Diversity was the theme of last night’s SAG Awards 2016. It was evident throughout the room that everyone was feeling some type of way towards award shows. We can all thank #OscarsSoWhite for that, and it seems like this year’s SAG Awards was a subtle diss to the upcoming Oscars.
With small jabs from Laura Prepon when she accepted the award on behalf of the cast of Orange is the New Black, “Look at this stage! This is what we talk about when we talk about diversity!” to Idris Elba commenting, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to diverse TV,” just before he presented his film Beasts of No Nation, it was clear that the actors were unhappy with the latest trending topic in Hollywood. However, since this award comes straight from their fellow actors, the win means a lot more knowing they are appreciated by their fellow colleagues.
Image Credit: Screen Actors Guild Awards
There weren’t so many OMG moments throughout the night that left the Twitterverse buzzing. Why? Because the SAG Awards has to be the smoothest and fast-paced award show ever. There are no hosts, thirteen categories (other than two that weren’t presented during the awards ceremony), an in memoriam segment, and of course, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, which was given to legendary Carol Burnett.
Sure, we can mention the Keith Urban moment during Alicia Vikander’s speech as she was accepting the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in The Danish Girl or Jason Bateman’s nod to the Arrested Development days when he presented his “dad” Jeffrey Tambor his award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series in Transparent, or how we all think Jacob Tremblay is the cutest thing ever, but other than that, everything went through flawlessly.
Some of the key and memorable speeches go to Bessie’s Queen Latifah and How to Get Away With Murder’s Viola Davis. From the beginning intro when the camera closes up on certain actors in the crowd as they tell their story to when she accepted her award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries, Queen Latifah continued to inspire viewers to follow their dreams. “Build your own boxes. Not people. Knock that thing away and do you,” she said during her acceptance speech.
Viola Davis started off her speech saying, “There’s a famous saying that I am not who you think I am. You are who you think I am… People are always saying, ‘Annalise is an antihero. Don’t you worry she’s not likable?’” It was a powerful point being made that lead women are always shown to be the kind of women viewers need or want to be like. It’s not always like that, people! Women actors shouldn’t be put under any pressure that they have to be someone you need to like for the purpose of being desired by every viewer. It’s just not like that anymore. Do you think we do that for every male actor?
Lastly, I think the craziest thing that shocked me was that this was Leonardo DiCaprio’s very first SAG Award. FIRST, I repeat. Let’s just not forget all the other remarkable films he did before The Revenant, but I digress. The man is doing quite well this awards season. I’m pretty sure the whole world is already ready to bust out their celebratory champagne for him once the Oscars roll around. WE’RE ROOTING FOR YOU, LEO.
And there you have it. Another year, another awards ceremony over. Come back next month when we recap on the Grammys and the Oscars!
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SAG Awards 2016: Sorry Oscars, Diversity Wins: Photos courtesy of Screen Actors Guild Awards
