Academy Awards

St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture, Jan 29, 2002 by Victoria Price

In 1953, the Oscars were televised for the first time. As the audience grew each year, the Oscar ceremony became a very public platform for the playing out of Hollywood dramas. In 1957, audiences eagerly awaited Ingrid Bergman's return from her exile to Europe. In 1972, Hollywood publicly welcomed back one of their most legendary performers, a man whom they had forced into exile during the McCarthy era, when Charlie Chaplin was awarded an honorary Oscar. And since the establishment of special awards such as the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, considered the highest honor a producer can receive, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, each year the Oscars honor lifetime achievement in a moving ceremony. Recipients of these special awards, often Hollywood veterans and audience favorites such as Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart, generally evoke tears and standing ovations.

Although the Academy Awards purport to be non-partisan, politics have always crept into the ceremony. In 1964, Sidney Poitier was the first African-American recipient of a major award, winning Best Actor for Lilies of the Field. In a country divided by the events of the civil rights movement, Hollywood showed the world where it stood. In 1972, Marlon Brando refused to accept his Oscar for Best Actor for The Godfather, instead sending Sacheen Littlefeather to make a proclamation about rights for Native Americans. When it was revealed that Miss Littlefeather was in fact Maria Cruz, the former Miss Vampire USA, the stunt backfired. In 1977, Vanessa Redgrave ruffled feathers around the world when she used her acceptance speech for best supporting actress in Julia to make an anti-Zionist statement. That, however, has not stopped actors such as Richard Gere and Alec Baldwin from speaking out against the Chinese occupation of Tibet in the 1990s.

Every March, hundreds of millions of viewers tune in from around the world to watch the Academy Awards. The tradition of having a comedic Master of Ceremonies has continued with Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Whoopi Goldberg, and Billy Crystal. Each year the ceremony seems more extravagant, as Hollywood televises its image around the globe. Academy president and two-time Oscar winner Bette Davis once wrote that "An Oscar is the highest and most cherished of honors in a world where many honors are bestowed annually. The fact that a person is recognized and singled out by those who are in the same profession makes an Oscar the most coveted award for all of us." Although popular culture is now riddled with awards shows, the excitement of watching the world's most glamorous people honor their own has made the Academy Awards the Grande Dame of awards ceremonies and a perennial audience favorite.