Clearly the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences have been paying attention. In their 89th year, the Oscars are already trying to shake off accusations that they lack diversity. The first three awards of the night have all gone to people with different marginalized identities.
First, Mahershala Ali won the award Best Supporting Actor for his role in Moonlight. With his first Oscar, Ali actually became the only Muslim actor to receive the honor. In his tearful acceptance speech, Ali gave a beautiful shoutout to his wife who gave birth just four days ago for being such a "soldier."
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For Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Giorgio Gregorini, Alessandro Bertolazzi and Christopher Allen Nelson won the Oscar for Suicide Squad. If Halloween 2016 was any indication, they deserved it. Harley Quinn and the Joker were a hit costume choice for couples. Bertolazzi, who is Italian, proudly claimed his immigrant status and declared in his acceptance speech, “This is for all the immigrants.”
And completing this trilogy was Colleen Atwood. She won her her fourth Oscar for Best Costume Design at this year’s ceremony. She earned the award for her work on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. She has previous honors for Chicago (2002), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), and Alice in Wonderland (2010) proving that she can creatively adorn just about anyone.
This is the kind of representation supporters of the Oscars have been looking forward to. It’s likely that this diversity is due to the massive changes the Academy instituted in their membership following April Reign's #OscarsSoWhite controversy. These awards feel like a personal snub to Donald Trump who has positioned himself in opposition of those carrying the Muslim, immigrant, or woman identity. I hope he's shook. Here’s to keeping this momentum going for the rest of the night, and the rest of forever.