"Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films"

The words echoed across the hallowed chambers of The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on the night of January 5, 2020. Bong Joon-ho, after receiving the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film for 'Parasite' at the American awards ceremony, had playfully taken a jibe at the mainstream conformity of the honourary circuit. In a way, it felt surreal - the first Korean to win this award, opening up the possibility of recognition for films made in a foreign language outside of what is typically considered “comfortable” to Americans – i.e. the Romance Languages of Spanish, German, French, or other European languages.

In other ways, it became an important landmark of our times. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and by extension, the American entertainment industry watchdogs, highlighting an unconfusing capitalism-is-evil satire from across the distant Korean peninsula. With the marble-and-gold statuette held firmly, Bong watched the United States roar with applause as 'Parasite' claimed its rightful universal acclaim. That the window had opened up in the land of opportunities is anyone's guess.

As a similar situation unfolded tonight at the 92nd Academy Awards, history was made again at what many would regard as the most prestigious ceremony for mainstream film recognition. The term 'mainstream' here is important, as it implies the standard conformity of every artistic industry to its own. Yet, there stood Bong Joon-ho, once again with his translator Sharon Choi, letting the world a glimpse into the 'amazing' world of Asian cinema. Parasite won a total of four Oscars - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing (Original Screenplay) and Best International Feature Film. In doing so, Bong beat several Hollywood stalwarts and industry heavyweights, including Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, both of who were nominated for the awards ceremony after a considerable amount of time. In his acceptance remarks, Bong gave a shout-out to both directors. "When I was in school, I studied Martin Scorsese's films. Just to be nominated was a huge honour. I never thought I would win," he said as the audience rose to its feet in applause. "When people in the U.S. were not familiar with my film, Quentin always put my films on his list. He's here," Bong added, "Quentin, I love you!"

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), long criticised for its habit of rewarding mediocrity and an unreasonable tendency to celebrate films about itself and the industry, skipped Joker, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, 1917, and rewarded Parasite, in a bid to emerge victorious in a battle for righteousness. In the face of a string of massive public backlashes, the Academy faced a choice - to prove that its members were not endemically prejudiced when it came to diversity and inclusiveness, or go down the way of public condemnation and reward yet another already-mainstream, already-acclaimed industry stalwart, or perhaps a Scorsese or Tarantino in the making. In an interview with the Vulture magazine in October last year, Bong Joon-ho had jokingly said, "The Oscars are not an international festival. They're very local."

Is it then a forced attempt for the Academy to prove it is 'better' and 'progressive' this time like it had made an admirable bid to give airtime to people of colour last time with a slew of landmark victories for black women in technical categories? Or is it finally an intrinsic desire to recognise better and diverse works of art, instead of its formulaic baits? Either way, the fact remains that the 92nd Academy Awards broke the status quo. And this (Intellectuals will tell you otherwise) is the reason why the Oscars matter. This is how the mainstream cinema aficionado, not the lone world cinema connoisseur, who lay in wait for the Academy to unveil its awards, gets the first taste of cinema across borders. This is how the efforts of every small country with a film industry looking to get its word out there win recognition. Isn't this the only reason why this event, although extremely commercialised as it is, should matter?

In its clear indictment of systemic inequality, Parasite doesn't fetishize nor patronize the family ennobled by poverty. In a way, it makes humans, loaded with agency and desire, of every single character. The Academy, too, in a way, has ended up recognising works of art that exist outside its sphere of cultural definitions and managed to change how we look at the honour ever again. It is the first time in over 50 years that the Oscars have managed to line up, in terms of acclaim, with the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, widely regarded as the most prestigious acclaim for world cinema (The last film to do so was 1955's Marty). It doesn't matter what intention went behind it (and knowing the Academy, there was probably a lot of politics), but that it did. One could only hope that the road leads to everywhere from this point hence, and people in the mainland start broadening their horizons to a diverse appetite of films and discover the delightful world of Asian cinema (from Bong's varied filmography, including the must-watch Memories of Murder (2003) and Snowpiercer (2013), to Park Chan-wook's gritty thrillers laden with black humour to Sion Sono's subversive filmography). At the same time, it is necessary to remain vigilant of the continuous upliftment of the Academy's standards and ensure that this isn't a one-off thing, as although Parasite was handed out its fair share of praise, some other foreign language films like Wang Xiaoshuai's So Long, My Son and Kantemir Balagov's Beanpole were snubbed. 

"Those in charge at the Academy cannot control the tastes of its voters," Catherine Shoard had written for The Guardian last year, but once in a while, as audiences ready themselves to get the boot in, it's nice to see the year's actual best picture be recognised for the Academy Award for the Best Picture.