I think many who'd seen EEAAO found these Oscars to be awesome precisely because they gave a different kind of a movie the limelight.

As an older millennial who saw the Matrix in the cinemas and kinda considers that a culturally defining moment for me and those my age, and, I'd figure, that it more or less captures the vibe of that moment

cyberpunk tech chic, 90s was peak western civ (?!), thought control is bad ... freedom and conspiracy theories good (?), the apocalypse is in the distant future, you can actually fight the system and at least nearly win your freedom

the similar-ish way in which EEAAO made a statement to and for the present and the way it in some ways similarly captures this moment ... was wonderful to see TBH. Like, at some point in the movie, it didnt' matter to me whether I liked it or not, I was just happy that it existed and people were seeing it. When it won the Oscars, I felt the same way.

Also ... am I way off base about linking in to the Matrix? Has anyone written up something about them together in anyway?