The 2021 Academy Awards are not alone in having to adapt to a global crisis.
For over a year, we’ve been hearing how we’re living through “unprecedented” times.
The Academy feared that a glitzy, self-congratulatory event might send the wrong message.
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It wasBette Daviswho had a hand in pushing the event forward.
She even floated the idea of selling tickets to the public with proceeds going to the Red Cross.
Ultimately, the Academy devised a different plan, but Davis' impact is undeniable.
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The tradition of an after-party with dancing was canceled.
Women wore plainer dresses and men opted for suits rather than tuxedos.
“The impact of the war was visibly felt at the ceremony,” asserts Karger.
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“Both with what people were saying and with what people were wearing.”
Now, nearly 80 years later,the Oscars face a global crisisof a different nature the COVID-19 pandemic.
“1942 was the closest the Oscars came to being canceled,” Karger says.
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Today, we’re talking about whether having a ceremony is physically safe."
Conversations for the 2021 Oscars have followed a similar trajectory to those in 1942.
At first, as the pandemic raged, many wondered if they could happen at all.
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The Academy preemptively bumped the ceremony to April as opposed to their standard late February, early March date.
Would the ceremony be able to held with any in-person audience?
Would theystill take place at their homefor the last two decades, Hollywood’s Dolby Theater?
“In 2021, it’s clear, it can’t be a typical Oscars.
In the 79 years since 1942, nothing approaches the profundity of the COVID-19 crisis.”
Though, that marked a permanent shift away from the dinner banquet format.
Karger sees tiesbetween frontrunnerNomadlandand our circumstances.
“I don’t think that would be the reasonNomadlandwins, but it could be an interesting parallel.”
