The Brief: Green Book took home the Oscar for Best Picture, but the hilarious memes from the 91st Academy Awards and Red Carpet might be more entertaining than the actual ceremony.

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DEEP DIVE

On Sunday February 24th, the best and brightest of Hollywood stars gathered inside the Dolby Theater for the 91st Academy Awards. There were some laughs (Best Actress recipient Olivia Colman takes the cake for cheekiest speech), there were tears (Lady Gaga has a gift for making audiences cry), and there were some surprises (Green Book took home the grand prize of Best Picture, surprising everyone). There were also many memeable moments…

It should come as no surprise that the internet was all-a-Twitter when it came to Hollywood’s biggest night, starting hours before the ceremony began, on the Red Carpet.

Social media commentators weren’t shy about sharing their feelings…

We learned Best Actor winner Rami Malek might have the acting chops, but he hasn’t quite mastered the bow tie…

Perhaps the most meme-able moment of the evening was Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s performance of Oscar-winning Best Song, “Shallow”. It’s been rumored by many that the pair must be engaged in some sort of off-camera situationship and if you didn’t believe it before…

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A date is born. 🌟 #Oscars

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Their chemistry is off the charts hot. Thirsty much, Gaga?

America is too, it seems.

Director Spike Lee took home his FIRST Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for his film, BlacKkKlansman. Upon taking the stage, he and his bright purple suit immediately jumped into the arms of presenter, Samuel L. Jackson.

President Trump later took to Twitter to call out the director for his speech, which called for Americans to “mobilize” for the 2020 election and “make the moral choice between love versus hate.” Though Lee never directly mentioned President Trump in his speech, the President interpreted Lee’s speech to be a “racist hit”.

The evening progressed smoothly, especially considering the lack of host. Speeches were cut short by the orchestra, as per usual…

Captain Amer- I mean, Chris Evans, saved the day when he helped Best Supporting Actress Winner, Regina King, to the stage.

And many criticized the Academy for the lack of popular films nominated – whatever happened to A Quiet Place?

Perhaps the most controversial moment was when Green Book took home the grand prize for Best Picture of 2018, shocking attendees and viewers at home.

The film, which has now been dubbed, the “Worst Best Picture to Win Since ‘Crash'”, has caused a divide between audiences and filmmakers alike. While some see it as a film celebrating friendship, others have found the film to be straight-up racist.

Though the message behind the film might be one of friendship and confronting racism in an era of segregation, Green Book is the prime example of the Academy’s current conundrum. They may aspire to be progressive, diverse, and woke AF, but traditionally, the Academy has been progressive…as seen through the eyes of privileged white folks, predominantly white men.

The team behind Green Book also happens to be predominantly white men.

Green Book‘s win has definitely rubbed some people the wrong way. It’s even spiraled into a meme comparing Green Book to white allies who choose not to “see color” and are all about Black rights…as long as it’s convenient.

It’s clear that while the film industry is definitely moving in the right direction, Hollywood has still got a lot of work to do.

However, to end on a positive note, we can forever be grateful for the 91st Academy Awards bringing us forever memorable moments like this…

Thank you and good night!