One Battle After Another triumphs at the Oscars
The Telegraph5 days
'One Battle After Another' Dominates 98th Oscars
Was "One Battle After Another" winning Best Picture a deserved coronation or blatant Oscar propaganda?
Above: The cast and crew celebrate the award for Best Picture for "One Battle After Another" in California on March 15. Image credit: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
The Spin
Left narrative
"One Battle After Another" dominated the 98th Oscars for good reason — Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the greatest filmmakers alive, and after going 0-for-11 at the Oscars, voters finally righted a historic wrong. The film swept six awards, proving that prestige, craft and a visionary director trump sheer nomination counts. This was a deserved coronation, and certainly not a surprise.
Right narrative
"One Battle After Another" winning Best Picture is Hollywood rewarding blatant political messaging over genuine filmmaking — a story built around immigration detention, systemic racism, and anti-American themes is a leftist fantasy, not universal art. Sean Penn plays a military man framed as a racist, and the film has tones of contempt for ordinary Americans. The Oscars just handed its top prize to woke propaganda.