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Acceptance speeches at awards ceremonies have long served as a platform for winners to express political stances and speak out against social injustices, whether their winning work touches upon such issues or they simply aim to raise public awareness for specific causes. However, acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, known for "Volver," recently told The Los Angeles Times (LAT) in an interview that he felt speakers at this year's Academy Awards were generally too politically indifferent.
Image Source: Los Angeles Times
Almodóvar stated, "You know, I'm not blaming anyone, but the live broadcast of the Oscars [this year] was particularly striking because almost no one protested the war or opposed Trump. Perhaps he wasn't the only one, but the only person I can think of who truly protested was a European, a friend of mine, Javier Bardem, who directly shouted, 'Free Palestine!' People are clearly very scared. The United States is not a democracy now. Some might say the U.S. is perhaps an imperfect democracy, but I truly don't believe it's a democracy anymore. It's heartbreaking and ironic that the regular voting mechanisms of a democratic system allow such authoritarianism to rise. This is both a paradox and a tragedy."
Almodóvar felt that, in contrast, Spaniards are more outspoken and fearless: "I have nothing to be afraid of. Broadly speaking, Spaniards are very outspoken and not afraid to expose the true nature of things. Our government has classified the events in Gaza as genocide, and the Spanish people are generally brave enough to expose the true nature of war."
via： Los Angeles Times