When , in 2002 , Denzel Washington and Halle Berry won both lead-acting honors at the Academy Awards , pundits and spin doctors were anxious to declare that the Oscars had achieved a great black apotheosis . They were off by , well , 12 years , . As in `` 12 Years a Slave , '' which won three Oscars at Sunday night 's ceremony . These included best picture , a prize many believed would go to its closest competitor , the space thriller `` Gravity '' -- a film that did win seven Oscars of its own Sunday night , including one for its director , Alfonso Cuaron . And though `` Slave 's '' British director Steve McQueen missed out on becoming the first black filmmaker to win for best director , it seemed altogether appropriate for him to have had the last word with best picture during a ceremony more auspicious for African-American talent than any of its predecessors . Whether it was the thunderous ovation that greeted Lupita Nyong ' o as she accepted the best supporting actress prize for `` 12 Years a Slave , '' or the rousing reception that veteran pop vocalist Darlene Love received for her spontaneous a capella chorus of `` His Eye is on the Sparrow '' as the documentary `` 20 Feet from Stardom '' received the best documentary prize , there was a sense that in the variety of awards and recognition , black artists in film were no longer announcing their arrival . They were there to stay . This prospect gets further context in a year that also saw the release of two commercially successful films , `` Fruitvale Station '' and `` Lee Daniels ' The Butler , '' that both emerged from and further stimulated the ongoing transition in America 's racial dialogue . And if there was any doubt as to the significance of this night 's milestones , it was emphatically erased by the appearance of 87-year-old Sidney Poitier , who , though frail and struggling to speak , nonetheless accepted a sustained standing ovation from the audience as he leaned on Angelina Jolie for support . He was there to mark the 50th anniversary of his groundbreaking win of the 1963 best actor Oscar for `` Lilies of the Field . '' He and Jolie presented screenwriting honors , one of which went to John Ridley , whose win for best adapted screenplay for `` 12 Years a Slave '' made him only the second African-American to win a writing Oscar . These were the most momentous aspects of a ceremony that otherwise cruised along in a laid-back groove , conspicuous in its relative dearth of snarkiness , thanks mostly to this year 's host , Ellen DeGeneres , a daytime-TV-certified Nice Person , whose female impersonator joke at Liza Minnelli 's expense early in the proceedings was about as nasty as things got all night . And while Minnelli did not look amused at first , she seemed an enthusiastic participant in the evening 's most `` tweet '' running gag : the `` selfie '' riff . DeGeneres spread it out into the audience , drawing Meryl Streep and everybody else in the first rows into a selfie that quickly set a retweet record , and apparently temporarily broke Twitter 's platform . It all seemed very baggy-sweater cozy and fun to watch . But would it be , well , snarky to suggest that the camera phone she was springing into action was provided by Samsung , one of the broadcast 's biggest sponsors ? It 's tough playing the spoilsport for what some might consider the sweetest Academy Awards ceremony in years -- and others might call the most cloying . There was little opportunity for embarrassment as the evening clipped cheerfully along , and even the disorienting sight of 81-year-old Kim Novak 's facelift was mitigated by best actor winner Matthew McConaughey 's courtly grace as they presented the animation prizes . One remembers what novelist and screenwriter Raymond Chandler once wrote about the awards back in 1949 -- that they are a manifestation of Hollywood 's `` chronic case of spurious excitement over absolutely nothing . '' He 's still not altogether wrong . Any Academy Awards ceremony can seem like a water drop on the linoleum counter of history . It leaves no stain , no residue . It just evaporates . But thanks to `` 12 Years a Slave , '' maybe not this one .
Oscar : Oscar wins like `` 12 Years '' Hollywood . He says Lupita Nyong ' o and Oscar both drew rousing ovations . He says ceremony otherwise uneventful ; Degeneres a cozy host , despite dig at Minnelli . Seymour : Oscars do n't usually leave a trace , but `` 12 Years a Slave '' show black artists here to stay in could make this two different .