Despite its #OscarsSoWhite problem, the 2016 Academy Awards ended up promoting advocacy.
In a year that failed to include any people of color when it came to major acting awards, the ceremony still managed to be relatively subversive.
Held on Sunday in Los Angeles, the ceremony was filled with moments highlighting important issues like racism, sexual assault, climate change, and more.
In his opening monologue, which in the past has dealt with lighter fare, host Chris Rock didn't hold back. From the very start, he called out the academy's diversity issue.
"I’m here at the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the White People’s Choice Awards," he said, according to a transcript provided by the New York Times. "You realize if they nominated hosts, I wouldn’t even get this job. So y’all would be watching Neil Patrick Harris right now."
As much as Rock joked about the problem, he didn't shy away from delving into the darker side of racism and its history in Hollywood and beyond.
Speaking about the lack of black nominees in the '50s and '60s, Rock said there were other, more pressing, issues to care about at the time.
"We had real things to protest, you know," he said. "We’re too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won best cinematographer."
He added, "You know, when your grandmother’s swinging from a tree, it’s really hard to care about best documentary foreign short."
In addition to his monologue, Rock traveled to a movie theater in Compton to interview black moviegoers about a range of topics, including whether they had even heard of this year's Best Picture nominees. Short answer: nope.
Speaking with one moviegoer, Rock asked how bad the lack of diversity was in reality. "I mean, like, real bad? Like smack a white man bad?" he questioned a man, who jokingly responded that he would be sent to jail for such behavior.
Rock fired back, touching on ways black people are continually criminalized for their actions. "You can get three years for a hard look," he quipped.
Besides the central issue of diversity, the night offered up advocacy in other ways.
Taking a stand against sexual assault, Lady Gaga performed her Oscar-nominated song (co-written with Diane Warren) "Til It Happens To You" from the documentary The Hunting Ground. The emotional performance was made even more powerful when a group of sexual assault survivors joined the singer on stage. They ended the performance by holding hands in solidarity, which brought the audience to its feet for a standing ovation.
U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden introduced Lady Gaga, linking her song to the White House's It's On Us campaign, which aims to end sexual assault.
Lastly, Leonardo DiCaprio used his first Oscar win for Best Actor to speak about climate change. Discussing how far south the cast and crew of The Revenant traveled in order to find snow during filming, DiCaprio said, "Climate change is real. It is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species. We need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating."
THISSSS.😭😻👇🏻 #Oscars pic.twitter.com/T0cvionO5J
Earlier in the night, two films scored big for Pakistan and Chile, with each filmmaker using their win to highlight issues at home.
Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won Best Documentary Short for her film, A Girl in the River: The Price of Freedom, which investigated the practice of religiously motivated honor killings in Pakistan.
In her speech, Obaid-Chinoy said that her film inspired Pakistani officials to reconsider laws about honor killings.
"This is what happens when determined women get together," she told the audience, according to CTV News. "This week the Pakistani prime minister has said that he will change the law on honor killing after watching this film. That is the power of film."
A female filmmaker finally wins something! It's a miracle. Huge congrats to Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy!
Chile took home its first Oscar, winning Best Short Film (Animated). Director Gabriel Osorio and producer Pato Escala accepted the award for their film Bear Story, speaking about how it was the country's first Academy Award. On the surface, the film is about a separated family, but it contains a larger metaphor about life under former dictator Augusto Pinoche, according to the LA Times.
"This is very important for us," Escala told the audience, ending his acceptance speech with a resounding, "Viva Chile!"
Although all eyes will remain focused on future Oscars ceremonies when it comes to diversity, the 2016 Academy Awards still managed to win big this year by promoting advocacy across a range of important topics.
