2019 Oscars Wrap-Up: The Oscars are changing and resistant to change

The 2019 Oscars feel like a step back after so much progress in the last couple years, but there are glimmers of hope.

The 2018-2019 awards season has finally come to a close and like every other season, it feels like looking at an empty room after a party. It’s still and lifeless with reminders of what came before — all the decorations and glamour are now worn down, tattered, and strewn on the floor. And all you can do is ask yourself, was it worth it? But in an odd way, this season has felt like an even bigger let down than before.

After two consecutive years of some of the greatest Best Picture fields in recent memories, The Academy backslid to one that still had great progressive picks — Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, The Favourite, Roma — mixed with complete regressions — Bohemian Rhapsody, Green Book. It seems that unless one of the movies in the former group won that the season would be a letdown.

And we thought it could happen. After one of the most inspired picks in their histor…