I love a good awards ceremony, always enjoyed more when I am a bystander, marvelling at the accomplishments of others. I never enjoy awards ceremonies if I have been nominated for an award. As lovely as it is to ever receive a nomination for an award, can anyone ever be completely comfortable in the 10 minutes before the ‘"and the winner is..." announcement? Then comes the scrutiny of those who did not win. Are they OK? Are they disappointed? Are they absolutely raging? It is OK to be raging if you have just lost out on, say, a Grammy or an Oscar, isn’t it?
Well, the court of social media will soon let you know whether it is or not, as Angela Bassett discovered last week. Bassett was nominated for her part in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, in the category of best actress in a supporting role, alongside the amazing Kerry Condon, Hong Chau, Stephanie Hsu and the eventual winner Jamie Lee Curtis. There was a lot of discussion on social media about Bassett’s reaction to not winning, with many thinking that she looked sour.
To me, her face was devoid of emotion, but everyone loves to have an opinion. Why wouldn’t she be raging because she didn’t win an award she clearly thought she deserved to win?
In those 10 minutes before the winner is announced, everyone lets the idea in that they might win. We’re all human. For what it’s worth Angela won my best dressed award on the night.
While I was sorely disappointed for An Cailín Ciúin and The Banshees of Inisherin, my heart burst with happiness for the cast and crew of An Irish Goodbye. Anyone who has any experience in making television, never mind film, knows how laboured the process of getting your idea on screen can be. My goodness has this particular slog paid off. To hear a cast of Holywood A-listers sing Happy Birthday to James Martin will never, ever get old. What a beautiful moment.
Wasn’t it amazing to hear our accent on arguably the biggest stage in the world, on the biggest awards night of the year?
That’s the thing – their talent and the love of their art was what put that group of young men on the world’s greatest stage. We woke up to a positive news headline last Monday morning – what a peculiar yet wonderful way to start the day. Yet, why is it that the importance of the arts doesn’t seem to be valued in everyday life, by society, by government? If anything they are sidelined. Lately, we have been told to study maths to A-level, regardless of whether you’re any good at maths or not. I do not understand why the success of Stem subjects must be to the detriment of arts and humanities. I have an A-level in maths; I didn’t study the subject further but surely Stem subjects and arts can be mutually beneficial?
The success of An Cailín Ciúin and Paul Mescal freely conversing as Gaeilge on the Bafta red carpet have managed to excite us about the Irish language again, even value it a little more. For too long, all languages have been dismissed at secondary level as being ‘too difficult’ so we choose to narrow the lens on life and send our children out into the world equipped as monoglots with little to no appreciation of other cultures.
Acting can be a release and an escape, as well as being an art. The Irish actors we saw nominated for Oscars last week all found acting in different ways. Paul Mescal started acting because of the 2008 crash. Barry Keoghan started his career by answering a casting call notice in a shop window. Brendan Gleeson started his film career in his thirties. Colin Farrell had us all hooked on Ballykissangel, and Kerry Condon has dreamed of winning an Oscar since she was 16.
On big nights like the Oscars, especially this year, when we look on in awe of the achievements of all the Irish nominees, let’s not forget the investment that it takes to get that far. Recognising the value of the arts and investing in them can reap awards internationally. There are so many quiet heroes at local level who have spent a lifetime investing in art, performance, entertainment, in the talent they see in children and nurturing it.
The success of An Irish Goodbye has given them all a little moment.
