The Oscars have always been a night where many gather to watch the best filmmakers and actors receive awards and recognition for their work. But in recent years, controversy has surrounded the ceremony, causing some to become disinterested in the show’s rising prominence of politics.

From Meryl Streep’s speech criticizing President Trump in 2017 to the heavy focus on the #MeToo movement in 2018, the Oscars have taken on an increasingly political tone. One of the main discussions at the show this year was the push to include gender and racial diversity. Past nominations tend to be dominated by white males, and many think that this fails to accurately represent the full filmmaking community, as well as the U.S. population. 

Many regard the Oscars as a show that is solely meant as entertainment and think that Hollywood should veer away from anything politically charged. In a survey of 2,201 U.S. conducted by the Hollywood Reporter, 39% of adults did not want to watch an award show that advertises political views that are against their own beliefs. 

Additionally, actors such as Tina Fey have stated that the speeches about current events, particularly corporate greed, seem insincere. Fey claimed that fellow actors advocated for multiple issues without fully committing to any of them, and a good number of the problems they spoke about had no effect on them personally because of their wealth.  

Junior Michael Rau of Manalapan said he believes that the push for increased diversity for awards is unnecessary. 

“It’s not ‘there should be more women,’ it’s the best person should win regardless of your gender, how you look, what your religion is, what your sexual orientation is,” Rau said. “Just the best movie should win…it should be objective and solely based on that and nothing else. ” 

Ildiko Enyedi, who was nominated as the only female director in the foreign-language category in 2018, agreed that films should be judged objectively. 

“I think before and after the Oscars, we should speak about it, just on that night I think it’s about the films. On that night, I would like to forget that I’m the only woman,” Enyedi said in an interview with AP Archive.

However, activists believe that the large platform and emphasis on art is the reason why it is important to include political discussion at the Oscars. Actors see the award ceremony as a way to utilize their platforms to influence and reach a broad number of people.

Moreover, the lack of diversity in race and gender of the nominations has become a glaring issue for some. Senior Tess Rempel of Spring Lake explained why considering a wide range of people is more important now than ever before. 

“I think the Oscars and similar award ceremonies indicate the social trends and flaws we face,” Rempel said. “It’s an important signal as to what we’re moving away from or more towards.”

Others, such as actress Jane Fonda, told Associated Press that it is crucial to make the discussion of politics a part of the industry and selecting the movies in order to advance in an ever-changing society. 

“It’s an important new era in this industry and this town…it represents structure change, policy change, psychological change and I’m proud to be part of it,” Fonda said.

With celebrities having such large platforms, some of them amassing millions of social media followers, it has become an expectation for them to use their influence to bring attention to pressing issues. The Oscars have just become the most efficient way for them to accomplish this, and they don’t seem inclined to stop bringing their political beliefs to the award show any time soon.