This post originally appeared on the DVD Netflix blog “Inside the Envelope.” That company folded in 2023, and the blog was shut down.
To sew up the Academy Award winners of the 2010s, let’s use a patchwork quilt as a symbol for them. In the previous decades, it was possible to tie the awardees with recurring themes, social conditions, and major wars. While the world has been fighting the war on terrorism for nearly two decades, it no longer serves to unite the country as it did in the years following 9/11.
Current issues discussed today include politics, immigration, human rights, and the environment, and it should be interesting to see how these topics are addressed in film in the coming years. For now, let’s take a look back at some notable Academy Award winners of the 2010s, with themes that vary like the colorful squares of granny’s quilt.
2010
For the Academy Awards ceremony in 2010, The Hurt Locker took home six Oscars for nine of the categories it was nominated for, including best picture. Set in Iraq, this film follows a U.S. Army explosive ordnance disposal team just trying to stay alive in the final days of their tour of duty. The decisions being made by a new staff sergeant seem to put the soldiers at unnecessary risk, when they are so close to going home.
2011
If you’ve never seen The Social Network, about the origins of Facebook, you should. The film won Oscars in 2011 for film editing, adapted screenplay, and music. Facebook has become almost as ubiquitous as the landline once was. We keep up with the Jones, stay in touch with extended family, and get much of our news from the platform that started out as an electronic way for college students to socialize.
2012
In 2012, Octavia Spencer won best-supporting actress for her role as a 1960s Mississippi housekeeper in The Help. The film pulls back the curtain on the tribulations of African-American maids that their employers were oblivious to. Through interviews conducted by a young writer (Emma Stone), the women get a chance to speak their truth.
2013
Argo, which one best picture in 2013, is one of those on-the-edge-of-your-seat films. Based on a true story, six Americans need rescuing in 1979 Tehran, and CIA operatives get creative by pretending to be Canadian filmmakers. Expert Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) plans to smuggle the hostages out of the country, by folding them into the film crew.
2014
Best animated feature at the 2014 Academy Awards was Frozen, which also won for best music with “Let it Go,” a song that easily becomes an ear worm and can be belted out in many life situations. Not just for children, Frozen explores the relationship between sisters, the burden of responsibility, and the power of friendship.
2015
What do washed-up superhero actors do to revive their careers? How about writing, directing, co-producing, and starring in a Broadway play? The audacity of such a strategy is what makes this movie so intriguing, and Michael Keaton is perfect as the man who let his once-vital persona, Birdman, become part of his very being. The film won for best picture, cinematography and directing. Also worth mentioning is Boyhood, Richard Linklater’s brilliant project, which was filmed over 12 years with the same cast, including Patricia Arquette, who took home the best-supporting actress award.
2016
It’s remarkable how human beings can adapt to the most-difficult environments, including being held captive in squalid conditions for years. Brie Larson took home the best-actress award in 2016 for her role in Room as a mother to a young boy who has never experienced the outside world. She knows this must change and plans her escape.
2017
Hacksaw Ridge, which won the best film editing award in 2017, is based on the true story of a conscientious objector who enlists in the army after the attack at Pearl Harbor. A pacifist, he wants to be a medic, but he doesn’t want to carry a gun. Desmond Doss’ story is inspiring for anyone who’s ever held a strong belief and stood up to the pressure to change.
2018
Set in 1983 Italy, Call Me by Your Name, which won best adapted screenplay in 2018, makes the angst of a precocious teenage boy (Timothée Chalamet) nearly palpable. A summer visitor to the household of intellectuals stirs up desire in the boy and nostalgia in his father.
2019
Most people familiar with Green Book, which won best picture in 2019, regard it as a civil-rights story in the traditional sense. There are several layers to this story, though, and one of them is prejudice against other ethnic groups or nationalities. It is a heartwarming story of friendship, but it also gives us something to think about.
