The Oscars were incredibly refreshing. It was wonderful to see black humor again. But it was Chris Rock’s jokes that demonstrated exactly why no black stars gained any awards.

If social media was anything to go by, Rock’s jokes did very well with the average black person but fell flat with white viewers.

This, sadly, is why black entertainers, being the largest minority group in Hollywood, receives so few roles or nominations for awards.

Black humor apparently makes little sense to the average white person, if not enrages them. I would say that they best part of the Oscars was when Rock interviewed black movie-goers from Michigan and they said they had never seen any of the movies that were nominated.

The simple problem is that black moviegoers are just about as interested in “The Revenant” as white moviegoers are in “Straight Outta Compton.”

Also, what the hell is up with “Mad Max: Fury Road”? I assumed it was just some cash in on an ‘80s movies remake. Is it really good enough to have won all those awards?

Personally, I tend to stick to the superhero movies (hype for “Superman v. Batman” cannot be more real), but I might have to check out “Mad Max” now.

-Reid Slaughter

From the fashion on the red carpet to the concluding remarks, the Oscars impressed. With Hollywood’s finest all gathered together to honor the talented members of the film industry for their work in 2015, there was not a moment lacking entertaining punchlines or sentimental remarks.

Host Chris Rock certainly lived up to expectations, joking in his introductory monologue and throughout the night about the lack of diversity in this year’s nominees.

Although he aroused laughter time and time again, it was no joke that the night was so heavily dominated by white people. I surely hope that this sends a message to film producers and encourages them to create movies with more ethnic diversity in the future.

There were many memorable moments throughout the night, including a surprise visit from C-3PO, R2-D2 and BB-8, which was clearly adored by the audience’s youth.

Apart from their cameo appearance, the real star of the night was unquestionably Leonardo DiCaprio.

Awaiting the announcement of his sixth nomination, DiCaprio was finally able to take the stage and claim his first Oscar for his performance in “The Revenant.”

Wrapping up the night, DiCaprio gave one of the best speeches in Oscar history, as he heartily expressed his gratitude for the recognition and then briefly addressed an issue that is so dear to him.

“Climate change is real, it is happening right now,” he said to the audience as he discussed the difficulties finding a location that was cold enough for filming.

With shouts of endorsement from the crowd, DiCaprio closed by reminding everyone to be grateful for this Earth and not take it for granted.

Unlike Oscars from years past, this year’s lacked nudity, explicit profanity and embarrassing slip-ups, but it will inevitably be regarded as a significant year for the movie-making industry.

-Nicole Baxter

It’s always a pleasure to listen to Chris Rock do his thing. His explicit comedy regarding race relations and politics have always been topics I enjoy, but was he really the person the Oscars needed this year? Is a comedic approach to racism in award shows, which are predominantly white in attendance, really what everyone needed?

His monologue was perfect for white people. It was rather gentle and passive for a Chris Rock piece. I couldn’t come up with a better way to maintain the comfort of white people while presenting the problem of racism that plagues the Academy Awards than a monologue featuring a black man administering reminders that “it isn’t all about race.”

At an opportune time to successfully address a serious issue to a wide audience, the monologue instead undermined the legitimacy of the disproportionate representation in nominations, awards and opportunities given to African American actors.

In one instance, Rock explained that the whiteness of the Oscars hadn’t been a problem until recently because prior to this time black people had “real things to protest.”

There’s no doubt in my mind that many of the issues the black community has faced in the years of the Oscars have been more pressing (and life-threatening) than the lack of representation in awards.

But to use the platform that was provided on Sunday night to downplay the academy’s dismissive nominations and to undermine the efforts of the actors boycotting the show was disheartening – comedy or not.

I understand comedy is Rock’s performance nature – and in that sense, beyond the scope of racial relations, the monologue was a success. But was this the type of monologue that the Oscars needed? Is this the approach that white people need?

I say no more propping up and catering to the sensitivity of privileged groups when confronting social issues.

-Abbi Cobb