'Parasite' makes history by winning four Oscars including Best Picture

SCREEN CAPTURE / ABC

'Parasite's' cast and crew assembled on stage after the Best Picture award was announced.

It was a historic night for the South Korean movie Parasite. It won four Academy Awards, including the most prestigious award, Best Picture, the first Asian film to win that prize.

Parasite, a black comedy about class bias, also won Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best International Feature. Director Bong Joon-Ho's win was the first Oscar for a Korean filmmaker.

The last director of Asian descent to win Best Director and Best Picture was Taiwanese American Ang Lee for Life of Pi in 2013.

“Just to be nominated was a huge honor,” Bold told the audience through an interpreter when he won the director's Oscar. “I never thought I would win.”

“I will drink until next morning,” he joked.

Parasite's Best Picture award was well received by the celebrity-filled audience although it was predicted that the Oscar would go to the big-budget spectacle 1917. 

When the award was announced, the Parasite's cast and crew assembled on the stage as producer Kwak Sin-ae said through a translator, "I'm speechless. We never imagined this to ever happen, we are so happy. I feel like a very opportune moment in history is happening right now. I express my deepest gratitude and respect for all the members of the Academy for making this decision."

SCREEN CAPTURE / ABC

Bong Joon-Ho won an Oscar for directing 'Parasite.'

Kazu Hiro won an Oscar for Hair and Makeup who, along with Vivan Baker and Anne Morgan, won for their work in Bombshell. It was the second oscar for Hiro, who had previouisly won for Churchill in 2018.

The evening saw the first Maori, Taika Waititi, to win an Oscar for best adapted screenplay for the film Jojo Rabbit. Waititi dedicated his award to "All the indigenous kids of the world who want to do art and dance and write stories. We are the original storytellers, and we can make it here (Hollywood) as well."

Later in the evening when he presented one of the awards, he reminded the audience that the ceremonies were taking place "on the ancestral lands of the Tongva, Tataviam and the Chumash.

Diversity and inclusion was an underlying them for the evening when Monae sang the opening number, she reminded the audience of the Academy's shortcomings. "It's time to come alive," sang Janelle Monáe in the show's opening number, "because the Oscars is so white!"

Although Parasite won the major awards for the night, none of its cast was nominated for individual acting awards. The movie's cast had previously won Best Acting Ensemble at the Golden Globes.

Of the 20 acting nominations, this year, only one, Cynthia Evio, was an actor of color for her work in Harriet. No women had been nominated for Best Director despite several Oscar-worthy movies directed by women, including Lulu Wang for The Farewell and Greta Gerwig for Little Women.

Except for 'Parasite,' SAG nominations snub Asian shows, actors

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American actress Awkwafina drew praise for her performance in 'The Farewell.'

The Screen Actors Guild overlooked the work of Asians and Asian Americans this year in its nominations for SAG Awards. The nominations for the awards were announced Thursday (Dec. 11) with the noticeable omission of some some strong performances by AAPI actors.

The Farewell's Awkwafina, who just a few days ago nabbed a nomination as an actress for the Golden Globes and was named one of the Entertainers of the Year by Entertainment Weekly, didn't even merit a mention by her acting peers.

It's hard to fathom what changed on Killing Eve from 2018 to 2019? Sandra Oh, who won last year as Best Actress for her role in Killing Eve, was omitted this year. However, her costar Jodie Comer, like in the Golden Globes, earned a nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series.Was it the blonde's turn, or what?

BBC

Same role, same actor, same outstanding performance, but Sandra Oh was skipped over by the Screen Actors Guild.

I love The Walking Dead, but it's nomination in the Stunts or Action in a Television Series is puzzling. How can  clobbering zombies in the head compare to the outstanding Hong Kong-style martial arts, with its choreography of leaps and bounds that was the mainstay of Into the Badlands?

My personal favorite, Joel Dela Fuente's unstereotypical, nuanced portrayal of Kempeitai Chief Inspector Takeshi Kido in The Man in the High Castle was overlooked. Apparently, not enough voters caught the show on Hulu to appreciate the most complete, most-rounded Asian character on TV.

THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE

Joel dela Fuente didn't resort to stereotypes for his role in 'The Man in the High Castle.'

To be fair, the lack of any Asian or Asian American nominations speaks to the shortage of productions showcasing Asian and Asian American actors. In comparison to the hundreds of productions for white actors and the dozens of productions featuring black performers, productions featuring dramatic or comedic opportunities for Asian and Asian American actors can still be counted in one, maybe two, hands.

This year, there was no production to equal The Assassination of Gianni Versace -- in terms of exposure to the American public -- which earned Filipino American actor Darren Chris a bevy of awards last year for portraying the gay, delusional, flamboyant killer Filipino American Andrew Cunanan, a once-in-a-lifetime role.

Unlike the Oscars, which are influenced by PR contests between studios and sometimes dubbed a popularity contest, the SAG Awards are supposed to be given to acting performances as voted by other actors. Or, maybe, Hollywood voters, which make up most of SAG's membership, have an aversion films where you have to read subtitles.

Director Bong Joon-Ho, left, and the cast of 'Parasite' at the Cannes Film Festival.

Thank goodness for Bong Joon-Ho's movie, Parasite, or otherwise, Asian and Asian American actors would be completely shut out this year. Parasite's Korean cast was nominated for Best Ensemble Cast in A Dramatic Movie. 

Its hard to explain some of the nominations and why some worthy performances overlooked. Perhaps it tells more about the viewing habits of actors that lean in favor of English accents, histrionics over subtlety, familiar faces and the uncomplicated, tried and tested themes over something new and different, ie. the Asian or Asian American experience.

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