Before last week the word coda primarily had a musical meaning for me. It was the part of a piece I looked forward to most: the ending. And not just because I might want a piece of music to end—perish the thought!—but because I enjoy the big bombastic finish. 

But last Wednesday, I looked up the Oscar Best Picture nominees to see which ones I’d missed that I might still be able to see … and there was CODA. I read a review. I watched the trailer. I was hooked. I even signed up for Apple TV in order to watch it (and I have notes to myself all over the place reminding me to cancel Apple TV before my trial period runs out). 

It was worth the effort: I finally had a pony in this race. I was pulling for CODA to win last night, enough that I crept downstairs and turned the TV back on not once, not twice but three times after trying in vain to fall asleep before the winner was announced. 

There will be talk this morning about how this was Apple TV’s movie, how Apple beat Netflix to become the first streaming service to boast an Oscar Best Picture. There will be analyses of how business models are changing. All of this is worth talking about. But in the end, it’s all about the story, whether we’re listening to it around an ancient campfire, watching it in a modern multiplex or streaming it alone on our home computer. CODA has a story that lifts us up — and that’s what we need most right now.