By KEEGAN DEWITT
Sunday, Sept. 14 marked the 77th Anniversary of the annual Emmy Awards Show. Like any other year, the nominations included a diverse list of actors, writers, and directors to choose from to point at the screen and go “Oh, they’re my favorite one,” while also providing some notable moments from the show’s first airing. All trust was put in comedian Nate Bargatze as this year’s host, who delivered… about as well as any comedian can when hosting an awards show. It was wild, it was controversial, and it was amazing.
The beginning of the awards ceremony included a sketch about the invention of the television. This included notable comedians such as Bowen Yang from Saturday Night Live, and led up to the reveal of Nate Bargatze as the inventor of the TV. The sketch poked fun at factors that go into modern-day TV, from the complex topics explored in nominated shows such as “Severance” and “The Bear,” to a classic “TV streaming steals your money” bit. Lasting under seven minutes, the sketch would set the tone for the rest of the night.
It is a well-known fact that all award shows involve speeches from the winner of their category. Whether it is just one actor or a whole film team, at least one person is delegated to spend time thanking people of their choosing. Typically, the time allotted is around 45 seconds. Therein lies the one issue; nobody knows how to keep their speeches short. This year, organizers decided to finally fix this problem.
In partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of America, a non-profit organization that provides afterschool programs to kids, the rule was made that for every second you go over the allowed time, $1000 would be taken away from a sum of $100,000 donated by Nate Bargatze. A large display was even made to show how much was lost (or added, if you went under your time) to present to the entire audience. This seems like a high-stakes situation, but it was only a joke to bring awareness to the organization. Still, after this night, it is apparent that these people do not know shame. Winner after winner continued to ignore the rule and still went over their allowed time, even with the added pressure of the donation display. In the end, the Boys and Girls Club ended up “owing” the academy money, though that was fixed with a final donation of $350,000 by both Bargatze and the Television Academy.
A top reason why someone may watch the Emmys would (hopefully) be to watch actors, directors, and writers win prestigious awards after their hard work. Of course, as much as people want these award shows to be fair and give everyone a chance, there is always a TV show or film that dominates its respective categories. This year happened to be the year for Apple TV’s series “The Studio,” which won a total of 13 out of the 23 categories it was nominated for. It even set a record for being the most awarded comedy show since the Emmys began. Netflix’s “Adolescence” also made history by having its own supporting actor, Owen Cooper, become the youngest male award winner at 15 years old. In his speech, he shared his belief that “if you listen, and you focus, and you step out of your comfort zone, you can… achieve anything in life.” He added, “Who cares if you get embarrassed? Anything can be possible.”
In addition to the actual awards part of the show, multiple tributes were made to past people and series in the industry. There were tributes to shows as a whole, such as “The Gilmore Girls” and “The Golden Girls,” for being foundational pieces in what we know as TV today. Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Ozzy Osbourne, Anne Burrell, and Quincy Jones were among those who had their own personal memoriam, displaying how important they were to those in the industry. In a similar vein, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting got its own recognition as a key piece in early childhood education and introduction into TV, being mourned by many after its defunding earlier this year.
Thankfully, this year we did not get any high-level drama, unlike the 2017 Oscars (“Moonlight” and “La La Land” flashbacks), but there were still some moments that sparked some debate. Emmy winner Hannah Einbinder used her speech to briefly bring attention to world issues, specifically Palestine and ICE. While some people criticized her speech for being crude and vulgar, others applauded her for her bravery. Sydney Sweeney made an appearance as an award presenter following her American Eagle ad, unfortunately, not wearing good jeans.
The TV and film industry in a whole may still be in its “Adolescence,” being a little over one hundred years old, and though diversity and job opportunities within it may be rapidly “Shrinking,” there is always a place for “Somebody Somewhere” within those boundaries. This year gave many actors a chance to finally be rewarded for their hard work, instead of being drowned out by the usual industry nepo-babies. It may not be a milestone awards ceremony, but it still offered a promising future for the award shows ahead.
Featured image: Keegan DeWitt’29
Leave a Reply