OPINION: Social distancing evident at Oscars like at school

By Gabriel Arredondo
Bridge Staff Intern
Published Wednesday, May 5, 2021

So the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, occurred last weekend; they were quite different from previous years. This is the first time the Academy Awards ceremony was held during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, the Emmys took place and the ceremony went completely virtually—much like current TAMIU courses.

At this year’s Academy Awards, announcers said it would not be virtual, but would be held in person. This was true in a sense, but it was done a little bit different than just in person. For the most part, the nominated celebrities all showed up at the actual location.

This year’s ceremony was not held at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, where the Academy Awards are typically held. It was held in a much smaller venue—Union Station. Since the location was different and smaller, less people attended.

Normally, there are more than 1,000 people in the theater during the Oscars. This year, about a few hundred of them were there. They were also tremendously spaced out for safety reasons. Some of them wore masks and some did not.

Also certain celebrities did not attend, but remained at other locations and appeared on screen. For example, Bong Joon-ho, last year’s winner of the best director award for “Parasite,” presented the best director award to Chloe Zhao for “Nomad Land” from a theater in South Korea. Certain older celebrities also did not attend, such as Anthony Hopkins, who won the award for best actor for “The Father.”

While I watched the ceremony, I could not help but think this was reminiscent of the way TAMIU students learned for the past two and a half semesters. Similar to this year’s Oscars, the professors showed up to class as the Oscars presenters did, while students had the option of showing up to attend class in person or to attend virtually.

Students could adjust to whichever method of learning works better for with. So this year, unlike most years, the Oscars reflected how TAMIU students dealt with remote learning, but also it reflects remote learning for all schools in general. Just like our TAMIUFlex courses intended to include students’ learning and protection from COVID-19, the Oscars also did a great job in giving out these awards and keeping their audience safe at the time.