The weirdos won at the Oscars.
Everything Everywhere All At Once (EEAAO), nominated for eleven Oscars, swept up seven in various categories, proving conclusively that even hot dog fingers and butt plug action scenes can’t stop you from winning Hollywood’s highest accolades.
Daniel Kwan, having just won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for EEAAO with his creative partner Daniel Scheinert, opened his speech by talking about how he struggles with self-esteem and self-confidence:
“I never thought of myself as a screenwriter or a storyteller. I never thought I was good enough. I have self-esteem problems,” he explained to a crowd that immediately began shouting words of encouragement and cheering.
“My imposter syndrome is at an all time high.”
Kwan also recognized he didn’t do it alone. Daniel Scheinert, his partner-in-crime, stood behind him and gripped his shoulder, smiling as he spoke Kwan spoke:
“[Scheinert] told me I was a storyteller and a filmmaker before I could even say that myself.”
And later in his acceptance speech for Best Director:
“The world is opening up to the fact that genius does not stem from individuals like us standing on stage but rather genius emerges from the collective. We are all products of our context. We are all descendants of something and someone.”
Kwan surrounded himself with allies–his mother, his wife, and his creative partner–so that he could battle the resistance long enough to put out EEAAO. He acknowledged his lineage, both personal and professional, that provided the context and community–the scenius–he needed to make this film.
Scheinert, who spoke much less, hinted at a similar story. He thanked his public school teachers who supported him and his parents for “not squashing his creativity” even while he made “disturbing horror films” and “really perverted comedy films”.
Their words struck a chord within me. In particular, I saw myself in Kwan. Watching him stand on Hollywood’s biggest stage and say the same things out loud I often say quietly to myself was not only inspiring but healing. I felt seen. I felt like, if he could do what he did while struggling the way he does, maybe I could pursue my creative path to the stage of my own personal Oscars.
I don’t yet feel like I have my community–my scenius–but I am searching. Maybe I’ll find it here in Austin, maybe not. As a lifelong gamer and internet person, I’m well-accustomed to finding safe spaces online to nurture my own weirdness. Internet communities such as Write of Passage and Find The Others have helped. But they lack the magic that can only happen when like-minded people gather at the same moment in space and time.
I will continue to seek until I find or make a community of my own.
A huge congratulations is in order to everyone involved in EEAAO. When I first heard of the film, I couldn’t believe a movie like that would even get made, let alone promoted as heavily as it was. Watching it win seven Oscars gave me hope that maybe we’ll see a few less franchises and sequels and more movies by weirdos in the future.
It also gave me hope that maybe, someday, I’ll get to stand on a stage like the one the Daniels stood on and thank all the people who helped me get there–people like you, reading this, right now.