Written By: Nirmalya Dutta | Updated : February 23, 2015 1:54 PM IST
Say what you want about the Academy Awards or the Oscars but it is a great platform for promoting issues that need a celebrity voice. Last year s winner of best actor and supporting actor were Matthew McConaughey (Best Actor) and Jared Leto (Best Supporting Actor) for Dallas Buyers Club, an amazing movie set in the 80s about HIV discrimination and stigma. Here are some of the major health-related issues that were discussed at this year s Oscar awards:
Gay Rights
I wonder how many sentiments would ve been hurt and FIRs filed against the Oscars if an openly gay person hosted an award function in our nation where homosexuality is still a crime. But with Ellen Degeneres s performance last year, Neil Patrick Harris hosting the awards and the presence of several openly gay celebs and topics, the message from Hollywood is clear gay and proud! Incidentally, one of the pictures nominated is The Imitation Game which has Benedict Cumberbatch playing Alan Turing, a genius who was prosecuted for his homosexuality. (Read: Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics: Google shows support for gay and LGBT rights with Google Doodle)
Alzheimer s and dementia
Another health issue that was broached was Alzheimer s as Julianne Moore won the Best Actress Award for portraying a patient in Still Alice. The movie saw her play the role of a linguistics professor who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer s. The movie was also praised of succinctly depicting the trials and travails of dementia-sufferers. To prepare for the part Moore spoke to many people who suffered from the disease, including women with early-onset dementia and docs who treat the disease. She had also spoken up about the lack of information: I don t think there s enough information. I think an idea still stands that Alzheimer s is all about memory. One of the things I found is that people often simply feel lost. Alzheimer s is more akin to an ongoing panic attack where suddenly nothing has any reference. It s like having to cut through fog every day.
There s very little awareness, says Moore. But 30 years ago, there was little awareness of cancer. With cancer, we ve spent the money needed to properly research it and we ve talked about it openly. That s really changed things. I can only hope that happens with Alzheimer s. (Read: 6 ways to prevent Alzheimer s)
Motor Neurone Disease and ALS
This year s Best Actor Award winner was Eddie Redmayne, the man who portrayed Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. During his acceptance speech he said: Thank you. Thank you. I don t think I m capable of articulating quite how I feel right now. I m fully aware that I am a lucky, lucky man. This Oscar belongs to all of those people around the world battling ALS. It belongs to one exceptional family Stephen, Jane and the Hawking children. I will be his custodian. I will be at his beck and call. I wait on him hand and foot. Thank you to Hannah, my wife. I love you we have a new fella coming to share our apartment. (Read: The Oscars 2015 Eddie Redmayne wins Best Actor for playing Stephen Hawking with MND in The Theory of Everything )
The Theory of Everything tells the genius s story from his early years as an astrophysics student at Cambridge University and follows his life as he starts experiencing the early symptoms of motor neurone disease. Mirroring reality, the movie shows Redmayne gradually lose control of his movement, learning to use a wheelchair and speaking through a computer. Incidentally, last year we also saw the Ice Bucket Challenge go viral which helped raise a lot of money and awareness about ALS.
Suicide and depression
Another winner tonight was Graham Moore who wrote the screenplay for The Imitation Game, based on Alan Turing s life. For those of you don t know, Alan Turing was one of the greatest minds to ever live. I wouldn t be exaggerating if I said that without Turing s contributions:
a) You might have been living in a Nazi-dominate world (he helped the Allies win World War II by breaking Nazi codes)
b) You might not be reading this review on your computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone, because Turing is considered the father of theoretical computer science and Artificial Intelligence.
Moore gave a beautiful speech to increase awareness about depression and suicides saying: I tried to commit suicide at 16 and now I'm standing here, he said. I would like for this moment to be for that kid out there who feels like she doesn t fit in anywhere. You do. Stay weird. Stay different, and then when it's your turn and you are standing on this stage please pass the same message along. Ironically, Alan Turing was hunted down for being different, as he was forced to undergo chemical treatment to take his life because he was gay. After the war he was prosecuted for homosexuality in Britain and committed suicide. (Read: Why have adolescent suicides gone up by four times in the last twenty years?)
So the message from the Oscars is loud and clear: Be proud of being different, don t let idiots get you down and let us all fight for the things that really matter.
Photo source: Getty images
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