You’ll no doubt have heard by now that Leonardo DiCaprio ‘finally’ won the Oscar for best actor, and a slew of other talented (but almost exclusively white) Hollywood names in designer gowns and tuxedos also got their paws on the gold. But there are two completely awesome Oscar-winning women whose speeches we all need to hear.
The Vine above, which captures costume designer Jenny Beaven’s trip to the stage, has gone viral this morning due to the incredibly rude reactions of attendees watching her walk up to collect her award for Best Costume Design for Mad Max: Fury Road. Looking her up and down — presumably for being a total badass and wearing a leather jacket rather than the ubiquitous glittery fishtail gown — rows of Hollywood losers failed to acknowledge her win by clapping.
As well as representing an alternative vision of femininity to the other female award winners, Beaven also had an important message for attendees and us all. “Actually, it could be horribly prophetic, Mad Max, if we’re not kinder to each other and if we don’t stop polluting our atmosphere,” she said. The statement was later echoed by Best Actor winner DiCaprio, who used his acceptance speech to say, “Climate change is real… It is happening right now, it is the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work collectively and stop procrastinating. We need to support leaders around the world… who speak for all of humanity.”
Another woman with an important message to convey at the 88th Academy Awards was director Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, who won the Best Short Documentary award for A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, a film about ‘honor’ killings in Pakistan. Accepting her award, Obaid Chinoy said, “This is what happens when determined women get together,” acknowledging the 18-year-old woman at the center of the film, a survivor of an ‘honor’ killing attempt as well as the other women producers of the film. Obaid Chinoy also praised “men who champion women,” and who encourage “women to go to school and work, and who want a more just society for women.” “This week, the Pakistani prime minister has said that he will change the law on ‘honor’ killing after watching this film,” she told the Academy, “That is the power of film.”