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LLOYD!! - They’re back, baby!

Usually the Academy Awards is about glamour and great achievements in filmmaking and artistry. There were definitely groundbreaking achievements in film and amazing performances by John Legend and Common, Jennifer Hudson, Lady Gaga, and Adam Levine. However, that was not the focus for tonight’s event. Tonight was about sending a message to the public about becoming aware of current events and issues that are impacting today’s society. Subjects like Alzheimer awareness (Juliane Moore), ALS awareness (Eddie Redmayne), immigration issues, (Alejandro Innaritu), were touched upon. However the two people that touched the heart with their speeches were Graham Moore and Patricia Arquette.

Patricia Arquette, when she stepped on stage to receive her award for Best Supporting Actress for “Boyhood,” she decided to take the moment to not only thank her family and friends, but to also take a stand on the treatment of women in the work world. She boldly exclaims rallying the audience with her passion and eloquence on an issue that deserves to be acknowledged:

This speech was so powerful, even Meryl Streep couldn’t help but rise to her feet waving her hand with the same desire as Arquette. It was bold and brave of Arquette to get on a public platform and to openly share what has been on everyone’s mind: women deserve equal pay and equal treatment.

Another speech that made me and my dad break down with tears of joy was when Graham Moore got up to receive his award for Best Adapted Screenplay for “The Imitation Game.” Being a woman who has dealt with criticism for being “weird” and “different,” this speech pulled at my heartstrings and was probably one of the most influential speeches of the night. Graham states with shock and appreciation in his voice:

This speech is by far one of the best speeches in Oscar history for my generation.

During the Grammy Awards on February 8th, Kanye West (it seemed jokingly at first, but we learned later not so) almost stormed the stage to take away Beck’s award for Best Album of the Year. It would have been a repeat of the same schtick when he walked onstage during Taylor Swift’s proud moment at the Video Music Awards for Best Female Music Video in 2009. In my opinion, it was not acceptable the first time and it definitely is not acceptable this time. Kanye West needs to stop acting this way.

While I understand his reasoning behind the Grammy incident (personal disclosure: I do believe that Beyoncé or Sam Smith should have won the award over Beck), but when you put yourself out there as a celebrity and are an idol to hundreds of thousands of fans, you have to exude that sense of professionalism and respect. In this case, Kanye does not show that he has respect for his peers. Especially when he made comments during the after party by saying ironically:

“The Grammys, if they want real artists to keep coming back, they need to stop playing with us. We ain't gonna play with them no more…Beck needs to respect artistry and he should have given his award to Beyoncé, and at this point, we tired of it. Because what happens is, when you keep on diminishing art and not respecting the craft and smacking people in their face after they deliver monumental feats of music, you're disrespectful to inspiration” (Camp; Kanye West: “Beck Needs to Respect Artistry and He Should Have Given His Award to Beyoncé;” Pitchfork; Feb 9, 2015)

In fact, Kanye is now flirting with becoming a punch line, as he was during the Saturday Night Live 40th anniversary show.

But here’s the thing: Kanye West preaches this idea of diminishing art and not respecting the craft but in this case he is acting like a hypocrite. If he wanted to respect artistry, he would have kept his seat. Each and every artist, music or otherwise, has a different way of presenting their artistry. Beck in this case is a talented musician who has been in this industry since 1985.  He’s He has been hailed by critics and publics alike as being amongst the most creative and idiosyncratic musicians of the 1990s and 2000s alternative rock.

While Beck does not possess a relevant presence within the younger generation like Beyoncé or some of the others nominated in the category. Beyoncé is without a doubt an amazing performer and a powerful figure deserving of the acclaim of her industry. The good news is she has a lifetime to get a Grammy. She is 33 years old after all; and its exciting to see all the success she has earned within her 17 years of working in the industry is extraordinary.