2018 Academy Awards

Triggered
1.) *popular and well known definition* triggered is when someone gets offended or gets their feelings hurt, often used in memes to describe feminist, or people with strong victimization. (the use of this word through social media is generally ableist.)

2.) *actual definition of triggered* trigger is something that sets off a memory tape or flashback transporting the person back to the event of her/his original trauma.
trauma in the form of flashbacks or overwhelming feelings of sadness, anxiety, or panic. The brain forms a connection between a trigger and the feelings with which it is associated, and some triggers are quite innocuous. For example, a person who smelled incense while being raped might have a panic attack when he or she smells incense in a store. Triggers are very personal, and generally people with severe PTSD or/and anxiety can be triggered by everyday things.

“Trigger” is a term referring to any stimulus that evokes the memory of a traumatic event or episode. While the word is most commonly used in the context of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), it has been since adopted by those in the social justice blogosphere to refer to any topical issue that is deemed contentious or debatable, and to a lesser extent, the term has been also re-appropriated as an ironic term used by their detractors to criticize certain issues that may be seen as too trivial or irrelevant to discuss in length.

The nomination / performance that's aged the best from 2005 came from the youngest nominee. Heath Ledger emerged from the shadow of young stardom to deliver a subtly devastating performance in Brokeback Mountain at age 26. Look no further than 22 year-old Timothee Chalamet in Call Me by Your Name for a modern equivalent. The comparison is even easier given that both were starring in gay romantic dramas. Ledger picked up a fair amount of nominations for his role, but finished behind Hoffman all allong the way. Chalamet, on the other hand, has been winning Best Actor and breakthrough awards, including from the two most important critics groups The New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.



(For a possibly wide variety of reasons, Oldman has been receiving some blowback for his role. Scan social media and you will find a hot take or five about how Oldman’s Winston Churchill is nothing more than skilled imitation while Chalamet is the one doing the real work. Despite being the frontrunner all season, this backlash only really began with the Globes. Attribute it to either Oldman’s troubling politics, or general attrition of the biopic as Oscar vehicle. Or maybe we can chalk it up to the desire for fresh blood.)

All Oscar lineups have the “happy to be here” performance that no one expects can win and they're often from breakout players. 2005 brought us Terrence Howard’s soulful rapper from Hustle & Flow, and for 2017 we have Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya. Howard was (slightly) further along in his career in 2005 than Kaluuya is now but Kaluuya is moving swiftly. While critically lauded and successful, Hustle & Flow never had the zeitgeist force of Get Out, so Howard expanded his fame with Marvel's Iron Man a couple of years after that indie/Oscar breakthrough. Kaluuya, though, has already headlined a blockbuster and he won't even make it to Oscar night before he's playing inside the Marvel universe himself. Black Panther opens February 16th.

The nominations for character actor David Straithairn (Good Night, and Good Luck.) and the then-more mainstream Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line) are where the 2005/2017 comparison breaks down. You can't really compare them to Daniel Day-Lewis and Denzel Washington, two of cinema's most iconic legends and Oscar beloveds, too. But, to bring us back to the opening statement, you'll note that the former duo were starring in biopics (all the rage w/ voters for years) while the latter duo are crafting original characters.

What does this all mean?

As much as the Academy has changed, old habits die hard. The industry may like to think of itself as progressive and boundary-pushing, but expect them to revert to the norm and recreate 2005 down to the tee. Come Oscar night, Gary Oldman will walk away with the statue for his big biographical drama which might have won in any earlier year in history. Chalamet’s performance is revelatory but, for Oscar, there is comfort in repetition.