I was going to write about something else, but instead I feel a strong urge to talk about the Oscars.  This was the first time in years that I stayed up to watch the whole thing and for many reasons I’m glad I did.

I only saw 4 of the movies nominated for best picture (Mad Max: Fury Road, Bridge of Spies, Spotlight, and The Martian).  I HATED Mad Max, but really liked all the other ones, so I was curious to see how they’d do.  I was rooting for Mark Ruffalo to win Best Supporting Actor for his role in Spotlight.  He was incredible and I don’t think he gets enough praise for his acting abilities.  But I was delighted that Mark Rylance won for Bridge of Spies.  I really enjoyed his character in that movie.  I didn’t see Revanant but everything I’ve heard said that Leonardo DiCarpio was deserving of the win.  I was also pumped that Spotlight won Best Picture.  If you haven’t seen the movie, I strongly encourage you to check it out.  I was living in Boston at the time the story broke and while I remember pieces of it, the perspective of the journalists was interesting.  The movie deserved all the attention.

But you know who really deserved attention and doesn’t seem to be getting much on social media as far as I can tell?  Lady Gaga. Say what you will about Gaga, but this girl is having a moment.  Winning a Golden Globe, killing it at the Super Bowl, and then this. She was eloquent on the red carpet discussing the importance of the song she sang.  Nominated for an Oscar with Diane Warren for Til It Happens to You for the documentary about campus rape, The Hunting Ground, Gaga took the stage to perform.  Vice President Joe Biden came to the stage (to a standing ovation) to introduce the song and to urge people to pledge to do their part to end campus rape by logging onto itsonus.org.  The site immediately crashed.

Please take a minute to watch this clip if you didn’t see it last night.  Watch to the end, expect tears.

I’m impressed that the Academy choose to honor a wide range of important topics with the awards this year.  Films about honor killing in Pakistan, the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic church, and the first gender confirmation surgery just to name a few.  However, the depth of the field and the diverse ethnic presence of presenters and winners still did not detract from the huge elephant in the room, #Oscarssowhite.  Chris Rock did a decent job of bringing this into focus for a while. Some hits, more than a few misses.  However, I think it’s fair to say that Hollywood is a reflection of the racial issues facing our country as a whole, and yet one more indication that this problem cannot continue to be ignored.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t take a quick second to talk about red carpet fashion.  It’s hard to pick a favorite dress because there were so many wonderful options.  I’m glad the media did away with the drab “Who are you wearing?” question and are focused on more in-depth interviews, but at the same time the fashion girl in me wants to know!  I’m not gonna trash anyone’s choices here a la Joan Rivers and the Fashion Police, because everyone has their own idea of beauty and personal style, so here are just a few of my favorite looks.

All photos from www.oscar.go.com