It’s no secret that the Oscars has largely abandoned its role as a showcase for the art of film, devolving into a schizophrenic fever dream of woke rants, political declarations and progressive platitudes that never seems to end. Yes, the event has always had political moments; celebrities are often very dumb people and the dumbest of people all think they are geniuses with something profound to say. However, there has been a distinct and disturbing change in the past decade.
The community’s cultism has gone far beyond its habit of gatekeeping against conservative views. The worst elements of Hollywood’s social control are aimed at people who have already pledged fealty. If they step out of line in the slightest, the collective sets out to remind them of their place. And you don’t have to do much to be marked for punishment; all you have to do is tell the truth.
One such example of this probably went under the radar of most people, including those few Americans who actually cared to watch the Oscars. But the name of actor Timothee Chalamet (Oscar nominee best know for his role in the Dune films) kept popping up throughout the night as the butt of jokes.
The Hollywood media has launched an all out attack on Chalamet, some asserting that “His arrogant swagger has turned off fans..” and others arguing that he deserved to be “taught a lesson” with a snub from the Academy (and he was snubbed). One would think he must have said something horrible to invoke such wrath.
His arrogant swagger, which has turned off fans, Academy voters and even Doja Cat, is a roadmap for how not to win
https://t.co/T9KFZOXQe9— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) March 16, 2026
During a discussion on movie making with Variety and CNN in Austin, TX, Chalamet committed the worst of all sins: He suggested that Hollywood might be losing cultural relevancy. On the issue of the survival of the industry he noted:
“I’m really right in the middle…Cause I admire people, and I’ve done it myself, [who] go on a talk show and go, ‘Hey, we gotta keep movie theaters alive. You know, we gotta keep this genre alive.’ And another part of me feels like, if people wanna see it, like ‘Barbie,’ like ‘Oppenheimer,’ they’re gonna go see it and go out of their way and be loud and proud about it. And I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera, or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive.’ Even though it’s like, no one cares about this anymore. All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership…”
His observations are entirely logical – It was simply an analogy to illustrate his hope that cinema remains self-sustaining instead of a niche that pleads for its own survival. And it is true that no one, save a tiny minority of enthusiasts, cares about opera and ballet anymore. But Hollywood elites raged over his comments and even dedicated a number of attacks throughout the Oscars as a way to humiliate him.
As time passed it was clear that the event was becoming a struggle session for Chalamet instead of an awards ceremony. The event included a ballet dancer in the final musical number as a message to the actor, while Conan O’Brien and award winners made numerous jabs. He reportedly walked out of the event after an endless barrage of insults – All because he said out loud that Hollywood might be in trouble.
On the other side of weird, top YouTuber Markiplier (Mark Fischbach) received an invitation to the Oscars as part of the industry’s partnership with YoutTube and was set to walk the red carpet, only to find himself “whisked away” from the cameras by the event’s VIP handlers.
Markiplier reveals why he missed the #Oscars red carpet:
“I’m here at the Oscars I swear! So… funny story about why I wasn’t on the red carpet. I was somehow TOO VIP and they whisked me away. And I didn’t know better not to go with them! I swear I just went the wrong way. The… pic.twitter.com/eKLStjXl3m
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) March 15, 2026
Markiplier’s recent low budget film “Iron Lung” (based on a video game) is being heralded as a shot across the bow of Hollywood. Made for only $3 million, the horror flick has received critical acclaim and earned a reported $47 million at the box office. It’s a massive profit margin and it crushes the majority of competing Hollywood films, most of which lost money in the last year (Oscar winner and pro-Antifa movie “One Battle After Another”, lost over $100 million).
Iron Lung was made in Austin, TX and completely sidestepped the industry, setting a precedent for future independent filmmakers by proving that in the digital age, Hollywood no longer matters as long as you can tell a good story.
Some critics say that the Oscars “mix-up” was deliberately designed to keep the YouTuber out of the limelight. In other words, they wanted to avoid giving attention to a creator that might fuel discussions about online distribution and decentralization. These are the kinds of changes that will undermine Hollywood’s control.
Markiplier says the incident must have been a “mistake”, but others are not convinced. There is a reason why the indie film market has been eroded in recent years. The only low budget movies that make it through the Hollywood filter are woke screeds. It is becoming clear that the only reason the legacy film business still exists is to act as a propaganda wing for the progressive religion.
Ultimately, these two incidents highlight a system in decay; a system fearful of losing its influence over pop culture, youth culture, the art world and western society overall. Events like the Oscars expose an underlying weakness; the progressive “mean girls” club is losing its grip as it doubles down and closes ranks. These are acts of desperation relegated to a community that is quickly fading into obscurity.