Oscars 2016: Why The Spirit Awards Are Awesome

Hello, Bloggers! With the big show upon us in a week, I figured I'd share my thoughts on why the show that airs the day before the Oscars, the Independent Spirit Awards, are absolutely awesome. In some ways, you may like them more than the Oscars. Let's take a look as to why they are awesome:

#SpiritAwardsNotSoWhiteAndMale: In the Best Film lineup, they do have a white male-centered drama in the form of Spotlight. But they also have an animated film (Anomalisa), an African war drama (Beasts of No Nation), a lesbian romance (Carol), and a film starring two trans women of color shot on an iPhone (Tangerine). So if you're angry about the apparent lack of diversity at the Oscars, you'll find something to appreciate here.

This year doesn’t feel like the Oscars redux: Over the past few years, the Spirits have been on the verge of being just another precursor for the Oscars. I mean, the year 12 Years A Slave won Best Film, all the acting winners at the Spirits..you guessed it, went on to win at the Oscars: Matthew McConaughey, Cate Blanchett, Jared Leto, and Lupita Nyong'o. But with the exception of Best Female Lead, none of the other acting categories have Oscar nominees which is quite a relief.

Supporting Actress could go in a more different direction: In the Supporting Female category, it could go to Jennifer Jason Leigh's voice performance in Anomalisa or they could make history and reward a trans actress with Mya Taylor in Tangerine. Between those two, I might go with Taylor. But I would be just as ecstatic if Leigh took it.

We could watch Ben Mendelsohn accept an award: Whenever I watched Ben Mendelsohn lose at the Emmys, Critics Choice, and the Golden Globes for Bloodline, it was physically painful. But because he's nominated here for Mississippi Grind, we may have a chance to see him actually make a speech and it will be glorious.

Room could win something other than for Brie Larson: Don't get me wrong. I absolutely LOVE that Brie Larson is sweeping through the Best Actress awards. But here, we might get to see it also win Best First Screenplay for Emma Donoghue. She is almost certainly going to lose the Oscar to The Big Short, so it would be pretty sweet for her to get to make a speech.

Even Carol could win....something: Despite Carol scoring the most nominations at the Globes and the BAFTAs, it got completely shut out at both while also being snubbed at PGA and for Best Picture at the Oscars. But it might be able to win at least something like Cinematography for Edward Lachman or if they really want to veer away from predicting the Oscars, Best Film.

So those are my thoughts on why the Independent Spirit Awards are so awesome. Whetheryou agree or disagree, please feel free to write your thoughts in the comments section and I look forward to when they announce the winners on Saturday. Thanks for reading!