The Oscars’ Multilayered Emphasis on Family

Hollywood’s Dolby Theater hosted the 95^th Academy Awards last night. And in one sense, there weren’t many surprises. In another way, though, I found myself quite surprised at several things—and pleasantly so, I might add.

As expected, the genre-busting phenomenon Everything Everywhere All at Once walked away with Oscars in seven categories, including the big ones for Best Picture, Best Director(s) (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing. Three of its stars earned Oscar trophies to raucous applause: Michelle Yeoh (Best Actress), Jamie Lee Curtis (Best Supporting Actress) and Ke Huy Quan (Best Supporting Actor), the latter of whom was previously best known for his ‘80s roles in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies.

Note: The R-rated Everything Everywhere All at Once has some considerable content problems to navigate, as our reviewer Kennedy Unthank pointed out. So before you consider watching it, you’ll want to check out our full review.

The Oscars’ biggest winner this year isn’t an easy film to watch, either in terms of its content (violence, profanity and suggestive LBGT themes) or its madcap pace. Top Gun: Maverick it ain’t. The core story follows a deeply discontented woman who learns that she’s the key to saving not just the universe, but the multiverse. The movie’s antagonist believes there’s no meaning to be found in any dimension. Our hero, Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) must find it by tapping into different versions of herself throughout the multiverse.

That meaning, it turns out, is buried in complex, overlapping and often disappointing relationships: with her daughter, her husband, her father, even the cantankerous woman doing her taxes. And the key to rescuing the universe doesn’t involve killing, say, Thanos, but rather learning to love those closest to her in small, concrete but powerful ways.

I like that—even if there’s a lot about the content in this film I wish could’ve been dialed back.

Everything Everywhere All at Once’s triumph wasn’t a surprise. But some of the other things that happened during the broadcast were.

Not in huge ways, mind you. But more than most years there was an earnest tenderness among so many of the winners that felt sincere and winsome. The gathered attendees roared their approval at the wins of both Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. And both of them talked about the roles their parents played, and the sacrifices their parents made, on their behalf.

Indeed, moms and dads (but mostly moms) got more shout-outs than I can ever remember at the Oscars. And with each thank you to parents who believed in their children’s potential, who believed in their children’s creativity and passion, I couldn’t help but get a bit misty.

I don’t think anyone would say that Hollywood, collectively, has been a bastion of family values recently. But here, on Tinseltown’s biggest stage, we heard story after story about the difference parents made by loving, serving and believing in their kids. It was a powerful reminder of the bedrock principle that parents matter, that their love matters. Families are the crucibles that shape our hearts and imaginations, that plant seeds of stories that may not fully germinate until many years, or decades, later.

One my favorite moments came when a particular recipient—honestly, I can’t remember which one—said something like, “My mom’s here somewhere. Mom, where are you at?” That was followed by a yell from somewhere way up in the balcony, the kind of yells that parents at soccer games, swim meets, plays and band recitals give every day the world over. And I couldn’t help but smile.

Hollywood’s not perfect. I’m not trying to suggest it is. Nor was this broadcast. But as Oscars broadcasts go, I’ll take it. This year was a nice, even poignant reminder that moms and dads matter, that all of us in those roles have the opportunity to shape the stories of our children—and maybe even some of the stories they eventually share.