Random Rambles: What do Oscars Mean?
One thing we have come to enjoy over the years are the Academy awards. Here, a bunch of old, white guys get to decide which film was the best in the lineup of the year. It's always intriguing to see which film will get which award and it allows a moment of retrospective to truly see which film portrayed its art and message in it purest form. Visual media has always been appreciated yet finding the right amount of dialogue and images to capture the film's intent has always been a challenge. Not everyone will love a certain film which is why it is so rare to get above an 8 on imdb. Therefore, every film is directed to a certain audience, broad or narrow, so the people outside of that target audience usually don't feel inclined to regard the film favorably. The film industry is an art form and the Oscars try to pick the best of the bunch...
...And they fail miserably. You know how I said that the Academy members were old, white guys? Well, that means they all fit in one target audience so any film that panders to them gets a ton of nominations and wins most of the awards. Take for example, "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King." This movie was so epic and told a grandiose story that almost everyone loved it for what it was. Naturally, it won eleven Academy awards. And in recent years, we have seen that the films that are the most artsy tend to win by depicting the past or a fictional world in a way that plays on our emotions. Movies like "The King's Speech" and "The Hurt Locker" provide insight in situations that seem like a picture in time. Sure you get nominations to best picture like "Avatar" and "Inception" but movies like those are never intended to win. It's only for show.
So why do the Oscars fail in the end? Well, Oscars are only there to show what the old, white guys liked. So when it comes to personal preference, the best motion picture could be any genre like comedy or action. The members of the Academy don't like the action genre or the comedy genre or the foreign films that much. When the Academy limits its view to these artsy films, you end up with predictable films that may not be suited to your interests. Sure, many people do usually like the best motion picture but it may not be the best of the best.
This year, we've got "Gravity," "Twelve Years A Slave," and "American Hustle" vying for the top spot and each film is equally artsy. The production value on each movie is grand and the effort really shows by the finished product. "The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug" is the best picture of the year in my opinion yet it only got one nomination as opposed to the original streak of Academy awards Peter Jackson got with "Return of the King." Similarly, "Monsters University" doesn't even get nominated in the animation category because it is comedic with only a few touching moments.
Oscar nominations are usually predictable and many have already cracked the Academy algorithm. So what's the point in watching? Well, the awards do have their merits and they do mark the outstanding films of the year. Yet, they still fail to find hidden gems that many people still like. The Academy awards serve the purpose of boring us through its lengthy segment about how artistic film is only to take its sweet time before the best picture is revealed. It entertains those film critics and casual movie-goers enough to see which was considered the best of the year while also being entertained by the huge argument over whether or not another film should've won that particular award. Nonetheless, the Oscars are still a form of entertainment that is somewhat enjoyable.
So why do the Oscars fail in the end? Well, Oscars are only there to show what the old, white guys liked. So when it comes to personal preference, the best motion picture could be any genre like comedy or action. The members of the Academy don't like the action genre or the comedy genre or the foreign films that much. When the Academy limits its view to these artsy films, you end up with predictable films that may not be suited to your interests. Sure, many people do usually like the best motion picture but it may not be the best of the best.
This year, we've got "Gravity," "Twelve Years A Slave," and "American Hustle" vying for the top spot and each film is equally artsy. The production value on each movie is grand and the effort really shows by the finished product. "The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug" is the best picture of the year in my opinion yet it only got one nomination as opposed to the original streak of Academy awards Peter Jackson got with "Return of the King." Similarly, "Monsters University" doesn't even get nominated in the animation category because it is comedic with only a few touching moments.
Oscar nominations are usually predictable and many have already cracked the Academy algorithm. So what's the point in watching? Well, the awards do have their merits and they do mark the outstanding films of the year. Yet, they still fail to find hidden gems that many people still like. The Academy awards serve the purpose of boring us through its lengthy segment about how artistic film is only to take its sweet time before the best picture is revealed. It entertains those film critics and casual movie-goers enough to see which was considered the best of the year while also being entertained by the huge argument over whether or not another film should've won that particular award. Nonetheless, the Oscars are still a form of entertainment that is somewhat enjoyable.
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