects. The film was nominated for a few more categories which is already a huge accomplishment, but I am happy with the ones it actually won. Dune’s visuals and music are wonderful, so I am not surprised to see the number of awards it received; it earned them all. In my opinion, the plot of this particular film is not the best, especially since it is not completed. I believe that the story was the main reason it didn’t win the award for Best Picture. However, I am eager to see the unresolved conflict reach its climax and conclusion in the upcoming sequels. We’ll see how this famous saga will do in future awards.

Encanto won the Oscar for Animated Feature Film after a very tight competition with the other incredible movies nominated for this category. Its moving plot, beautiful animation, and magnificent music led the 60th Walt Disney Animated film to win the Oscar. Many might be bothered that Disney often wins the Award for Animated Feature Film. Still, I believe that the crew’s effort in these films to produce movies of excellent quality is worthy of this recognition. In addition to this, the Hispanic representation within this film is something that was amazingly well done. It reached many people’s hearts, including mine as a Puerto Rican artist. I believe that being able to deeply connect with the audience by particularly telling the story of a Hispanic family made Encanto this year’s winner of the Animated Feature Film Award. 

In the Oscar category of Music (Original Song), No Time to Die by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’ Connell was the song that received this recognition. The intro song for the James Bond film No Time to Die has a beautiful production, but I don’t think it was good enough to deserve an award. The song that I wanted to win was Dos Oruguitas by Sebastian Yatra from the movie Encanto. The way this beautiful musical piece was presented in the film supported the profoundly moving story of Abuelo Pedro and Abuela Alma and the gorgeous visuals of this scene. The essence and lyrics of Dos Oruguitas are why I think it should have been the Oscar winner for Music (Original Song).  

Cruella was the Academy Award winner for Costume Design. Honestly, I did not expect otherwise because the dresses present in this film were outstandingly gorgeous. They were beautiful and unique, but they also supported Cruella’s story and character perfectly. This movie was also nominated for the Makeup and Hairstyling award, but unfortunately, it did not win. The Eyes of Tammy Faye won this award instead. Since I have not seen this film, I can’t give an objective opinion on whether it deserved the award or not. However, I do believe that Cruella should have been the one to receive this Oscar because the artists’ work on both makeup and hairstyling were beautiful in the film.

Ariana Debose won the award for Actress in a Supporting Role, and I am very proud of it. As a young Hispanic woman myself, seeing an Afro-Latina woman win an Academy Award really inspires me. It is a reminder that, as she mentioned in her speech, “No dream is too big'” It moves me to keep pushing forward and fight for my dreams. Her performance as Anita in West Side Story was beautiful. I did not see the entire movie, and personally, I am not a big fan of it, but I can tell that her acting playing Anita was terrific. From Hamilton to now West Side Story, Ariana keeps inspiring audiences. I am excited to see what she does next. 

Last but not least, the Actor In a Leading Role Award was given to Will Smith. After the scandalous event of Will slapping Chris Rock, many might have multiple opinions on whether he deserved the award or not. Even though I do believe that he crossed the line with his behavior, he should not have done that at all; his work is worthy of recognition. I think we should separate a moment of impulse from the great actor he is. Nobody should punish him and take away the Oscar because of his mistake on live TV, especially when other actors have done much worse and nobody has taken away their awards. Years of work should not go to waste over a few minutes of rage and lack of control. Will Smith is a respectable and great actor. Also, he gave an excellent performance as King Richard. His speech was not the best, his behavior at the gala was not the best either, but I am delighted that he won the award for Actor in a Leading Role. 

Many people might or might not agree with my opinion on this year’s Academy Award Winners. However, we can all agree that this Oscar event is an unforgettable one. I am excited to see what happens next year.