The “Academy Museum of Motion Pictures” is opening in Los Angeles, known as a global hub for film studios and the film industry. Operated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hosts the Academy Awards, this museum boasts a 46,000 square meter exhibition space, making it one of the largest film museums in the United States. The architecture is designed by Renzo Piano, who received the Pritzker Prize, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture. The museum will feature permanent and special exhibitions related to the history of film.

The grand lobby of the Streamline Moderne-style Saban Building has been turned into a free-admission gallery, displaying 20 golden Oscar statues representing the history of the awards. Moving forward, visitors will be taken through the chronological history of the Academy Awards, allowing them to explore the evolution of filmmaking. The gallery reflecting on the history of the Academy Awards addresses topics such as the prevalence of white winners with #OscarsSoWhite, the underrepresentation of female nominees, and the treatment of Black nominees during award ceremonies. The permanent exhibition titled “Stories of Cinema” not only celebrates the history of film but also addresses its darker aspects, offering a multi-faceted view of the film industry’s history.

The fourth floor of the museum offers around 1,100 square meters of space for special exhibitions. The first post-opening exhibition will be “Hayao Miyazaki,” showcasing over 300 materials, including original image boards, character designs, storyboards, and layouts, including items being publicly displayed for the first time outside of Japan.

Information about future exhibitions following the Miyazaki exhibition has already been released. One such exhibition aims to reevaluate the contributions of Black artists to the film industry. Co-organized with the National Museum of African American History and Culture, this exhibition seems poised to consider the future of the film industry.

Academy Awards of 2021

• Chloé Zhao won Best Director, becoming the second woman to win in this category.
• Youn Yuh-jung won Best Supporting Actress, becoming the second Asian woman to win in this category.
• Mia Neal became the first Black woman to win the Hair and Makeup Award.

In recent years, due to various contexts such as the rise of nationalism, the spread of the novel coronavirus, and the development of the social media society, terms like “intolerance” and “discrimination” have become more frequent. Two films that come to mind when hearing these keywords are “Two Distant Strangers” and “Jojo Rabbit.” Both films depict encounters between two individuals of different races in societies marked by intolerance.

“Two Distant Strangers” was written two months after the George Floyd incident. The film portrays Carter, an African American, trapped in a loop where he is unjustly killed by a white police officer every time he tries to return home. Despite Carter’s calm demeanor, he is perpetually subjected to violence regardless of his actions (or lack thereof).

After 99 iterations of his unjust deaths, Carter resolves to confront the white officer. The two engage in an open conversation about their life experiences, revealing the stark differences between their lived realities as Black and white individuals. The film highlights issues such as the prevalence of white Oscar winners, the underrepresentation of female nominees, and the treatment of Black nominees during award ceremonies. The permanent exhibition is titled “Stories of Cinema,” offering visitors the opportunity to not only appreciate the history of film but also to confront its darker aspects and reevaluate the film industry from various perspectives.

The museum’s fourth floor offers around 1,100 square meters of space for special exhibitions. The first post-opening exhibition will be “Hayao Miyazaki,” showcasing over 300 materials, including original image boards, character designs, storyboards, and layouts, including items being publicly displayed for the first time outside of Japan.

Information about future exhibitions following the Miyazaki exhibition has already been released. One such exhibition aims to reevaluate the contributions of Black artists to the film industry. Co-organized with the National Museum of African American History and Culture, this exhibition seems poised to consider the future of the film industry.

Have you heard of the film “ATHLETE A” currently available on Netflix? It’s a documentary that addresses an incident in the American gymnastics community.

In the United States, gymnastics is highly popular and even considered a flagship event in the Olympics. Especially in women’s gymnastics, children are inspired by the performances of athletes and dedicate themselves to training. However, shocking news shakes the American women’s gymnastics community. A doctor who had been caring for athletes in the gymnastics federation for an extended period is revealed to have sexually abused underage athletes.

The documentary features interviews with athletes, their families, and those involved, alongside records from the past. Through this, it uncovers further issues, such as physical abuse towards athletes and a culture of covering up within the organization.

After watching the film, I was left speechless by its impact. Not only were the revealed issues impactful, but through the interviews, it felt like I was there, observing the situation as a participant.

However, the story doesn’t just end within the movie.

Recently, during the Tokyo Olympics, a prominent female gymnast, Simone Biles, made headlines by deliberately withdrawing from the individual finals. She used this action as a means to say “NO” to the gymnastics world, which had been reported on in “ATHLETE A.” Her withdrawal was a refusal of a corrupted gymnastics system and sponsor-driven competitions. It was an act of protecting herself, her mental and physical well-being, as well as her teammates, and reclaiming agency.

As I mentioned in a previous article, I believe humans have an innate instinct to seek out, cherish, and empathize with others’ worlds and stories. Just as films created decades ago continue to move us, visual content is a powerful tool to achieve empathy, and the content expressed therein can become a legacy for the future, transcending places and times.

A few days after the closing ceremony of the Olympics, the events leading up to the games are gradually losing their intensity in our daily lives, fading away in society. Of course, the Olympics had many moving moments. However, we must not focus solely on the tales of success but rather confront the issues that arose during the numerous processes, the problems in organizational systems, and the intentions that athletes expressed to the world. Just as in “ATHLETE A,” I strongly hope that one day voices will be raised, unveiling hidden stories and documents behind the scenes, which will contribute to future scrutiny. Visual content can indeed become a legacy for the future.

Netflix allows the screening of select content for educational purposes in schools and similar settings. Many of these works address social themes such as race issues, bullying, and religion, providing materials for discussions. Moreover, due to the impact of the pandemic on remote learning, some of these selected works have been uploaded to YouTube for free access by anyone.

The movie “Black Panther,” released in 2018, features an African-centered cast and became the first superhero film of its kind. A crowdfunding initiative called “#BlackPantherChallenge” was launched, encouraging screenings for children in various locations. Initiated by a citizen from Harlem who aimed to show “Black Panther” to children in the community, this movement gained support from celebrities like Snoop Dogg and raised over $50,000.

The “Gotham Awards,” a film award for independent cinema held in New York, announced that it would abolish the categories of “Best Actor” and “Best Actress,” replacing them with “Best Lead Performance” and “Best Supporting Performance.” The aim is to eliminate the binary distinction of male and female and instead focus on honoring exceptional performances.