The 93rd annual Academy Awards took place on Sunday, April 25, 2021. While the award show itself was a bit disappointing due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Academy has been commended for the great amount of diversity this year. Chloe Zhao took home “Best Director,” becoming the second female to do so. Her film, Nomadland, won “Best Picture.” 

However, “Best Picture,” which is usually presented last, was instead presented in the middle of the ceremony, before the “Best Actor” and “Best Actress” awards. “Best Actor” was saved for last, which made many viewers think it was going to go to Chadwick Boseman and that the award show would end honoring him. To everyone’s surprise, “Best Actor” instead went to Anthony Hopkins. Fans critiqued the decision to save the award for last and then not award it to Boseman, some even claiming it was done in desperate attempts to attract viewers. Recently, there has been a decline in award show viewers, most likely due to their length and the fact that they’ve gotten more boring due to COVID restrictions. 

Netflix took home the most Oscars with seven – two for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” two for “Mank” and then individual awards for best live-action short, best animated short and best documentary feature. Disney had the second highest, winning three for “Nomadland” and two for “Soul.” 

The ceremony itself was much more subdued than previous years: awards were given out by one person, nominations for “Best Original Song” did not perform live, and nominees only removed their masks while on camera. To keep the ceremony safe, it was held in multiple locations. The main set piece was Union Station, where attendees rotated in and out of the ceremony to limit the number of people gathered at one time. 

Many fans were also angered by the “In Memoriam” segment of the ceremony. They complained that the music was too upbeat and that each person was shown too quickly. 

Overall, the Oscars were a bit of an upset.