The 95th Academy Awards happened on Sunday evening, and if you’ve been paying attention to popular culture for the last two decades, it was exactly what you’d expect.

Prior to the show, there was hope, largely driven by the nominations made, that some return to normalcy would prevail. Perhaps, just maybe, the award process wouldn’t boil down to producing the best “diversity” storylines.

But nope, as I said, it was exactly what you’d expect. Top Gun: Maverick was nominated for seven different awards. In the end, the massive box-office hit hauled in a single win for Best Sound. Best Picture went to a low-grossing superhero film ($107 billion) that seemed awfully derivative of The Multiverse of Madness called Everything Everywhere All At Once.

What made the moment so special, though, was that the leading role in the movie was played by a “self-identifying” Asian woman.

Who knew that women who are clearly Asian needed to “self-identify” to wear the title? But I digress, the headlines blared about her milestone, and that wasn’t the only example. The Associated Press was apparently really impressed by the “historic” nature of a black woman winning a second oscar.

Do we celebrate her again next year as “historic” if she wins a third? What about a fourth? The press is really scraping the bottom of the barrel now to claim supposedly historic firsts for certain minority groups.

To be fair, though, Michelle Yeoh was actually the first Asian woman to win Best Actress, and perhaps her movie did deserve the honors it got. The problem is that we all know that was the only outcome possible. Having a “historic first” set to win multiple Oscars, including best actress, was not something the woke Academy Awards was ever going to give up.

Regardless, the fact that Top Gun: Maverick didn’t even get a nomination for Best Cinematography seems a bit silly. The movie pioneered practical effects using jet aircraft and delivered some of the most incredible visuals to ever grace a movie screen. Thankfully, Netflix’s adaptation of All’s Quiet on the Western Front won it, and it’s an incredible movie in its own right.

Of course, it wouldn’t be The Academy Awards without some shots at conservatives mixed in.

Let me help Daniel out. Drag is a threat if you allow a child to become so engrossed in it that they deny biological reality. Now, it appears that he didn’t do that, which is good, but comparing a child playing dress up to drag shows for children where grown adults prance around in thongs and simulate sex is a bit ridiculous.

You will be made to not just tolerate but affirm such nonsense, though. Hollywood isn’t going to change, and the cultural onslaught isn’t going to stop. Regardless, while the Oscars and the press fawn over diversity for the umpteenth time, the rest of us will just go see Top Gun: Maverick for the third time.