After a year of being caught up in the magic of Wicked and the wonderfully disturbing feeling that comes after watching The Substance, the 97th Academy Awards was one of the most anticipated moments of 2025 so far. I attended the ceremony, and here are some of my largest takeaways from this year’s Oscars:
Wicked’s Costumes Are, in fact, Wicked.
Paul Tazewell, Paul Tazewell, Paul Tazewell. There are not enough good things to say. His work has immersed Broadway audiences for years, and it simply felt good to see him win. The first Black man and second Black person ever to win in the Best Costume Design category, I’m sure Tazewell’s work was easy to vote for on its own.
From adorning Ariana Grande in that pink gown as she floated down in her bubble during the opening scene of Wicked, to the hat and ‘froat’ combo whose texture and layers could be felt by viewers from their theater seats, all the way to the Shiz University uniforms, the costume design in Wicked truly brought the story together. The dancers’ costumes during Queen Latifah’s tribute to Quincy Jones were a nod to Tazewell’s brilliant work. And speaking of Jones…
Quincy Jones’s Impact on Film is Immeasurable.
Without Quincy Jones, there would be no The Color Purple. Without The Color Purple, there would be no Whoopi Goldberg, no Oprah Winfrey and no Cyntha Erivo. Without Quincy Jones, there would be no The Wiz. Without The Wiz, there likely would have been no Wicked. The proof is not just in the jaw-dropping performance by Queen Latifah but also in the throughline from Cynthia Erivo’s rendition of “Home” at the top of the show.
The former Musical Director for the Academy Awards, 28-time GRAMMY Award winner, 7-time Oscar nominee and winner of the Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, legend and icon set off domino effects unlike any other. Seeing his legacy stepped out and honored was wonderful—a legacy seeded in Black joy that has championed our stories for decades.
The People Yearn for Authentic Stories to be Told.
From the overwhelming buzz about Emilia Pérez to the light sweep by Anora, it is abundantly clear that the general public and Academy voters enjoy stories that explore lifestyles different from what is widely acceptable. Sean Baker’s four wins should be a sign for writers, producers and directors to make that movie.
It should also be a sign for members of the Academy to seek out the authentic stories being told and for studio executives to invest in the script emailed by the writer without an MFA in screenwriting. While we congratulate Zoe Saldaña, Sean Baker, Mikey Madison, etc., we cannot help but wonder what stories from our community are out there waiting for the light to shine on them. If we are rewarding stories about marginalized peoples at the Oscars, let’s continue to do so—with movies made by our people being depicted.
This Year’s Oscars was all About the Women.
While there has been plenty of buzz about The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, and Colman Domingo being the living legend that he is, the focus of the Academy Awards audience was tunneled to the women. As they announced the nominees for Best Actress, you could feel the tension building up: would Demi Moore finally get her Oscar? Would Cynthia Erivo take it for Wicked?
As they announced Mikey Madison for Anora, you could feel the think pieces being written. Whatever your opinion is on who should have won Actress in a Leading Role, there was no feeling like an entire theater full of people excited to celebrate women. I’m glad to be a part of a generation that got to see Zoe Saldaña get her Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting role, the first person of Dominican descent to ever receive an Oscar. As for Ms. Cynthia? We’ll see after Wicked: For Good premieres this year!
All in all, do the Academy voters have some catching up to do? Sure. But the stories that are being rewarded are a sign that not only is there room to grow, but that the growth is happening in real time.
