• Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket

We shouldn’t dismiss the Oscars as out of touch

January 25, 2017 by Henry Bevan

Henry Bevan on why we shouldn’t dismiss the Oscars as out of touch…

Yesterday, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced the 89th Academy Award nominations. As expected, La La Land led the pack. As expected, there were a few surprises like Amy Adams not being nominated (HOW?!?!). As expected, the nominated movies showed how out of touch the Academy is, with no blockbuster being nominated.

Of course, quality wise, the Academy should award some popular movies. The obvious example is The Dark Knight, a blockbuster that broke the billion-dollar ceiling, whose cultural impact is felt nine years later and whose exclusion caused the Academy to change the number of films eligible for the best picture prize. The idea was to nominate more blockbusters, but apart from Mad Max: Fury Road and Inception, the Academy just nominated more obscure flicks. The fact films like The Imitation Game receive more nominations than Guardians of the Galaxy make people call the Oscars obsolete. They do not represent what the people watch.

Now, in the above case, it is disappointing the Academy nominated The Imitation Game over Guardians. It is as bland a film as Guardians is vibrant, but to nominate a movie that is great and popular defeats the point of the Academy Awards. The awards allow Hollywood to congratulate itself, but more importantly, make money. As the great Frank Capra said: “The Oscar is the most valuable, but least expensive, item of worldwide public relations ever invented by any industry.”

Pseudo-events like the Oscars exist to sell movies and nominating, or advertising, a billion-dollar-grossing movie goes against the ceremony’s constitution. It is all about putting the business in the show. The awards, no matter what they pretend, are not about celebrating the year’s best movies. For a subjective medium, the awards bodies and critics circles have a habit of nominating the same movies because they are about getting you to watch the films they think deserve more money. Nominating a film thousands of people have already seen is a futile attempt at increasing the overall amount of money the industry generates annually.

There is no denying the Oscars are great PR. Yesterday’s nominations were quickly dissected. Comment pieces about snubbed recipients, surprise nominations and the award’s purpose popped up all over the internet. The websites who pretend to hate the Oscars write copy about the awards because they bring traffic. This article falls into the publicity trap the Oscars create. Best of all, a visibly bemused Hugh Edwards introduced a report on the nominations on the Ten O’Clock news. La La Land haul received more airtime than the current Syrian peace talks in Kazakhstan.

The Academy Awards generate so much coverage, their impact is felt. Moonlight is already starting to expand the number of cinemas it is playing in off the back of its nomination. On average nominated movies gain an extra $14 million over snubbed films. The Oscar bump is real and it widens a film’s potential audience. The Oscars give people the opportunity to search out a film they would normally miss. Anything that gets a wider audience to watch a movie like Moonlight is important.

SEE ALSO: Were Amy Adams, Clint Eastwood and Finding Dory snubbed by the Oscars?

Also, the show has a moral responsibility. Whilst it is unfair to blame the Oscar’s for having all-white nominees, it does act, however reluctantly, as a Petrie dish for the industry’s progress or regression. Without the previous two years’ #OscarsSoWhite controversy, there wouldn’t be the record number of people of colour nominated this year. As Meryl Streep showed at the Golden Globes the awards stage is a social and political platform. They may just be privileged celebrities, but the traditional, and social media, reach of the Oscars gives them a microphone for what they believe in. They may not nominate the best movie, they may not nominate your favourite movie, but they are still important.

Henry Bevan

Filed Under: Articles and Opinions, Awards Season, Henry Bevan, Movies Tagged With: Academy Awards, Amy Adams, Golden Globes, Guardians of the Galaxy, la la land, Meryl Streep, Moonlight, Oscars

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

WATCH OUR MOVIE NOW FOR FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

The Essential 90s Action Movies

10 Alien Franchise Rip-Offs That Are Worth A Watch

Who is the Best Final Girl in Horror?

1995: The Year Horror Sequels Hit Rock Bottom?

The Essential One Man Army Action Movies

7 Prom-Themed Horror Movies You Need To See

Great Movies Guaranteed To Creep You Out

The Bourne Difference: The Major Book vs Movie Changes

Ten Action Sequels The World Needs To See

From Hated to Loved: Did These Movies Deserve Reappraisal?

Top Stories:

King of the Hill returns with trailer for animated series revival

Movie Review – Abraham’s Boys (2025)

Great Tarantino-esque Movies You Need To See

Matilda Lutz is Red Sonja in trailer for long-delayed fantasy reboot

“Dexter In Space” – Michael C. Hall talks 20 years of Dexter and where the killer will go next

Crazy Cult 90s Horror Movies You May Have Missed

Movie Review – Daniela Forever (2025)

Movie Review – Superman (2025)

STREAM FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

FEATURED POSTS:

The Essential Horror Movie Threequels

10 Great Val Kilmer Performances

Cobra: Sylvester Stallone and Cannon Films Do Dirty Harry

Forgotten 90s Action Movies That Deserve a Second Chance

Our Partners

  • Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

© Flickering Myth Limited. All rights reserved. The reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of the content without permission is strictly prohibited. Movie titles, images, etc. are registered trademarks / copyright their respective rights holders. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you can read this, you don't need glasses.


 

Flickering MythLogo Header Menu
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket