What does the Oscar statuette symbolise?
The 95th edition of the Academy Awards, popularly known as Oscars, happened earlier today. In this year’s Oscars, India has created history by bagging the award for Best Song for Naatu Naatu a number from the SS Rajamouli film RRR. It had earlier won the Golden Globes Award for Best Original Song. Besides, an Indian documentary called The Elephant Whisperers has also won the Oscars 2023 in the Best Documentary Short Category.
As you all know, Oscars is one of the highest and most prestigious honours in the global entertainment industry, which is conferred for both artistic and technical merits. This US-based award ceremony was first organised on 16th May 1929. Since then, Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences, have been awarding Oscars for significant contributions in the international film fraternity.
Ever wondered who you should thank for the iconic golden coloured, knight-shaped Oscar statuette? Or what does it symbolise? Read on to find out.
The design is symbolic
Not many know, but the famous Oscan statuette was designed and hand-sculpted by none other than the famous 20th century Los Angeles-based artist George Stanley. He had based the design on the Art Deco (popular modern art form that was born in France in 1910) style that was sketched by contemporary art director Cedric Gibbons. As already mentioned, it depicts a knight holding a sword who stands on a film reel with five spokes. Do you know that these spokes are symbolic? Yes, they represent the five original branches of the Academy Awards: Actors, writers, directors, producers and technicians. For those unaware, the statuette is composed of gold-plated Britannia metal, an alloy made with copper, nickel, silver and 24 carat gold. that sits on a black metal base and is 13.5 inches tall, weighing 8.5lbs. Interestingly, during World War II, when there was a metal shortage, Oscars were made of painted plasters for three years. Today, a Chicago-based company called R.S. Owens produces them roughly three months prior to the ceremony.
How did the Oscar statuette get its name?
While the original name for the event was the Academy Awards, the founders often thought that the statuette required a special name. Thus, in 1939, the trophy itself was dubbed as “Oscar.” Okay, but how did the particular name emerge? Well, there are many theories surrounding it. Some believe it was the Academy Awards President Bette Davis who named it after her first husband Harmon Oscar Nelson, a band leader. There are others who think that it was the executive director of the Academy Awards called Margaret Herrick who saw Stanley’s design and immediately got reminded of her cousin Oscar Pierce who was fondly called “Uncle Oscar” by her townsmen. However, the most popular version of the story is that it was Walt Disney who used the term “Oscar” while delivering one of his acceptance speeches, that stuck around. Another theory is that it is named after a Norwegian army veteran Oscar. He, apparently, was known to Einar Lilleberg, one of the pre-ceremony handlers in real life. Lilleberg saw him as someone who “always stood straight and tall” and thus named the statuette after him.
The names of winners are engraved after the ceremony
Prior to 1950, winners used to receive the Oscar statuette with their names already engraved at the bottom and they took it home after the ceremony. However, soon the Oscars officials found out that sometimes the nominees misused their powers. They would go backstage before the announcements and check the baseplates for their names. If they found theirs, they would even leak the information to press prior to the real ceremony and even keep the award.
This is when the authorities decided to have blank nameplates to make the process discreet. This meant that while receiving the award on stage, it wouldn’t carry anyone’s name. As a result, the winners have to return it to the committee for engraving. In fact, to make it legal, the Oscars committee makes it look like a transaction wherein they take the award from the winner in exchange for 1 US dollar and officially engrave the winner’s name. If the winner somehow refuses to abide by this rule, the recognition remains unofficial (minus the name of the winner engraved). The committee can even ask back for it. Interestingly, since 2010, an inscription-processing station is set up at the post-Oscars party to make the process smooth.