When members of the movie industry gather Sunday at the Dolby Theatre for the 91st Academy Awards, they will be coming together to honor the outstanding achievements of cinema from 2018.
While there’s no question that the Oscars are about spectacle, from great dresses and suits to memorable speeches, there’s another reason the ceremony is the object of such intense public passions. In celebrating the best movies of a given year and the people whose hard work made those movies possible, the Oscars can be a celebration of what’s best about a certain idea of America.
First and foremost, the movies the Oscars celebrate are about seeking out new ways to see the world.