Many reactions to Marlon Brando’s sit-in did not take long to arrive, and they were as incendiary as one would expect
The years and the Oscar ceremonies go by, and we are still unable to forget one of the most controversial moments in the history of the most important event of each awards season. Far from being referring to Will Smith’s infamous slap on Chris Rock, the moment I am referring to is Marlon Brando’s refusal to accept the Oscar for best actor for his eternal work in ‘The Godfather’ by Francis Ford Coppola.
The reinvidication
This anecdote took place at the 45th Academy Awards in Hollywood, which took place in 1973. Roger Moore and Liv Ullmann were on stage to present the award to the best performer of the year, after announcing the nominees and giving the name of the winner, receive on stage Sacheen Littlefeather; an indigenous activist who rejected the statuette at the hands of 007 before giving a powerful speech.
In it, the Apache woman, representing Brando, explained the reasons why the interpreter decided to stand up to the organization, focused on the treatment that the film and television industry gave to American Indians in its productions and revivals, and in recent events such as the occupation of Wounded Knee. An unexpected political allegation that left the public stunned and to which the academy reacted retroactively half a century later.
It took 50 years for AMPAS to publish a formal apology to the treatment Littlefeather received after his participation in the ’73 Oscars. He prayed the following.
“A powerful statement that continues to remind us of the need for respect and the importance of human dignity. The abuse he endured because of this statement was disproportionate and unjustified. The emotional toll she has endured and the cost to her own career in our industry are irreparable. For too long the courage you showed has gone unrecognized. For this reason, we offer our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration.”
The reaction
However, there were many who did not decide to take so much time to reflect on what happened that night. Without going any further, in addition to boos on the part of the not so respectable person present at the ceremony, the activist denounced that John Wayne tried to attack her to get her off the stagewhich several security guards managed to avoid.
The one who did manage to express his opinion in public shortly after Littlefeather’s speech was Clint Eastwood, in charge of presenting the Oscar for the best film of the year, which went to ‘The Godfather’. The actor and director, before beginning the process of reading the nominees and announcing the winner, did not hesitate to make a joke accompanied by one of his legendary lopsided smiles which the public received with applause and for which, later, he would be accused of being racist:
“I don’t know if I should present this award on behalf of all the cowboys who were filmed in John Ford’s westerns over the years.”
Leaving aside unfortunate comments and late responses to which Littlefeather herself responded with no small sense of humor—”L“We Indians are very patient people, it’s only been 50 years!”—, what is truly worthwhile about this enduring controversy is the way in which pointed the way to current awards ceremoniesin which sociopolitical demands are the order of the day.
Without Brando, Littlefeather and the angry Wayne, Eastwood and company would not have experienced some of the most exciting moments inside and outside the business show American and his comments on #MeToo, climate change or, more recently, the Israeli genocide in Gaza —tremendous Jonathan Glazer—. In fact, our Goyas also see themselves reflected in that distant 1973. And art, at its core, is politics.
In Espinof:
