The 92nd Annual Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, is the one night of the year that Hollywood stars grace the Dolby Theatre to honor the best films of the year. The nominees of this prestigious award show were announced last Monday and the winners will be announced live on-air Sunday, Feb. 9 on ABC.
Before that fateful Sunday night where we can guess which nominees will win, admire the lavish fashion on the red carpet or hear the acceptance speeches from our favorite stars, we have to acknowledge this award show is one of the most hotly debated and overtly mysterious award shows there are.
The debate that always comes around is “That movie was terrible, how did THAT get nominated,” or my personal favorite, “Hey! Where is my favorite movie of the year?” Oh yes, the fateful snubs and nomination decisions leave you scratching your head trying to figure out reasons. We may not know why certain films get nominated and others don’t, but it seems to come down to two possibilities: the rulebook or likeability from the Academy.
Every time I talk about the Oscars, I’ve sat there thinking, who are “The Academy?” Are they a secret organization of money makers in Hollywood or just a fancy exclusive club of snobby white men who hate change? Both have been argued, but after a lot of investigation on the Oscar’s website, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s actually made up of actors, directors, screenwriters and other members of the entertainment industry who have been invited to join, or are welcomed after their respective nominations, to the Oscars.
To win over the voters of The Academy, just like high school, you have to be well-liked or at least well-known to be recognized for your work. There are also rules, which are meant to keep the nominated and potentially nominated films on an even playing field, but most importantly, there is the Reminder List of Eligible films to be voted on. This year’s Reminder List features 53 pages of eligible films which Academy members had the option to choose from.
You might be thinking, “Wait, these members watched 53 pages worth of films for the year,” No. What actually happens is that, during the year, production companies and film studios have the right to run campaigns for the films they’ve made. This includes sending out screeners or DVD’s of the films, invitations to premieres, complimentary gifts at events (to somewhat strict guidelines) and other perks directly to known members of The Academy as long as they are within the limited restrictions outlined in the guidelines. To put it simply, the movies of the year with the most buzz, most exclusive premieres or the best marketing campaign, do the best during award season.
This can also explain why the show is notoriously called out for being seemingly racist and/or sexist. Members of the Academy are seemingly voting based on what films benefit them the most, are well-known or have the most buzz and sadly, those made by minorities and women aren’t exactly heavily supported in terms of funding for campaigns. They are also not well-recognized since they tend to be from first-time creators or are newer to the entertainment industry as Hollywood’s history has consisted predominantly of white men. Overall, this award show, like many others, is an over-glorified popularity contest and money game. Still, that won’t stop audiences from enjoying the night’s festivities, like 2014’s iconic Oscar Selfie.
