Hours before the great and the good of Hollywood started arriving on the red carpet at The Dolby Theatre, social media had already started its now typical Oscar frenzy.

The debate continued throughout the ceremony too, with the supposedly lacklustre event, presenting and surprises taking up the lion’s share of posts.

However, at least it was still an entertaining  affair on social media, even if the live show was considered a little lacking by some commentators.

While criticism of the event may live longest in the thoughts of most, memory was another target for criticism, as Joan Rivers failed to appear in the ‘In Memoriam’ section of entertainment industry luminaries that died over the past year.

There were mentions for Maya Angelou, Lauren Bacall, Mickey Rooney, and Robin Williams, but the outspoken comedienne who died in September last year was not.

Actor Sean Penn also came in for criticism.

Presenting the best film award to Birdman director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Penn made a passing statement about giving him a green card – a jokey reference to how successful the film was in the Academy Awards this year and to an earlier speech by the director.

Many took to social media to call Penn a racist. However, a diligent rights campaigner and good friends with Inarritu for some years now, it was only the meaning that was lost rather than morals.

Inarritu later said that the joke was hilarious.

Social media newsfeeds were also taken up with selfies aplenty. These started on the red carpet, of course, but continued inside the auditorium, with Jennifer Aniston photobombing Jennifer Lopez the highlight of the pics for many.

From the dresses worn by the stars to the addresses that didn’t quite ascend to the stars, however, the 87th Academy Awards was generally considered somewhat of a disappointment.

Fortunately, those second screening with social media updates would have had least been entertained throughout the four-hour-long show.

John Murray

John is every inch the wordsmith and loves a game of Scrabble above all else. With experience writing for newspapers, John’s time at university was spent studying Creative Writing – something which comes across in his love of the pun.