Angus Houvouras on whether the Academy Awards are really biased against blockbusters…
You’ve gotta love James Cameron. If ever a director has earned our collective respect, it’s the guy that brought us Terminator, Aliens, T2, The Abyss, and True Lies. Then again he also brought us Dark Angel, Avatar, Titanic, and a ringing endorsement of Terminator: Genisys. That last one is crazy enough to put a nice coat of tarnish on his platinum finish among film fans.
Cameron talked recently about how blockbusters are generally ignored by all the major awards. This generally accepted concept was challenged by Cameron who believes this line of thought to be blatantly unfair against the big budget movies that rarely get mentioned during award season when studios are promoting smaller stories and more dramatic fare.
Blockbusters have never really been considered Oscar bait in the creative categories. Sure, you’ll find big budget monstrosities in the technical categories, but it’s rare to see a movie like Avatar or Star Wars nominated for Best Picture. Blockbusters in the Best Picture race are the exception, not the rule. But is that fair?
Well, yes. It absolutely is.
I don’t like to paint with broad strokes, because the devil is in the details and I’m too fond of spattered walls, floors, and wardrobe. However, I would say that even the best blockbusters are rarely capable of being considered one of the best pictures of any given year. There are many reasons for this, but the core complaint would be that movies attempting four quadrant success often sacrifice depth for entertainment value. Rarely do you get a big budget blockbuster that manages a level of engagement and artistry that you find in more earnest endeavors. That’s not to say it’s impossible, but on average Hollywood doesn’t really produce award caliber blockbusters. Occasionally you get a gem like Saving Private Ryan which manages to be both visceral, crowd pleasing, and capable of generating real emotion from audiences.
It seems fairly obvious that Cameron is still suffering ego bruises from Avatar losing to The Hurt Locker for Best Picture back in 2009. This verbal back slap to the governing bodies of award season feels more like hurt feelings that a realistic assessment of the situation. And yet, I still respect Cameron enough to look back through the last few years and see if there were any blockbusters that were legitimately left off the Best Picture list.
Cameron’s argument feels rather porous when you look at the 2015 Academy Award nominees for Best Picture considering that you had Mad Max: Fury Road and The Martian on the ballot. Two films that are very much big budget, crowd pleasing blockbusters. If ever there was a counter argument to Cameron’s claims, it’s seeing George Miller’s magnum opus nominated for Best Picture. The Academy does nominate deserving blockbusters from time to time. Sometimes, even undeserving ones. American Sniper made a lot of money and was nominated for Best Picture in spite of being quite awful.
I understand Cameron’s point at a molecular level. There is artistry to creating a really good blockbuster. It takes a great deal of talent to create a great four quadrant crowd pleaser. However I’d love to hear anyone’s list of blockbusters that they believe were snubbed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
And this is when the Greek chorus emerges from the wings and in a chant loud of enough to shake the foundation of the theater chants: THE DARK KNIGHT.
If I had a nickel for every time someone brought up The Dark Knight as the prime example of award season bias towards Blockbuster, I’d have enough money to fill a sock and beat them senseless. Yes, The Dark Knight was a great movie that could have easily been nominated for Best Picture. But the bitching masses often seem to forget that same year Heath Ledger was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and won the damn thing for his amazing portrayal of the Joker.
James, my man, it’s not that the Award Voters are biased against blockbusters, it’s that most blockbusters are pretty damn mediocre. As I look at the list of 2016’s top films, I’m struggling to find the films that were biased against. Captain America: Civil War? Deadpool? Suicide Squad? Batman v Superman? The Jungle Book was pretty good, but I don’t see a movie among the current Best Picture nominees that should have been bumped. I do see a number of big hit films in the nominees, but they’re all animated films. Seems like the award voters are fine recognizing huge hits like Moana and Zootopia.
My point is, James Cameron is entitled to his opinion, but blockbusters are fighting an uphill battle for award consideration because it’s a medium devoted to mindless entertainment. The ones that actually manage to deliver something more three dimensional do get Oscar love from time to time, at least in terms of being nominated. I think we all knew Mad Max: Fury Road just getting a nomination was a gift. I’m not sure if anyone was expecting to hear ‘And the Oscar Goes to’ when it was time to announce Best Picture.
It’s not bias Mr. Cameron that prevents blockbusters from receiving major awards. It’s a lack of artistry in the end product.
Which blockbusters do you think deserved more love from the Academy?
Anghus Houvouras
Originally published February 4, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
