www.cmu.edu: The 94th annual Academy Awards ceremony was a big night for what's been called "the little movie that could." "CODA," written and directed by Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama alumna Siân Heder, won Best Picture and Heder took home the award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
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Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama alumna Siân Heder, won Best Picture at the 94th annual Academy Awards ceremony the other night for ‘CODA’. Truly an incredible accomplishment. Especially considering the themes of the movie, its plot, and who the cast features. That being said, I find it telling that Shannon Musgrave (article’s author) fails to account for the other three Carnegie Mellon alumni producing the Academy Awards ceremony. I mean not to diminish Heder’s accomplishment with this comment, but the entertainment industry must change and begin to recognize the work of crew as much as they do cast, In fact, the list provided at the end of Members of the Carnegie Mellon University community that have received Academy Awards to date should, in my opinion, feature those working backstage. I mean, some of us are here to do that very thing. And just like those on-stage, we deserve recognition.
This year’s Oscars surely was one to remember, and not just because Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in the face, but also because a CMU alum won the Oscars which is absolutely incredible on so many levels. I will say, one of the major reasons I came to CMU was because of Ann Roth, who is one of my favorite costume designers and has won numerous Oscars for best costume design including most recently in 2020 for Ma Rainy Black Bottom. I had the honor or working on and mending many of the garments seen on Ma Rainy Black Bottom at my last job working for Helen Uffner Vintage, which is a costume rental shop specializing in historic garments. The sheer level of detail put into not only the style of the garments, but also the details, and historical accuracy is incredible. CMU truly dose help create and boost amazing talent, and it is so rewarding to see it time and time again. One truly wouldn’t think a school in Pittsburgh would have such an impact on film US and film in the world but truly it dose. Seeing things like this only make me imagine the amazing things my peers and hopefully I will go on to do in the industry.
This is pretty rad to see. It is absolutely wild that I am currently going to school with people who will be getting these awards someday. It is comforting to know that all of this hard work will eventually pay off if I keep working. In addition, it is refreshing to see a movie like CODA win such an award. I am glad that Heder acknowledges that she is not a part of the deaf community but she wanted to do her best to tell their story in the best way possible. I haven’t seen CODA yet but now I think I definitely will. We will see how the musical adaptation goes. I certainly have my worries about that but we will just have to wait and see what happens. It feels like this is an attempt to grab at the cash cow that the Oscars buzz creates which is disappointing, to say the least. Broadway has a lot of money grabbers rather than true art right now and I would like to see less of that.
Congratulations to Siân Heder and the two impressive Academy Awards! I am very excited to see the movie once I get a free night.
I’m glad many in the deaf community feel she was able to accurately represent them, as she does not have the personal experience of being deaf. She is not deaf herself and does not have a close family member who is deaf.. I know that many of the other people involved in the production are deaf or hard of hearing and from some previous articles know that they were very happy with the film. Of course I have to acknowledge that the film was an adaptation of the French film "La Famille Bélier” and I don’t know anything about who wrote that production. This feeds into the ongoing discussion in producing shows and other media of who gets to tell what story? Who gets to draw the line? A similar thread of this discussion happened around the Emmett Till Opera written by a white woman that addresses racism only from a white woman’s perspective.
I have mixed feelings about this win. For one, very happy to see a CMU alum win! Feeling the school pride. Also very excited about what this win means for the deaf community. I think the representation is important, however, it is important to note Siân is not deaf, so I am not sure how authentic her writing on these perspectives is. I would love to hear more about the process she took to ensure she approached the deaf experience in a respective and true to the reality of the situation way. Putting the story and Siân as an able person aside, I do not think the movie deserved a best oscar win. Overall, the execution of the movie was fine. I found the cinematography and directing boring. There was nothing special. For an award that is supposed to celebrate a movie that is outstanding in all aspects, I do not think CODA fulfilled that requirement. This was something the Oscars also recognized, as the movie did not receive nominations in production design, cinematography, or sound. If it wasn't good enough for those individual awards, why is it considered the best in everything?
Man, I love CODA. I’m just gonna ramble about CODA and why I think it deserved the best movie of the year, even if I have already said this like five times over the past two weeks surrounding the Oscar buzz, event, and aftermath. It almost – to me at least – felt like an homage to any of the previous indie movies that have come and passed through the Oscar nomination cohort. I feel like every year there is always one indie movie nominated for the sake of having something “artsy” even if the academy is not planning on giving that movie anything. In my opinion, this movie did a lot not only for the deaf community but for everyone with a disability. It made a statement that the whole rhetoric of “oh it's too hard to work with you” or “can you not do that right now?” was never and is not okay. That it is possible to work with people who have different needs and I think that is really cool.
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