By now you've probably heard of the 93rd Academy Awards and their disastrous ratings on 25 April. With a viewership reportedly in the seven digit range this year's show is the new all-time low in Oscar ratings, representing at least a 56% drop from last year's awards which themselves were the previous all-time low for the Oscars since 1974, the year ratings were first recorded. Similarly this February's Golden Globes Awards also bottomed out with their lowest ratings ever, a 68% drop from last year. Big-name awards shows on television are something that's been on the decline in recent years for a multitude of reasons and it seems that 2020's social unrest and economic hardship were the catalysts that have brought the situation to head in Hollywood.
The notion that awards shows suck is a shared opinion amongst many filmgoers these days. Many argue that the differences between good movies and bad movies is purely subjective and thus a series of awards given to those judged to be the finest is a matter of opinion at best and arguably meaningless at worst. Regardless of your opinion on that subject I think we can all agree that such an awards show should at least be entertaining. But alas, almost all of them are snoozefests. The jokes are tragically unfunny (and sometimes predictable), the overall vibe is too political, the musical performances are boring, half the award winners have some moral grandstanding to do, and it seems that the awards often go to undeserving winners. I thought it was weird in 2010 when Avatar was nominated for best picture and the bizarre candidates trend has only continued (Black Panther? Bohemian Rhapsody? Really?).
Personally I've always found it frustrating that these award shows hardly focus at all on the craft of film-making and how awesome movies can be. Instead the spotlight is placed on the superficial characteristics of the individuals involved in making them. So you're an actress who's a lesbian and a woman of colour. Ok, cool... Are your movies any good? Because that's all I care about. Tell me about the movies! In September 2020 the Academy announced new eligibility rules for awards nomination, which come into force in 2024/2025. In order to be eligible a film must meet certain criteria designed to bolster representation and diversity both onscreen and offscreen. This is odd for several reasons:
Who exactly gave the Academy the authority to dictate who productions have to hire? Unless producers don't care much about awards I guess we'll never get another Lawrence of Arabia (too male) or Saving Private Ryan (too white).
You're preaching to the choir (the choir being Hollywood). Have you seen any movies from the past decade? Unless there's behind the scenes stuff I don't know about, I'd say most American movies already meet these diversity quotas.
Technically speaking the Academy Awards will no longer be for excellency in the art of film-making, but for excellency in the field of diverse films. Again, the focus is shifted further away from the movies and more towards the politics of those who make them.
Admittedly, political grandstanding is nothing new to Hollywood and I think this may be symptomatic of the whole culture surrounding Tinsel Town. If there's one thing Hollywood is good at it's celebrating itself. Elitism and self-congratulations are all part of the glitz and glamour, and – apart from those who just want to see what the celebrities are wearing – it seems fewer and fewer people can stomach it. It's bad enough that the big names in the movie industry make obscene amounts of money for basically playing dress-up and make believe, but when they also try preaching their brand of morality in spite of the movie industry's decades-long scandals (Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Kevin Spacey, etc.) and its catering to foreign markets despite the atrocities taking place there (China, Saudi Arabia, etc.) it leaves a bad taste in the public's mouth.
People hate being lectured to and as Ricky Gervais pointed out during his legendary 2020 Golden Globes speech, “You're in no position to lecture the public about anything.” In this memorable address Gervais roasted the showbiz establishment on several issues: the Weinstein scandal, 45-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio's affinity for very young women, the foreign labour practices of major TV & streaming platforms, the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, and celebrities who use the awards show as a platform for their political views. It poked fun at the whole American entertainment industry in all its excess and pretentiousness. So naturally the establishment and the journalists all hated the speech – the look on Tom Hanks' face says it all – while the public loved it.
Celebrities pontificating about politics is something that's only intensified with the rise of social media and to be fair it must be tempting to use one's position of influence to spread ideas that one finds virtuous. The problem is that most actors and producers are no better educated on the topic of politics and sociology than the average person. Moreover, these people tend to be very wealthy and live in secure, gated communities far away from the issues that concern the average citizen. Spouting off their beliefs to a public that (for the most part) didn't ask for them is often seen as talking down to people. The best example of this is the “I Take Responsibility” video from last June in which a number of famous actors renounce their privilege while condemning racism. It was a nakedly cynical gesture full of empty words designed to simply garner attention and nothing else and people saw right through it. Need proof? Here are some snips of how this video was received on YouTube.
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| FYI: Disabled comments are pretty much always a sign of someone trying to quell dissension. |
And just for comparison here's how Ricky Gervais's Golden Globes speech was received.
It's no secret that 2020 was a bad year for the film industry. Lots of productions were delayed or shoved onto streaming services at a net loss, costing a lot of jobs in Hollywood. There were comparatively few films that premiered last year – I only saw three in theatres – and most of the Academy Award nominees were boring movies that most people have never heard of. Additionally countless movie theatres around the world were forced to close down, putting many more out of work. Were any of these hardships mentioned at the Academy Awards this year? Was any relief or tribute given for these afflicted souls? No. The show went on just like any other with all the self-importance and virtue signalling we've come to expect, giving the appearance of an elitist bubble culture that's grown out of touch with its audience.
The past 14 months have been hard for a lot of people. Maybe it's been hard for you. Perhaps you can't find work as easily as you once could. Maybe you're struggling to make ends meet. Maybe you've been feeling lonely since you can't visit your friends and relatives like you could before, or because dating has been far more difficult. Maybe you're disappointed that you had to cancel a vacation or you weren't able to attend a friend's wedding or a relative's funeral. Or perhaps you're just plain bored since the places you used to go for fun are closed. And on top of all that the big movie you were looking forward to still hasn't gotten released and when you tune into the boring awards show to see what your favourite entertainers – who are infinitely richer than you'll ever be – are up to they all tell you that you suck because you're privileged, you didn't share a certain hashtag, and you didn't vote the right way. How could you blame somebody for not wanting to watch that?
Does that sound entertaining to you?
