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1927: “Wings” (Paramount Pictures)
1928: “The Broadway Melody” (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
Presidential Race: Al Smith (D) vs. Herbert Hoover (R)

It’s challenging to gauge the early years of the Academy; the very first year saw William A. Wellman’s “Wings” take the first prize for best picture following Republican Herbert Hoover’s convincing defeat of Democratic New York Governor Al Smith. One hundred and eleven days after the ceremony, the stock market would fall and the beginning of the Great Depression would be afoot. Harry Beaumont’s “The Broadway Melody” would follow suit during the difficult time, bringing a sense of hope to a suffering nation.

1932: “Cavalcade” (Fox Film Corporation)
Presidential Race: Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) vs. Herbert Hoover (R)
1936: “The Great Ziegfeld” (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
Presidential Race: Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) vs. Alf Landon (R)
1940: “Rebecca” (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
Presidential Race: Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) vs. Wendell Willkie (R)
1944: “Going My Way” (Paramount Pictures)
Presidential Race: Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) vs. Thomas E. Dewey (R)

In 1932, Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated Hoover and continued in his leadership role for four consecutive terms. Coming out of the Depression, with millions of people dying, and the end of World War II, the tone of the world seemed to be settling. With those four election cycles, “Cavalcade” from Frank Lloyd, “The Great Ziegfeld” from Robert Z. Leonard, “Rebecca” from Alfred Hitchcock and “Going My Way” from Leo McCarey would take top honors at their respective ceremonies. Each of those traveled through different themes and interesting defeats, over films like “42nd Street,” “Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington,” “The Grapes of Wrath” and “Double Indemnity.” This all while the country grappled with its own identity and future.

1948: “Hamlet” (Universal-International)
Presidential Race: Harry S. Truman (D) vs. Thomas E. Dewey (R) vs. Strom Thurmond (Dixiecrat)

When Harry S. Truman was voted into the presidency, the adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” edged out “Johnny Belinda,” “The Red Shoes,” “The Snake Pit” and “The Treasure of Sierra Madre.” Truman took on Thomas E. Dewey, the Republican governor of New York, who was defeated by President Roosevelt for his fourth term, the closest of all his races. In a year that saw the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and the World Health Organization established by the United Nations, the classical acting techniques were rewarded while the U.S. coped with postwar dilemmas.

1952: “The Greatest Show on Earth” (Paramount Pictures)
Presidential Race: Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) vs. Adlai Stevenson (R)

1956: “Around the World in 80 Days” (United Artists)
Presidential Race: Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) vs. Adlai Stevenson (R)

In ’52 and ’56, Dwight Eisenhower (R) would defeat Adlai Stevenson in two separate elections and Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Greatest Show on Earth” and Michael Anderson’s “Around the World in 80 Days” both defeated, in retrospect, far superior pictures. DeMille muscled past the classic western “High Noon” while Anderson overcame classics like “Giant,” “The King and I” and “The Ten Commandments.” During Eisenhower’s administration, he ran against communism and threatened to use nuclear weapons against China during the Korean War. However, by today’s standards, he was the last inkling of the Republican party that the right-wing media speaks about often, which likely explains some of the choices of the more “upbeat” film candidates. Especially considering he defeated the same Democratic candidate twice.

1960: “The Apartment” (United Artists)
Presidential Race: John F. Kennedy (D) vs. Richard Nixon (R) vs. Harry F. Byrd (Southern Democrat)

And then come the 1960s. The turn of the decade saw the election of John F. Kennedy defeating Eisenhower’s vice president Richard Nixon. Billy Wilder’s romantic comedy “The Apartment” was mirroring the “good mood” of the U.S., with some of the best performances from veterans Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, who both received nominations. To look further, even following Kennedy’s assassination, the Academy looked for another film that could uplift the nation’s spirits and went with “Tom Jones” from 1963. The same year, we also saw our first best actor winner Sidney Poitier walk away with the statuette for “Lilies in the Field.”

1964: “My Fair Lady” (Warner Bros.)
Presidential Race: Lyndon B. Johnson (D) vs. Barry Goldwater (R)

By the time Lyndon B. Johnson had defeated Barry Goldwater, who many believed would lead us into nuclear war, Hollywood and the country were nervous about what was to come. Well, art continues to imitate life as “My Fair Lady” was able to overcome the satirical black comedy “Dr. Strangelove.”

1968: “Oliver!” (Columbia Pictures)
Presidential Race: Richard Nixon (R) vs. Hubert Humphrey (D) vs. George Wallace (American Independent)

1972: “The Godfather” (Paramount Pictures)
Presidential Race: Richard Nixon (R) vs. George McGovern (D) vs. John Hospers (Libertarian)

The year 1968 would be one of bloodshed as the country would mourn the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy. Vietnam is fully underway and with it, the lives of young men from across the country are being lost at a tragic pace. Carol Reed’s “Oliver!” beat out “Funny Girl” and “The Lion in Winter” just after Richard Nixon won his first term. In 1972, Nixon demolished George McGovern in the general election, winning 49 out of 50 states. While you can weigh the country’s feelings on McGovern not being a good enough candidate or the early stages of the Watergate scandal not being known yet, the country is divided in spite of the victory. “Cabaret” won the most Oscars on the night but it was “The Godfather,” the dark and gritty look at the loss of innocence that reigned supreme. Up to that point, Francis Ford Coppola’s first film in the series was one the darker winners the Academy had chosen.

1976: “Rocky” (United Artists)
Presidential Race: Jimmy Carter (D) vs. Gerald Ford (R)

By 1976, the country was in a bad place. The former president had resigned, Gerald Ford pardoned him, and an uncertain political framework gripped the world. All of these factors undoubtedly handed Jimmy Carter a trip to the White House. On April 30, 1975, the Vietnam War had ended; the country was welcoming home men from a war that saw no winner. One month after the results, a boxing film called “Rocky” would release itself in theaters, and with that, the hopes and dreams of every American would be refueled. Arguably one of the strongest best picture lineups in Oscar history, you see the clarity of “Rocky’s” victory. “All the President’s Men” and “Network” were indicative of a scandal that media had pummeled into the minds of voters. “Taxi Driver” was the voice of the “forgotten man,” and what happens when you push him too far. In hindsight, is “Taxi Driver” the more appropriate representation of the country?

1980: “Ordinary People” (Paramount Pictures)
Presidential Race: Ronald Reagan (R) vs. Jimmy Carter (D) vs. John B. Anderson (Independent)

1984: “Amadeus” (Orion Pictures)
Presidential Race: Ronald Reagan (R) vs. Walter Mondale (D)

In 1979, “Kramer vs. Kramer” was the appearance of the hippies from the ’60s and ’70s that had settled down and “sold out,” showing what happens in the aftermath. When actor turned politician Ronald Reagan ran for president against Carter in 1980, actor turned director Robert Redford helmed “Ordinary People,” which was the demonstration of “rich white people” problems. There was a “grand sense of nostalgia everywhere in the 1980s,” says Capri Cafaro, former Democratic minority leader of Ohio and faculty in the School of Public Affairs at American University. “Raging Bull,” “Atlantic City,” even “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” were all banging the same drum about holding onto something and reliving the moment. This is most apparent in 1983’s “The Big Chill” which fell short of “Terms of Endearment.”

By Reagan’s second term, after he defeated Walter Mondale, Milos Forman’s “Amadeus” portrayed a story in which “Sallieri gets his ass kicked by an asshole,” says Will Mavity, writer for Next Best Picture. Reagan brought about “tradition” and “masculinity,” both of which have been used as tent poles in the conservative movement. Mavity also believes it’s one of the earliest indicators of a divided Academy. “The screenplay category is one of the most notable places you see the clash of prestige versus populism.” In the best picture category, you see bait-y and customary nominees like “A Passage to India” and “Places in the Heart,” along with box office sensations “Beverly Hills Cop” and “Splash” in best original screenplay or Jeff Bridges in “Starman” in best actor, where you hadn’t seen these types of nominees before.

1988: “Rain Man” (United Artists)
Presidential Race: George H.W. Bush (R) vs. Michael Dukakis (D)

When “Rain Man” came along in 1988, a feel-good movie with very likable characters, it sat among one of the more comedic lineups in the modern history of the Academy, including “The Accidental Tourist” and “Working Girl.” Is that strangely correlated to a third consecutive Republican-held presidency which was won by George H.W. Bush? Or was it tied too closely to Willie Horton’s picture striking racist chords throughout America? Dustin Hoffman’s second Oscar-winning performance is one of the greatest and stands out alongside our last one-term president (hopefully, soon, second-to-last).

1992: “Unforgiven” (Warner Bros.)
Presidential Race: Bill Clinton (D) vs. George H.W. Bush (R) vs. Ross Perot (Independent)

1996: “The English Patient” (Miramax)
Presidential Race: Bill Clinton (D) vs. Bob Dole (R) vs. Ross Perot (Independent)

The 1992 fight between victor Bill Clinton and the incumbent was really no different but Clinton ran on a platform of “radical change,” achieving none of what he set out to accomplish with divided houses. Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven” was a re-imagination of the traditional values that the Academy had long admired and a fight against “radical” nominees.

Just one year after they rewarded “The Silence of the Lambs,” and even recognized “Beauty and the Beast,” the first animated best picture nominee, Eastwood’s film was pitted against Neil Jordan’s controversial “The Crying Game,” the first LGBTQ+ film they nominated since “Dog Day Afternoon” in 1975. Even though Clinton won the election, the makeup of the lineup is demonstrative of the masculine man that Reagan had exhibited with “A Few Good Men” and “Scent of a Woman.” Furthermore, Clinton appoints Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Supreme Court, just the second woman in history. He also has an “outspoken” wife who isn’t just hugging babies but tries to implement policy changes. Was Eastwood’s film a rejection of those new ideas?

“The English Patient” came before the Monica Lewinsky scandal and represented a period in which the country seemed to be in stagnation and “status quo,” according to Will Mavity.

Capri Cafaro says, “the industry is hungry for bold changes,” which is seen one year later with James Cameron’s “Titanic.”

2000: “Gladiator” (DreamWorks Pictures)
Presidential Race: George W. Bush (R) vs. Al Gore (D)

2004: “Million Dollar Baby” (Warner Bros.)
Presidential Race: George W. Bush (R) vs. John Kerry (D)

The contentious nature of the 2000 presidential election saw 537 votes separate Al Gore from George W. Bush. Despite going to Yale University, the semblance of the “everyman” Bush played within the political atmosphere and media. Tom Hanks’ Oscar-nominated role in “Cast Away” solidified his status as the “nation’s Dad” while Bush played up a moniker of being someone you would want to go have a beer with. Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” seems to emulate the movie that “everyman” saw in theaters. Even though the dark and gritty “Traffic” was close to overtaking it, how much did Hollywood want to feel like they were “relevant” again?

In 2001, following the September 11th attacks. Denzel Washington (“Training Day”) and Halle Berry (“Monster’s Ball”) both won the lead acting prizes. Echoing Poitier’s win immediately following JFK’s assassination, it starts to look as though when the country is hurting, the empathy and openness of Hollywood starts to show.

Going into 2004, the country is in “escapist mode” says Capri. “The mid-2000s is a transitional time and popular culture is ‘we don’t know who we are’ as a country.’” The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that became quickly unpopular. Following the sweep of “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” the year prior, “Million Dollar Baby” arrived late in the season and when John Kerry fell to Bush’s second re-election term, the look of a best picture lineup looked different than usual as it explores old Hollywood (“The Aviator”), mid-life crisis (“Sideways”), revisionist history (“Finding Neverland”) and examination of a musical legend (“Ray”).

2008: “Slumdog Millionaire” (Searchlight Pictures)
Presidential Race: Barack Obama (D) vs. John McCain (R)

2012: “Million Dollar Baby” (Warner Bros.)
Presidential Race: Barack Obama (D) vs. Mitt Romney (R)

The most fascinating examinations of change came during the time a candidate ran on “change.” Barack Obama defeated John McCain in 2008, the same year that Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” won 8 Oscars, the most by any film since that respective year. It was also the same year that “The Dark Knight” was famously omitted from the best picture lineup. 2008 was the last year that the Academy would nominate five films for best picture. The next year they announced two big changes. The expansion from five to 10 nominees in best picture and the introduction of the preferential ballot when filling out the final ballots in the top category. Nine years after Bush defeated Gore in the electoral college, after losing the popular vote, the Academy seemed to pivot in the opposite direction. Many critics, including Mavity, believes the preferential vote “doesn’t reflect the will of the people.”

2009 gave us the first woman to win best director when Kathryn Bigelow triumphed for “The Hurt Locker.” Obama’s re-election bid saw the come-behind victory of Ben Affleck’s “Argo,” which was presented by First Lady Michelle Obama. While many believed that Mitt Romney would make Obama a one-term president, he managed to squeak it out when it really mattered, similar to Affleck’s film that missed out on a crucial best director nomination.

2008: “Moonlight” (A24)
Presidential Race: Donald J. Trump (R) vs. Hillary Clinton (D) vs. Gary Johnson (Libertarian) vs. Jill Stein (Green Party)

And then comes the 2016 election of Donald J. Trump. If you ask an awards enthusiast about the upset win of “Moonlight” over “La La Land” in best picture, some will say that if we had President Hillary Clinton on Feb. 26, 2017, Damien Chazelle’s film about the “fools who dream” would be the best picture winner. “Not the factor but definitely a factor,” says Mavity. Trump ran his campaign (and presidency) on division and hate, and Barry Jenkins’ beautiful portrait was the anti-thesis to that, even with Mahershala Ali, who became the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar.

Article by Clayton Davis for Variety