This past Sunday, February 10th, the 92nd Academy Awards were held at the iconic Dolby Theatre located in Los Angeles, California. Several Hollywood actors, directors, animators, cinematographers, screenwriters, composers, makeup and hair technicians, costume designers, and more, attended the prestigious awards ceremony that serves to celebrate artistic merit in the film industry. The critically acclaimed South Korean thriller, Parasite, took home a grand total of four awards, making Oscar history. In addition, Joaquin Phoenix took home the Oscar for best actor in a leading role for his lauded portrayal of Arthur Fleck in Joker, a dark retelling of the infamous comic book series, one that touches upon both mental illness and poverty. Renée Zellweger earned the respective Oscar for best actress in a leading role for her part playing the late Judy Garland in Judy, a film dedicated to the last few months of Garland’s life, one that was plagued with drug and alcohol use, seemingly attributed to the harsh mistreatment she faced as a child actor. The highly popular 1917, a film depicting a brother and friend’s journey through enemy territory in the midst of World War I, also nabbed a few awards, amongst them being best cinematography, sound mixing, and visual effects. Throughout the night, speeches were filled with political context and numerous jabs were made towards the Academy for the lack of diversity amongst nominees, despite powerful performances from many actors of color and numerous acclaimed films helmed by female directors.