Each year the Academy Awards show debuts a video compilation of those members of the industry who passed away the previous year.
And while these videos have often been the subject of complaints, this year’s edition was particularly panned.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHVu-WIIhbY
The problem was less with the presentation seen by those comfortably seated inside the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, and more with the one shown to those at home watching the memorial video on their TVs and other screens.
Writer and X user Laura Tremaine summed it up well, saying that people watching from home had a difficult time reading the names of those who had passed.
“I am infuriated by this In Memoriam. it should be a full screen for the viewers, without distraction from the stage. this is a disgrace. if my loved one were in this, I would be so sad at how this is handled.”
I am infuriated by this In Memoriam. it should be a full screen for the viewers, without distraction from the stage. this is a disgrace. if my loved one were in this, I would be so sad at how this is handled. #Oscars
— Laura Tremaine (@lauratremaine) March 11, 2024
The ending of the memorial video also angered many viewers. It seemed that some who died late in the year just had their name listed among dozens of others for a short few seconds onscreen.
Did you watch the Oscars?
As one X user wrote, “Oscars In Memoriam was such a mess… how do you disrespect all these people at the end by just having a wall of names that barely stays up for 10 seconds?”
Oscars In Memoriam was such a mess… how do you disrespect all these people at the end by just having a wall of names that barely stays up for 10 seconds?
RIP Lance Reddick, Ray Stevenson, Treat Williams, and everyone else on this wall of names that deserved better pic.twitter.com/w5TY6SVxcl— 💢Eji💢 (@ArtsyNeurotic) March 11, 2024
Another X user, Hal Corley, insisted that the dancers on stage were a silly addition to the in-theater presentation of the memoriam video.
“Please stop fronting the in memoriam tribute with contemporary dancers. These busy tableaux of writhing figures upstage the sadly departed and turn modern dance into kitsch; neither the dead nor the living are served,” he wrote.
Please stop fronting the in memoriam tribute with contemporary dancers. These busy tableaux of writhing figures upstage the sadly departed and turn modern dance into kitsch; neither the dead nor the living are served. #Oscars2024
— Hal Corley (@Halcyon270) March 11, 2024
An X user named Jean Bolduc was shocked that they threw actor Burty Young’s name into the long list at the end instead of showing his face. After all, Young was an Oscar nominee.
Oscar nominated Burt Young, merely a text listing.
— 🎙Jean Bolduc 🟦😷 (@JeanBolduc) March 11, 2024
Others piled on.
The most horrible In memoriam ever. And it was a low bar.
— Jody Hamilton (@fromthebunkerjr) March 11, 2024
The Oscars again this year does a disservice to so many people in the “In Memoriam” segment by shooting too wide to see who they are honoring.
— Svengoolie (@Svengoolie) March 11, 2024
I’m happy they included Richard Lewis, but a live performance and an In Memoriam montage do not work in harmony.
Just show us the faces — big enough so we can read their names. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/F0BmPmHMrM
— Will McKinley (@willmckinley) March 11, 2024
Seriously, how is anyone supposed to read this? We don’t all have ginormous TVs! pic.twitter.com/Hf7nmSMuo8
— Nicole on Wheels ♿️✊🦓🏳️🌈🌊 (@holyspacemonkey) March 11, 2024
As soon as the segment was aired, social media sites filled up quickly with those complaining that the dancing was a bad touch and that viewers at home could not read the names of those who passed during the photo segments — much less the compilation of names at the end.
