Welcome to the blog of Dr. Lisa Burns' Media Studies senior capstone class (3:30 pm section) at Quinnipiac University. If you're looking for the latest on media industry trends and insightful media analysis, you've come to the right place!
Interest in award shows has steadily declined over the past few years. People have tried to blame Covid, which did have an impact on the industry and award shows. Despite this, the truth is that viewership was already down 20 percent in 2020 before Covid (Stoeckert). In recent years, award shows have been subject to controversy, mainly due to their lack of diversity and inclusion in their nominees and winners. Although they have made adjustments and have promised to continue towards making the shows more inclusive, it is still too early to tell whether they have been effective in doing so.
The Golden Globes are known for having their own controversies, including their own hosts reprimanding the show on air (Cieply). This year, they even forgot to mention that the show focuses on both films and television shows. However, I do think that it was a smart decision for them to not broadcast the show this year. At the end of the day, who actually cares about who wins besides the winners and the other people who worked on the film or show in question?
It is surprising to see that the Oscars have continued to create controversy after they have attempted to turn things around these past couple years. In an effort to “fix” problems, this year the awards ceremony will provide an opportunity for people on Twitter to vote on a popular choice movie that will not receive an award, while also cutting out eight categories that are normally broadcast, which will be awarded in a preshow ceremony instead (Ebiri). This is a stupid decision. Although I can see why they think a popular movie vote could bring in some viewers, by not showing those eight categories that include Best Editing and Best Original Score, they are alienating other viewers. I spoke to my roommate, a film major who hopes to be an editor, and she was not pleased with this decision. There are so many people who work on films, and editors put in so much work. So why should they not get the same recognition as a big movie star? It seems as though all of these award shows focus on the stars of the films and directors, rather than all of the other people involved.
Personally, I do not really see the need for award shows. At least, I do not see why they need to be broadcasted and receive so much fanfare. In previous years I remember wanting to watch the Golden Globes, Emmys, and Oscars because I thought that they mattered and that the films or television shows receiving the awards mattered more because they got the awards. Now I know that is not the case. As someone who hopes to go into the industry, I am painfully aware of how few women are in the industry, despite film school classes being almost evenly split between men and women. When I have watched the award shows in recent years, this is something I think about, and although the people winning are talented, it is disappointing to see these shows for what they really are.
Works Cited Cieply, Michael. “Inevitably, The Film Awards Reckoning Has Arrived.” Deadline, Deadline, 9 Feb. 2022, deadline.com/2022/01/inevitably-film-awards-reckoning-arrived-1234903542/. Ebiri, Bilge. “Self-Loathing Will Kill the Oscars.” Vulture, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2022, www.vulture.com/2022/02/please-stop-trying-to-fix-the-oscars.html. Stoeckert, Lena. “Diversity Fails, Pandemic Woes: Awards Shows Are Losing Relevancy.” The Daily Targum, dailytargum.com/article/2022/01/diversity-fails-pandemic-woes-awards-shows-are-losing-relevancy.
Rita Sherban The Academy Awards and adjunct awards have been highlighted for their bias and exclusion of people of color. COVID prevented many of awards, like the Golden Globes, to continue as usual. This year, “The Golden Globes were held with no pomp and circumstance in a room devoid of celebrities, red carpets, and splash media coverage” (Davis, Schneider 2022). The show opted to live tweet the winners but was lost in a wave of news covering the death of Bob Saget (Davis, Schneider 2022). The Golden Globes are not the only show that lacks diversity. In 2015 and 2016, the Academy Awards had panels of all white acting nominees. However, in recent years, the nominations have expanded to include more Black and people of color talent. This year, Latino representation can be seen amongst nominees for Best Picture like Guillermo Del Toro for “Nightmare Alley” and Lin-Manuel Miranda is nominated for Original Song (Jackson 2022). In the wake of the George Floyd protests that occurred in 2021, award shows were much more keen to nominate Black actors, like, “Daniel Kaluuya won best supporting actor in for “Judas and the Black Messiah” …”(Jackson 2022). While award shows have tried to reconcile their bias pasts, it’s probably the beginning of the end for them. Award shows, particularly the Oscars once held the same kind of weight as the Met Gala. Who was wearing what, who’s going who, and the most notable winners being best picture, director, actor, and actress? Over the recent years, award shows have lost their charm and some point towards the polarization of politics in America (Berman 2020). As politics seep more and more into everyday life, “Award shows are also suffering from the political polarization of the American public, as partisanship invades sectors of society that used to be essentially neutral ground…” (Berman 2020). Award speeches used to be a long list of ‘thank-you’ but have now turned into a stage in which celebrities feel compelled to share their political views (Berman 2020). People are getting tired of politics, and it reflects in the decline of award shows, a once neutral ground has been invaded as another political stage in which people feel the need to expression their political opinions. It seems like the last benefit of awards is that it gives pictures a bit of a boost in the box office. When Moonlight was released, it’s domestic gross was low it was then, “…rereleased after its Best Picture upset, Moonlight earned $2.5 million its first weekend alone…” (Berman 2020). Other than the financial boost, there is really no reason to keep award shows alive.
Sherban (cont.) Personally, I see no point in award shows anymore. The Oscars were comparable to the Met Gala, a glitterati event of the year. Now, it’s seen a decline. The Oscars while they may nominate BIPOC actors, actresses, directors, etc. there’s still a way to go, which is unfortunate. In the technicolor world of the 21st century, it’s alarming that BIPOC nominees are still low compared to their white counterparts. If award shows do not make drastic changes to better reflect a diverse society and put more representation in exclusive places, award shows will be in decline like we’ve seen with linear television.
Berman, J. (2020, January 16). Award shows are dying. is that such a bad thing? Time. Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://time.com/5766190/award-shows-2020-relevance-essay/ Davis, C., & Schneider, M. (2022, January 10). Golden Globes put on an event that could have been put in an email. Variety. Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://variety.com/2022/awards/news/golden-globes-twitter-show-netflix-oscars-1235149983/ Jackson, A. (2022, February 8). Oscars make strides in diversity beyond the acting categories. Variety. Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://variety.com/2022/awards/awards/oscars-diversity-denzel-washington-behind-camera-1235174558/
Nicole Clemons Award shows have seen a steady decline in viewership over the past few years. There are many reasons why people are not watching. Such as the lack of diversity, bias and the shows are not evolving. Although there have been adjustments made, they award shows still need evolve if they want to stay relevant in the upcoming years to keep younger generations involved and tuning in. One of the biggest issues that always arise during award shows is the lack of diversity. We have seen time and time again the same people winning and being nominated for awards. Many thought that this year was special due to the many breakthroughs “Following a record-breaking year for diversity at the Academy Awards, with nine actors of color nabbing nominations in 2021, the 2022 lineup featured just four actors of color: Ariana DeBose, Aunjanue Ellis, Will Smith and Denzel Washington”(Jackson 2022). The award shows are trying to make progress, although nine actors of color are not a lot but fall back to their old ways the next year. It contradicts their whole point of trying to be inclusive when they go back to their old ways the next year. These issues have been brought to their attention, and there is still a lack of representation when talking about the issues. “In a vague attempt to repair their public image following the revelations that the organization had zero Black members while also demonstrating patterns of unethical and inappropriate behavior, the 103-member org tried to move forward. It’s safe to say that their efforts were met with an unenthusiastic thud”(Davis 2022). During covid when the Grammys and Golden Globes were postponed many people felt there was no need to continue them since no one even knew they were supposed to occur that day. “However, the future of these ceremonies net out, the Golden Globes is evidence that there needs to be a change, in the HFPA especially, but also across the board. While the COVID-19 pandemic rages on across the world, maybe this is the time to reevaluate and reinvent award ceremonies for modern times”(Bianchini 2022). Covid proved that these award shows are not what they use to be, and we could go without them. I personally do not watch award shows and I don’t really see the need for them. People are not tuning into award show like they use to. Social media has also had an impact on awards shows specifically the Golden Globes, “The Gloden Globes were held with no pomp and circumstance in a room devoid of celebrities, red carpets, and splashy media coverage. Instead, winners were live tweeted on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s social media channels, with the show focusing on philanthropy”(Davis 2022). Award shows are also extremely long. If I am able to just get updates on winners through social media, I am not going to watch the whole show or any of it.
Nicole Clemons cont Work Cited Bianchini, Elisabetta. “2022 Golden Globes: Do We Still Need, or Want, Awards Shows?” Yahoo!, Yahoo!, 10 Jan. 2022, https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/2022-golden-globes-do-we-need-awards-shows-ceremonies-oscars-grammys-emmys-cancel-210952814.html. Davis, Clayton. “Golden Globes Put on an Event That Could Have Been Put in an Email.” Variety, Variety, 10 Jan. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/news/golden-globes-twitter-show-netflix-oscars-1235149983/. Jackson, Angelique. “Oscars Make Strides in Diversity beyond the Acting Categories.” Variety, Variety, 8 Feb. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/awards/oscars-diversity-denzel-washington-behind-camera-1235174558/.
Every year, award shows have seen an decrease in viewership. This is largely accredited to the decline in live television viewership and the rise of streaming platforms. However this is not the main reason for this decline. Viewers have continuously brought attention to the lack of diversity, and racial biases within the nominations. This issue has yet to be resolved, which has caused people to act and boycott these shows. As mentioned in the article “Inevitably, The Film Awards Reckoning” from Deadline the fall of film awards has been long awaited. This article describes that other than the racism and biases described, there were other factors previously that lead to this fall. As mentioned “For now, at least, the film awards business – what’s left of it after the latest round of Covid shutdowns – has devolved into an inside game, played by the studios, promoters, talent, filmmakers and media, with little or no connection to outsiders, the people. That can’t continue (Cieply, 2022). This quote shows that there is a lack of care and concern from the people involved. Which is likely why none of these claims of racism and bias have been addressed. Because there is a lack of care.
According to an article from BBC titled “Has the Oscars really faced up to its race problem?” these observations of discrimination within award shows can be traced back to a specific incident in 2016. Though this has been a problem since much before then, the internet acted to bring this case to the public eye. According to this article “In 2015, lawyer-turned-activist April Reign took aim at that year's overwhelmingly white Academy Awards nominations with a jokey tweet "#OscarsSoWhite they asked to touch my hair..." – and, in doing so, inadvertently galvanised others to speak up. Then, when the 2016 Oscar nominations were announced, and for the second year in a row, all 20 acting nominations were given to white actors, the cause really attracted worldwide attention. Rather than the usual discussion predicting who would win what, social media lit up with #OscarsSoWhite posts criticising the Academy Awards for its shameful lack of inclusivity(Latif, 2021). This quote describes what led to the rise of awareness of the racism within these award shows. By creating a trending hashtag, it brought attention to biases that might not have been picked up by viewers previously. This article explains that this hashtag was picked up by global media, and critics involved have stated that they will put in more effort and be more aware. This article highlights the success of bringing attention to this issue such as the long awaited Academy recognition of Spike Lee. But it also notes that there have been many setbacks and racism continues to show it’s ugly face in film critiques. Another article that discussed this bias is from Variety titled “Oscars Make Strides in Diversity Beyond the Acting Categories”. This article notes the new diversity within the nominations such as including movies that represent the Latino community, highlighting Korean star Yuh-Jung Youn, and recognizing people of color behind the scenes such as stylists as well. I think these critiques are all warranted, and I agree. There is a clear pattern of racism and bias within these award shows and it is discouraging for people of color who are in this realm, want to enter it, or just admire film. I think that there has been enough attention drawn to these problems, and action is slowly being taken. I think the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag helped open up the conversation and made people more aware and open to comment. It brought these issues to the surface, and I hope there will be more notable strides towards equality within film award shows.
Works Cited:
Jackson, Angelique. “Oscars Make Strides in Diversity beyond the Acting Categories.” Variety, Variety, 8 Feb. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/awards/oscars-diversity-denzel-washington-behind-camera-1235174558/.
Cieply, Michael. “Inevitably, the Film Awards Reckoning Has Arrived.” Deadline, Deadline, 9 Feb. 2022, https://deadline.com/2022/01/inevitably-film-awards-reckoning-arrived-1234903542/. “Has the Oscars Really Faced up to Its Race Problem?” BBC Culture, BBC, https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210414-has-the-oscars-really-fixed-its-race-problem.
Sarah Lefkowitz Award shows have been under fire since longer before COVID. The truth is, people just don’t care anymore. If they can follow along on social media and find the winners and shocking moments at the press of a button, that’s what people will do. Viewership has been way down on these award shows since before COVID, even though people like to place the blame on the pandemic. CNBNC made a chart that shows the drops in viewership. The Academy Awards, Grammys, and Emmys all had slight increases in the mid 2000s but have been steadily going down since, as reflected on the chart in the article. “The Golden Globes, the Video Music Awards (VMAs), Billboard Music Awards, Country Music Awards, BET Awards, People Choice Awards, Critics Choice awards and countless other ceremonies have all been televised in recent years. With such little curation, it wouldn’t be surprising if viewers started to feel fatigued” (Whitten). In a time where award shows seem to matter less and less, Hollywood has become oversaturated with award shows. There are so many niche programs now but if the niche audiences don’t care and feel overstimulated by all the programs, viewership will still continue to go down. Personally, I don’t feel fatigued by the amount of award shows, because I only care about the music ones, but I know plenty of people who feel like there is just too much.
Oversaturation isn’t the only problem that award shows are facing. The Oscars, for example, have tried time and time again to fix their show. “...it seems like the show’s producers have tried to do away with the things that have always made the Oscars the Oscars” (Ebiri). According to Vulture, the Oscars have been changing for the worse. They have gotten rid of the things that make up the Oscars, such as the hosts and cutting down on the film clips. People barely cared about the Oscars the way they were, so these changes are making viewers care about the show even less.
Lefkowitz (cont.) I think the most important issue to point out with award shows is the lack of diversity. While we celebrate a record-breaking number of diverse nominees, the fact that these numbers are still so low are extremely concerning. “Following a record-breaking year for diversity at the Academy Awards, with nine actors of color nabbing nominations in 2021, the 2022 lineup featured just four actors of color…” (Jackson). It’s great that there were nine actors of color nominated for Academy Awards in 2021, but concerning that it was only nine. What is even more concerning is that the 2022 nominees of color were half the number they were in 2021. Diversity is something that should never be taken lightly and its importance is so stressed these days. Hollywood needs to step it up and do better.
Award shows really don’t matter anymore. The Grammys don’t carry the same weight and importance as they used to. No one remembers the nominees or winners a few days after the show. The film and TV award shows seem to only nominate the same white actors year after year and no one cares about them anymore. Overall, they just aren’t as important or defining as they used to be. Ebiri, Bilge. “Self-Loathing Will Kill the Oscars.” Vulture, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2022, https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/please-stop-trying-to-fix-the-oscars.html. Jackson, Angelique. “Oscars Make Strides in Diversity beyond the Acting Categories.” Variety, Variety, 8 Feb. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/awards/oscars-diversity-denzel-washington-behind-camera-1235174558/. Whitten, Sarah. “Audiences for Award Shows Are in Steep Decline. This Chart Shows How Far Viewership Has Fallen.” CNBC, CNBC, 2 May 2021, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/02/oscars-2021-nielsen-data-shows-viewers-have-lost-interest-in-award-shows.html.
Award shows over time have seen a steady decline in viewers and interest from the industry community. At one point some of the most prestigious award shows were held as the biggest nights for film, music, and television of the year. Today, they are continuing to lose their prestige and power in the industry. In the past, the Oscars and Golden Globes have come under some heat for their lack of diversity in categories and weak attempts to highlight underrepresented groups and themes within the Academy’s choices of winners. In just 2015 and 2016 the Oscars had an all-white slate for every single nomination and even though the academy has been said they are trying to diversify their categories in 2020 there was just one Black actor nominated (Jackson). The continuous lack of diversity within the Oscars has streamlined a lack of interest in the show itself. The Oscars finally achieved a diverse list of nominations in 2022 and though this is a good step forward, I am not sure it is enough to keep people watching. Through the lack of inclusivity and progression it has truly hurt the reputation of the Academy and has made viewers less inclined to watch the show. In addition, The Golden Globes this year has some problems with engagement as the event seemed strangely innovative. There was no gathering of celebrities this year, and instead winners were live tweeted with the show focusing on philanthropy (Davis, Schneider). Film awards have also faced problems with their exclusivity to block buster movies and an unequal balance of streaming. Since the late 1990s award shows have helped promote blockbuster movies that may have never received honor. Or helped movies that may have faced severe challenges in the competition (Cieply). But now with the introduction of streaming into all these categories, blockbuster movies do not really stand a chance. Streaming is continuing to make box office movies struggle within award recognition. Though, with all the problems facing film award shows currently, the recognition that once was essential may not even matter anymore. We are continuing to see a drop in viewership and lack of interest from attendees within these live events. Time considers a good point regarding these dropping views, young people are continuing to show less interest in awards season (Berman). Their attention span is too short with their exposure to social media, so they tend to be bored by long drawn-out categories and dramatic ads. If television is being made to please future generations of people, are award shows going to stand a chance in 10-15 years? My guess is probably not.
There was a time in the past when award shows used to be appointment television to see what awards were going to be handed out for the best movies, TV shows and music of the year. Now this narrative has changed as they have started to decline over the years for a variety of reasons, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. It ranges from the lack of diversity and inclusion for nominees and winners, along with incorporating politics into the shows. Not to mention the more obvious one, it simply feels like there are too many now.
A great example is what happened with the Golden Globes this year. Normally a broadcast event on NBC, they were not televised this year and instead streamed online. There was no discussion at all about it and I had no idea that the show had even happened with the lack of promotion for it. In short, this is amplifying that most people didn’t notice or care enough to look into what happened and are just fine with it. To make matters worse, HFPA President Helen Hoehne took to the event’s Twitter feed, basically writing that the Golden Globes is united with a passion for movies. Clayton Davis and Michael Schneider of Variety noted that, “Considering the organization also recognizes television programs, they seemed to exclude half of an entertainment industry that they are rewarding” (Davis, Schneider). This is a bad look for the organizing committee because I believe it shows they’re not paying all that much attention on how they handle their own event in regards to hosting it.
As for another award show that has dominated headlines over the years, look to the Oscars. This is one of the longest running events in show business and it’s in hot water as telecast viewership on ABC has declined, along with some questionable decisions by executives that continue to show there is too much experimentation being done. “In an effort to get more blockbusters into the mix, they announced some bizarre popular-choice scenario in which people from Twitter (never a good idea) will vote on their favorite movie” (Ebiri). This has no right to be a part of the show. The Oscars isn’t meant to be a fan popularity contest but apparently this is the identity the show might flirt with this year. Judy Berman of TIME Magazine brings another critical issue to light for a lot of awards shows in that they’re “suffering from the political polarization of the American public, as partisanship invades sectors of society that used to be essentially neutral ground” (Berman). This is valid because politics are becoming more and more prevalent in host monologues and other incorporations of the shows. While some of it can cause laughs, I believe it’s overused and is starting to get annoying.
I believe that award shows are not as important anymore. I’m not undermining that this is part of someone’s life, whether they’re an actor or actress, director, producer, or editor. If they get recognized for their efforts by one of these events, it’s obviously still important to people in the industry. As a whole, between the four big award shows (Oscars, Grammys, Golden Globes and Emmys), the fanfare and hype has declined overall. Ratings are declining, people are less engaged and there seems to be a lack of parity with the awards in regards to diversity and inclusion. It also seems like certain shows and movies completely dominate the categories, which I believe makes it less entertaining. Awards season continues with the Oscars and Grammys over the coming weeks and there needs to be Hollywood moment to get their control back and revive these once crown jewel events.
Works Cited Berman, Judy. “Award Shows Are Dying. Is That Such a Bad Thing?” Time, Time, 16 Jan. 2020, https://time.com/5766190/award-shows-2020-relevance-essay/
Davis, Clayton, and Michael Schneider. “Golden Globes Put on an Event That Could Have Been Put in an Email.” Variety, Variety, 9 Jan. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/news/golden-globes-twitter-show-netflix-oscars-1235149983/
Ebiri, Bilge. “Self-Loathing Will Kill the Oscars.” Vulture, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2022, https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/please-stop-trying-to-fix-the-oscars.html.
Each year, our favorite industries come together and celebrate the best of the best at their respective award shows. Or at least they used to. In recent years, award shows have faced a lot of criticism and many have even questioned the need for them at all. For a while I defended these shows and their ranking systems, but I am now playing for the other team as well. From the Oscars to the Golden Globes these shows have proven to be their own worst enemy in recent years, touting blatantly biased criteria and awkwardly forced collaboration to the point that even their own hosts have called them out on it (Cieply). They have also defeated their own critical purposes by letting popularity have a stake in these awards. This has shown viewers how little they care about the original purpose of these shows. These shows have cracked under the pressure to please everyone, and as a result of their indecisive pandering they have alienated both their critical fanbase and their spectator fanbase. These shows have let popularity influence nominations, then they try and snatch the critical audience back with segments that typically belong to the spectator audience, and it is all backwards (Ebiri). There are also a handful of decisions that have been clearly made just to switch things up, and there is not a lot of purpose going into them. This year’s Oscars will feature a very skewable category voted by Twitter users, and on top of that the winner will not even be receiving an award. Not only are they bringing these game-show style features to the most critical award show of the year, they have also taken it upon themselves (at the request of nobody) to remove eight critically valued categories from the main show. No one can figure out why “Best Original Score” is being removed from a critical film award show, but if you thought that was bad just wait until I tell you they removed “Best Editing”. Yes, you heard me correctly, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts no longer feels they should dedicate time to the audio and editing sides of the films that their show is entirely based on. Thankfully, despite all the nonsense, numbers will never lie. Most people have come around to the new agendas of these award shows, and we are seeing the people designate their own winners now. The people’s champs are always the real winners at the end of the day, and not only are people acknowledging it but they are now outwardly pushing these shows to do the same. In a world that is staged enough already, people are tired of seeing the industry’s favorite children win all the awards just because they do what they are told. Back in the good old days, the winners were those who broke the mold and now it feels like these award shows are trying to push everything backwards (Thomson). This is bad not only for their ratings, but because these conglomerates are the ones with the power to influence and they are not doing it the right way. Thankfully, it is showing strongly and rapidly in their numbers so it can’t go on for much longer if they want to survive. While I have grown impatient with these shows in the last few years, I don’t want to see them go anywhere. I just want them to stop pandering and get back on track for serving critics and spectators, because I fear what will happen if they don’t.
Works Cited Cieply, Michael. “Inevitably, the Film Awards Reckoning Has Arrived.” Deadline, Deadline, 9 Feb. 2022, https://deadline.com/2022/01/inevitably-film-awards-reckoning-arrived-1234903542/. Ebiri, Bilge. “Self-Loathing Will Kill the Oscars.” Vulture, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2022, https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/please-stop-trying-to-fix-the-oscars.html. Thomson, David. “Does Anyone Care about the Oscars Anymore?” Esquire, 8 June 2021, https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/film/a36105697/does-anyone-care-about-the-oscars/.
Flaherty 1 Award shows no longer matter and their absence during the pandemic (even if they did occur it wasn’t at the same scale as previous years) proved that. The Oscars are trying too hard to reach the wrong audiences targeting “someone who gets bored at the idea of watching editors or sound mixers or production designers win awards” (Ebiri) is not someone that is truly interested in the Oscars as an awards show, they were never going to be an audience member. The Oscars are too worried about appealing to audiences they don’t normally reach because of rating declines- but this is normal for the fall of live TV programming. The Grammys had “19.9 million viewers in 2019, while the Oscars drew 29.6 million” (Ebiri). The Oscars shouldn’t worry about viewers, because the Grammys had Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Harry Styles that same year and still did worse compared to the Oscars. The Oscars biggest problem is their nomination process really. Blockbusters are what the public is watching, those smash hits in theaters are what pull people into watching films. Sometimes the Academy does well with this but only “when those blockbusters are movies that the Academy seems to genuinely like” (Ebiri). It all comes down to a room of voters' opinions in the end, and most often those opinions aren’t going to align with every opinion of the film audience world. Unlike the Oscars, the Golden Globes chose to live-tweet their awards in lieu of having a host and big event. They claimed to have changed, even though many people said they have not and the Globes have faced boycotts. The most pressing issue of awards show is lack of diversity, and this is something the Globes (and the Oscars) have been ridiculed for in the past for. The Emmys, also face this issue. The Emmys “had zero Black members while also demonstrating patterns of unethical and inappropriate behavior” (Davis).
Flaherty 2 I as an audience member and big fan of award show season in general, have always noticed the discrepancies in awards by race and gender. It’s always white men really, and it wasn’t until recently and when celebrities started speaking out that some change started to happen. The hashtag #OscarsSoWhite trended in 2020 “with only one person of color nominated for acting and no nods for women directors” people were “disappointed but not surprised” (Nath). Parasite was innovational- when it really shouldn’t have been the first foreign-language film to take home a top prize at an award show. I as a fan post-pandemic will probably not tune into awards shows unless I have nothing else going on. As the live-tweet show proved, it can be done as an email, or just on social media. There's no point to make it a huge over-the-top spectacle for 3 hour run times. While I enjoy the red carpet events, the shows are just too long and not for good reasons. Award shows don't still matter to me and while it's sad, I won't waste any time watching awards shows.
Davis, Clayton. “Golden Globes Put on an Event That Could Have Been Put in an Email.” Variety, Variety, 10 Jan. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/news/golden-globes-twitter-show-netflix-oscars-1235149983/. Ebiri, Bilge. “Self-Loathing Will Kill the Oscars.” Vulture, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2022, https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/please-stop-trying-to-fix-the-oscars.html. Nath, Ishani. “Why Are Awards Shows Still so Damn White and Male?” FASHION Magazine, 13 July 2021, https://fashionmagazine.com/flare/awards-show-diversity/.
Film and television awards have been around for almost a century, and as we continue forward into the 2020s, these award shows are beginning to gain some serious negative attention and a lot of criticism. One of the biggest issues is the lack of diversity in award winners. One of the biggest culprits Is the Oscars. According to IDS News, “Compared to the 2021 record of nine people of color being nominated for acting, there are only four this year. Since 2000, only 14 Academy Awards have been given to Black actors…In 2015 and 2016, only white actors were seen in the nominations. Black filmmakers such as Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee boycotted the awards. In response, the academy promised to be more inclusive in its membership. This is why the backlash was almost immediate when the 2022 list of nominees was released” (McComish). The fact that in 21 years only, there has only been 14 black academy award winners is absolutely insane. That isn’t the only problem the Oscars have had recently. In the previous awards this past January, there was no extra ‘pizazz’ that could grab the audience’s attention. There were no special extra features with a classic award show. According to Varety, “The Golden Globes were held with no pomp and circumstance in a room devoid of celebrities, red carpets and splashy media coverage. Instead, winners were live tweeted on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s social media channels, with the show focusing on philanthropy” (Davis/Schneider). An award show with no red carpet makes absolutely zero sense, they go hand in hand, like PB&J. The audience wants to see more than just the awards. The audience wants to see the glamourous outfits, what celebrities arrive with who, the intriguing and comical interviews. The award shows are becoming less human. The Golden Globes took an insane hit this year as well. According to Deadline, Think how easily the Golden Globes disintegrated. What began as a media chastisement of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association—too white, too clubby, too self-serving—turned into an on-air reprimand by its own show hosts. That begot a boycott. Which led NBC to suspend this year’s broadcast. If the audience had bothered with last year’s show—the ratings were down 60 percent—all those indignant publicists and executives might have looked more kindly on the HFPA’s promised reform” (Cieply).
). So as time progresses, the question rises, will the awards stay remotely relevant? Well to be honest, if there aren’t any serious changes to the system, I think they will be relevant. This could give someone a chance to create a new award show that could have as much of a status symbol as the Academy Awards. Every Actor or Actress wants to add an award to their resume so that’s the downside to these award shows; it’s all about status. They shouldn’t have to be relevant in my opinion. So many movies get robbed of awards every year and it shouldn’t be that way. There needs to be serious changes to the award system.
Cieply, Michael. “Inevitably, the Film Awards Reckoning Has Arrived.” Deadline, Deadline, 9 Feb. 2022, https://deadline.com/2022/01/inevitably-film-awards-reckoning-arrived-1234903542/. Davis, Clayton, and Michael Schneider. “Golden Globes Put on an Event That Could Have Been Put in an Email.” Variety, Variety, 10 Jan. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/news/golden-globes-twitter-show-netflix-oscars-1235149983/. McComish, Maria. “Black Voices: The 2022 Oscar Nominations Lack Diversity.” Indiana Daily Student, 16 Feb. 2022, https://www.idsnews.com/article/2022/02/black-voices-the-2022-oscar-nominations-lack-diversity#:~:text=Since%202000%2C%20only%2014%20Academy,Spike%20Lee%20boycotted%20the%20awards.
Over the last few years awards shows like the oscar have been under fire. They have been under fire for a number of reasons such as lack of diversity and the bias of blockbuster movies. Lack of diversity can mean a number of things from minorities, LGBTQ, and women winning awards, pay gap and other lack of diversity issues. An insider takes a deeper look into the Oscars diversity issues with a numbers approach. In the past decade 89% of Oscar winners have been white nominees. “best director, the top four acting categories, and the two writing categories (original screenplay and adapted screenplay), we found that the gap between the number of nominations given to white people compared to people of color has closed in the past four years compared to the previous six”(Jacob Sarkisian) . In the last decade there were a lot of strong minority driven films such as Hidden Figures, Widows, Sorry To Bother you, Fruitvale Station and more. All of these films had a strong message for the world and strong lead actors and actresses. In a time where the film industry was supposed to be progressive, the lack of diversity proved that they were still in the same spot. The Oscars now in 2022 are making some progress in diversity nominating films. “Smith earned his third best actor nomination and his first nod as a producer for “King Richard.” The sports drama landed six nominations in all, as Ellis represented the film in the supporting actress category, where she was joined by fellow first-timer “West Side Story” star DeBose, who becomes the first Afro-Latina actor (and the first openly queer woman of color) ever nominated(Angelique Jackson)”. Even with just a few actors being nominated for an oscar this year, that is still progress but not substantial. There are a lot of independent black films that are heavily talked about and overlooked by the academy. Even with hosting they have gotten slightly better with adding people of color to host the show. In recent years Chris Rock is one of the few people of color who hosted the oscars. Award shows as the years progress aren’t really matterting to many as they used to. The lack of inclusivity is the main reason. Most times you see the same faces winning the awards and not adding anything different to the shows. “What began as a media chastisement of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association—too white, too clubby, too self-serving—turned into an on-air reprimand by its own show hosts' '. Also a lot of people aren’t watching the shows due to streaming. “Whatever replaces it, when the process is complete, will have new rituals, new rules, and new economics. If the players, some of them, remain the same, that will only be because they, like everything else, have changed(Micheal Cieply)”.
Cieply, Michael. “Inevitably, the Film Awards Reckoning Has Arrived.” Deadline, Deadline, 9 Feb. 2022, https://deadline.com/2022/01/inevitably-film-awards-reckoning-arrived-1234903542/. Jackson, Angelique. “Oscars Make Strides in Diversity beyond the Acting Categories.” Variety, Variety, 8 Feb. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/awards/oscars-diversity-denzel-washington-behind-camera-1235174558/. Sarkisian, Jacob. “A Complete Breakdown of the Oscars Diversity Problem over the Past Decade.” Insider, Insider, 2 Feb. 2021, https://www.insider.com/oscars-diversity-problem-race-gender-numbers-academy-awards-2021-2.
Derek Goldrick In recent years, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic bringing the shows to a halt, the TV ratings for live award shows has been on a gradual decline. Viewer percentages dropped so low that sponsors such as ABC Network had renegotiated their “guaranteed” fee set for the Ocscars down to about 12.7 million dollars (Cieply). For the most part, the Oscars and the Golden Globes are much more important for those involved such as studios, promoters, talent, filmmakers and media than they are the people. Although the pandemic forced many challenges and changes to the industry and their shows, they have not been able to recover from continuous racial accusations and nomination biases. In both 2015 and 2016 Oscar Award ceremonies, every actor that had been nominated was white. This misrepresentation of the talent that is found within the African American and other non-white communities was very controversial. As one can imagine, viewers of these raes felt as though their stars were not being seen and so the Academy and these award shows received huge amounts of backlash. It was not until 2021 that even the slightest bit of change could be seen. As stated in ‘Oscars Make Strides in Diversity Beyond the Acting Categories’, in 2021, “a number of historic wins in front of and behind the camera. “Minari” star Yuh-Jung Youn became the first Korean person to win an acting Oscar (best supporting actress). Daniel Kaluuya won best supporting actor for “Judas and the Black Messiah,” which made history as its all-Black producing team — Shaka King, Charles D. King and Ryan Coogler — were the first to earn a best picture nomination.”. Records then began breaking as many “first ever” nationalities and disabilities finally became represented on the big screen. As we know, bias plays a role in everyday life whether we like it or not and the Academy and their award shows are no different. Over the years, the blockbuster movie nominations have fallen subject to their biases numerous times and it’s playing a role in their loss of viewers. As said by Bilge Ebiri in the article ‘Self-loathing Will Kill the Oscars’, “the show has tended to do better ratings-wise in years when films like Titanic and Avatar and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King were real contenders. But those movies were, at least in the Academy’s eyes, still exceptional on an artistic or technical level, as were such previous blockbuster Best Picture nominees like E.T. and Jaws and Star Wars.”. Overall, I think that although awards shows have lost a great deal of popularity in the past few years, they still play a huge part in the media. The days following an award show like the Oscars are loaded with social media content on all platforms.
Cieply, Michael. “Inevitably, the Film Awards Reckoning Has Arrived.” Deadline, Deadline, 9 Feb. 2022, https://deadline.com/2022/01/inevitably-film-awards-reckoning-arrived-1234903542/. Ebiri, Bilge. “Self-Loathing Will Kill the Oscars.” Vulture, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2022, https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/please-stop-trying-to-fix-the-oscars.html. Jackson, Angelique. “Oscars Make Strides in Diversity beyond the Acting Categories.” Variety, Variety, 8 Feb. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/awards/oscars-diversity-denzel-washington-behind-camera-1235174558/. Oleksinski, Johnny. “Oscars so Dead: Here's How the Academy Could Revive Critical Awards Shows.” New York Post, New York Post, 24 Apr. 2021, https://nypost.com/2021/04/24/oscars-so-dead-how-the-academy-could-revive-awards-shows/.
Hannah Berkel
ReplyDeleteInterest in award shows has steadily declined over the past few years. People have tried to blame Covid, which did have an impact on the industry and award shows. Despite this, the truth is that viewership was already down 20 percent in 2020 before Covid (Stoeckert). In recent years, award shows have been subject to controversy, mainly due to their lack of diversity and inclusion in their nominees and winners. Although they have made adjustments and have promised to continue towards making the shows more inclusive, it is still too early to tell whether they have been effective in doing so.
The Golden Globes are known for having their own controversies, including their own hosts reprimanding the show on air (Cieply). This year, they even forgot to mention that the show focuses on both films and television shows. However, I do think that it was a smart decision for them to not broadcast the show this year. At the end of the day, who actually cares about who wins besides the winners and the other people who worked on the film or show in question?
It is surprising to see that the Oscars have continued to create controversy after they have attempted to turn things around these past couple years. In an effort to “fix” problems, this year the awards ceremony will provide an opportunity for people on Twitter to vote on a popular choice movie that will not receive an award, while also cutting out eight categories that are normally broadcast, which will be awarded in a preshow ceremony instead (Ebiri). This is a stupid decision. Although I can see why they think a popular movie vote could bring in some viewers, by not showing those eight categories that include Best Editing and Best Original Score, they are alienating other viewers. I spoke to my roommate, a film major who hopes to be an editor, and she was not pleased with this decision. There are so many people who work on films, and editors put in so much work. So why should they not get the same recognition as a big movie star? It seems as though all of these award shows focus on the stars of the films and directors, rather than all of the other people involved.
Personally, I do not really see the need for award shows. At least, I do not see why they need to be broadcasted and receive so much fanfare. In previous years I remember wanting to watch the Golden Globes, Emmys, and Oscars because I thought that they mattered and that the films or television shows receiving the awards mattered more because they got the awards. Now I know that is not the case. As someone who hopes to go into the industry, I am painfully aware of how few women are in the industry, despite film school classes being almost evenly split between men and women. When I have watched the award shows in recent years, this is something I think about, and although the people winning are talented, it is disappointing to see these shows for what they really are.
Works Cited
Cieply, Michael. “Inevitably, The Film Awards Reckoning Has Arrived.” Deadline, Deadline, 9 Feb. 2022, deadline.com/2022/01/inevitably-film-awards-reckoning-arrived-1234903542/.
Ebiri, Bilge. “Self-Loathing Will Kill the Oscars.” Vulture, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2022, www.vulture.com/2022/02/please-stop-trying-to-fix-the-oscars.html.
Stoeckert, Lena. “Diversity Fails, Pandemic Woes: Awards Shows Are Losing Relevancy.” The Daily Targum, dailytargum.com/article/2022/01/diversity-fails-pandemic-woes-awards-shows-are-losing-relevancy.
Rita Sherban
ReplyDeleteThe Academy Awards and adjunct awards have been highlighted for their bias and exclusion of people of color. COVID prevented many of awards, like the Golden Globes, to continue as usual. This year, “The Golden Globes were held with no pomp and circumstance in a room devoid of celebrities, red carpets, and splash media coverage” (Davis, Schneider 2022). The show opted to live tweet the winners but was lost in a wave of news covering the death of Bob Saget (Davis, Schneider 2022). The Golden Globes are not the only show that lacks diversity. In 2015 and 2016, the Academy Awards had panels of all white acting nominees. However, in recent years, the nominations have expanded to include more Black and people of color talent. This year, Latino representation can be seen amongst nominees for Best Picture like Guillermo Del Toro for “Nightmare Alley” and Lin-Manuel Miranda is nominated for Original Song (Jackson 2022). In the wake of the George Floyd protests that occurred in 2021, award shows were much more keen to nominate Black actors, like, “Daniel Kaluuya won best supporting actor in for “Judas and the Black Messiah” …”(Jackson 2022). While award shows have tried to reconcile their bias pasts, it’s probably the beginning of the end for them.
Award shows, particularly the Oscars once held the same kind of weight as the Met Gala. Who was wearing what, who’s going who, and the most notable winners being best picture, director, actor, and actress? Over the recent years, award shows have lost their charm and some point towards the polarization of politics in America (Berman 2020). As politics seep more and more into everyday life, “Award shows are also suffering from the political polarization of the American public, as partisanship invades sectors of society that used to be essentially neutral ground…” (Berman 2020). Award speeches used to be a long list of ‘thank-you’ but have now turned into a stage in which celebrities feel compelled to share their political views (Berman 2020). People are getting tired of politics, and it reflects in the decline of award shows, a once neutral ground has been invaded as another political stage in which people feel the need to expression their political opinions. It seems like the last benefit of awards is that it gives pictures a bit of a boost in the box office. When Moonlight was released, it’s domestic gross was low it was then, “…rereleased after its Best Picture upset, Moonlight earned $2.5 million its first weekend alone…” (Berman 2020). Other than the financial boost, there is really no reason to keep award shows alive.
Sherban (cont.)
ReplyDeletePersonally, I see no point in award shows anymore. The Oscars were comparable to the Met Gala, a glitterati event of the year. Now, it’s seen a decline. The Oscars while they may nominate BIPOC actors, actresses, directors, etc. there’s still a way to go, which is unfortunate. In the technicolor world of the 21st century, it’s alarming that BIPOC nominees are still low compared to their white counterparts. If award shows do not make drastic changes to better reflect a diverse society and put more representation in exclusive places, award shows will be in decline like we’ve seen with linear television.
Berman, J. (2020, January 16). Award shows are dying. is that such a bad thing? Time. Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://time.com/5766190/award-shows-2020-relevance-essay/
Davis, C., & Schneider, M. (2022, January 10). Golden Globes put on an event that could have been put in an email. Variety. Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://variety.com/2022/awards/news/golden-globes-twitter-show-netflix-oscars-1235149983/
Jackson, A. (2022, February 8). Oscars make strides in diversity beyond the acting categories. Variety. Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://variety.com/2022/awards/awards/oscars-diversity-denzel-washington-behind-camera-1235174558/
Nicole Clemons
ReplyDeleteAward shows have seen a steady decline in viewership over the past few years. There are many reasons why people are not watching. Such as the lack of diversity, bias and the shows are not evolving. Although there have been adjustments made, they award shows still need evolve if they want to stay relevant in the upcoming years to keep younger generations involved and tuning in.
One of the biggest issues that always arise during award shows is the lack of diversity. We have seen time and time again the same people winning and being nominated for awards. Many thought that this year was special due to the many breakthroughs “Following a record-breaking year for diversity at the Academy Awards, with nine actors of color nabbing nominations in 2021, the 2022 lineup featured just four actors of color: Ariana DeBose, Aunjanue Ellis, Will Smith and Denzel Washington”(Jackson 2022). The award shows are trying to make progress, although nine actors of color are not a lot but fall back to their old ways the next year. It contradicts their whole point of trying to be inclusive when they go back to their old ways the next year.
These issues have been brought to their attention, and there is still a lack of representation when talking about the issues. “In a vague attempt to repair their public image following the revelations that the organization had zero Black members while also demonstrating patterns of unethical and inappropriate behavior, the 103-member org tried to move forward. It’s safe to say that their efforts were met with an unenthusiastic thud”(Davis 2022).
During covid when the Grammys and Golden Globes were postponed many people felt there was no need to continue them since no one even knew they were supposed to occur that day. “However, the future of these ceremonies net out, the Golden Globes is evidence that there needs to be a change, in the HFPA especially, but also across the board. While the COVID-19 pandemic rages on across the world, maybe this is the time to reevaluate and reinvent award ceremonies for modern times”(Bianchini 2022). Covid proved that these award shows are not what they use to be, and we could go without them.
I personally do not watch award shows and I don’t really see the need for them. People are not tuning into award show like they use to. Social media has also had an impact on awards shows specifically the Golden Globes, “The Gloden Globes were held with no pomp and circumstance in a room devoid of celebrities, red carpets, and splashy media coverage. Instead, winners were live tweeted on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s social media channels, with the show focusing on philanthropy”(Davis 2022). Award shows are also extremely long. If I am able to just get updates on winners through social media, I am not going to watch the whole show or any of it.
Nicole Clemons cont
ReplyDeleteWork Cited
Bianchini, Elisabetta. “2022 Golden Globes: Do We Still Need, or Want, Awards Shows?” Yahoo!, Yahoo!, 10 Jan. 2022, https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/2022-golden-globes-do-we-need-awards-shows-ceremonies-oscars-grammys-emmys-cancel-210952814.html.
Davis, Clayton. “Golden Globes Put on an Event That Could Have Been Put in an Email.” Variety, Variety, 10 Jan. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/news/golden-globes-twitter-show-netflix-oscars-1235149983/.
Jackson, Angelique. “Oscars Make Strides in Diversity beyond the Acting Categories.” Variety, Variety, 8 Feb. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/awards/oscars-diversity-denzel-washington-behind-camera-1235174558/.
Sydney Lunder (1)
ReplyDeleteEvery year, award shows have seen an decrease in viewership. This is largely accredited to the decline in live television viewership and the rise of streaming platforms. However this is not the main reason for this decline. Viewers have continuously brought attention to the lack of diversity, and racial biases within the nominations. This issue has yet to be resolved, which has caused people to act and boycott these shows. As mentioned in the article “Inevitably, The Film Awards Reckoning” from Deadline the fall of film awards has been long awaited. This article describes that other than the racism and biases described, there were other factors previously that lead to this fall. As mentioned “For now, at least, the film awards business – what’s left of it after the latest round of Covid shutdowns – has devolved into an inside game, played by the studios, promoters, talent, filmmakers and media, with little or no connection to outsiders, the people. That can’t continue (Cieply, 2022). This quote shows that there is a lack of care and concern from the people involved. Which is likely why none of these claims of racism and bias have been addressed. Because there is a lack of care.
Sydney Lunder (2)
DeleteAccording to an article from BBC titled “Has the Oscars really faced up to its race problem?” these observations of discrimination within award shows can be traced back to a specific incident in 2016. Though this has been a problem since much before then, the internet acted to bring this case to the public eye. According to this article “In 2015, lawyer-turned-activist April Reign took aim at that year's overwhelmingly white Academy Awards nominations with a jokey tweet "#OscarsSoWhite they asked to touch my hair..." – and, in doing so, inadvertently galvanised others to speak up. Then, when the 2016 Oscar nominations were announced, and for the second year in a row, all 20 acting nominations were given to white actors, the cause really attracted worldwide attention. Rather than the usual discussion predicting who would win what, social media lit up with #OscarsSoWhite posts criticising the Academy Awards for its shameful lack of inclusivity(Latif, 2021). This quote describes what led to the rise of awareness of the racism within these award shows. By creating a trending hashtag, it brought attention to biases that might not have been picked up by viewers previously. This article explains that this hashtag was picked up by global media, and critics involved have stated that they will put in more effort and be more aware. This article highlights the success of bringing attention to this issue such as the long awaited Academy recognition of Spike Lee. But it also notes that there have been many setbacks and racism continues to show it’s ugly face in film critiques. Another article that discussed this bias is from Variety titled “Oscars Make Strides in Diversity Beyond the Acting Categories”. This article notes the new diversity within the nominations such as including movies that represent the Latino community, highlighting Korean star Yuh-Jung Youn, and recognizing people of color behind the scenes such as stylists as well. I think these critiques are all warranted, and I agree. There is a clear pattern of racism and bias within these award shows and it is discouraging for people of color who are in this realm, want to enter it, or just admire film. I think that there has been enough attention drawn to these problems, and action is slowly being taken. I think the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag helped open up the conversation and made people more aware and open to comment. It brought these issues to the surface, and I hope there will be more notable strides towards equality within film award shows.
Works Cited:
Jackson, Angelique. “Oscars Make Strides in Diversity beyond the Acting Categories.” Variety, Variety, 8 Feb. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/awards/oscars-diversity-denzel-washington-behind-camera-1235174558/.
Cieply, Michael. “Inevitably, the Film Awards Reckoning Has Arrived.” Deadline, Deadline, 9 Feb. 2022, https://deadline.com/2022/01/inevitably-film-awards-reckoning-arrived-1234903542/.
“Has the Oscars Really Faced up to Its Race Problem?” BBC Culture, BBC, https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210414-has-the-oscars-really-fixed-its-race-problem.
Sarah Lefkowitz
ReplyDeleteAward shows have been under fire since longer before COVID. The truth is, people just don’t care anymore. If they can follow along on social media and find the winners and shocking moments at the press of a button, that’s what people will do. Viewership has been way down on these award shows since before COVID, even though people like to place the blame on the pandemic. CNBNC made a chart that shows the drops in viewership. The Academy Awards, Grammys, and Emmys all had slight increases in the mid 2000s but have been steadily going down since, as reflected on the chart in the article. “The Golden Globes, the Video Music Awards (VMAs), Billboard Music Awards, Country Music Awards, BET Awards, People Choice Awards, Critics Choice awards and countless other ceremonies have all been televised in recent years. With such little curation, it wouldn’t be surprising if viewers started to feel fatigued” (Whitten). In a time where award shows seem to matter less and less, Hollywood has become oversaturated with award shows. There are so many niche programs now but if the niche audiences don’t care and feel overstimulated by all the programs, viewership will still continue to go down. Personally, I don’t feel fatigued by the amount of award shows, because I only care about the music ones, but I know plenty of people who feel like there is just too much.
Oversaturation isn’t the only problem that award shows are facing. The Oscars, for example, have tried time and time again to fix their show. “...it seems like the show’s producers have tried to do away with the things that have always made the Oscars the Oscars” (Ebiri). According to Vulture, the Oscars have been changing for the worse. They have gotten rid of the things that make up the Oscars, such as the hosts and cutting down on the film clips. People barely cared about the Oscars the way they were, so these changes are making viewers care about the show even less.
Lefkowitz (cont.)
ReplyDeleteI think the most important issue to point out with award shows is the lack of diversity. While we celebrate a record-breaking number of diverse nominees, the fact that these numbers are still so low are extremely concerning. “Following a record-breaking year for diversity at the Academy Awards, with nine actors of color nabbing nominations in 2021, the 2022 lineup featured just four actors of color…” (Jackson). It’s great that there were nine actors of color nominated for Academy Awards in 2021, but concerning that it was only nine. What is even more concerning is that the 2022 nominees of color were half the number they were in 2021. Diversity is something that should never be taken lightly and its importance is so stressed these days. Hollywood needs to step it up and do better.
Award shows really don’t matter anymore. The Grammys don’t carry the same weight and importance as they used to. No one remembers the nominees or winners a few days after the show. The film and TV award shows seem to only nominate the same white actors year after year and no one cares about them anymore. Overall, they just aren’t as important or defining as they used to be.
Ebiri, Bilge. “Self-Loathing Will Kill the Oscars.” Vulture, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2022, https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/please-stop-trying-to-fix-the-oscars.html.
Jackson, Angelique. “Oscars Make Strides in Diversity beyond the Acting Categories.” Variety, Variety, 8 Feb. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/awards/oscars-diversity-denzel-washington-behind-camera-1235174558/.
Whitten, Sarah. “Audiences for Award Shows Are in Steep Decline. This Chart Shows How Far Viewership Has Fallen.” CNBC, CNBC, 2 May 2021, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/02/oscars-2021-nielsen-data-shows-viewers-have-lost-interest-in-award-shows.html.
Award shows over time have seen a steady decline in viewers and interest from the industry community. At one point some of the most prestigious award shows were held as the biggest nights for film, music, and television of the year. Today, they are continuing to lose their prestige and power in the industry. In the past, the Oscars and Golden Globes have come under some heat for their lack of diversity in categories and weak attempts to highlight underrepresented groups and themes within the Academy’s choices of winners. In just 2015 and 2016 the Oscars had an all-white slate for every single nomination and even though the academy has been said they are trying to diversify their categories in 2020 there was just one Black actor nominated (Jackson). The continuous lack of diversity within the Oscars has streamlined a lack of interest in the show itself. The Oscars finally achieved a diverse list of nominations in 2022 and though this is a good step forward, I am not sure it is enough to keep people watching. Through the lack of inclusivity and progression it has truly hurt the reputation of the Academy and has made viewers less inclined to watch the show.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, The Golden Globes this year has some problems with engagement as the event seemed strangely innovative. There was no gathering of celebrities this year, and instead winners were live tweeted with the show focusing on philanthropy (Davis, Schneider). Film awards have also faced problems with their exclusivity to block buster movies and an unequal balance of streaming. Since the late 1990s award shows have helped promote blockbuster movies that may have never received honor. Or helped movies that may have faced severe challenges in the competition (Cieply). But now with the introduction of streaming into all these categories, blockbuster movies do not really stand a chance. Streaming is continuing to make box office movies struggle within award recognition. Though, with all the problems facing film award shows currently, the recognition that once was essential may not even matter anymore. We are continuing to see a drop in viewership and lack of interest from attendees within these live events. Time considers a good point regarding these dropping views, young people are continuing to show less interest in awards season (Berman). Their attention span is too short with their exposure to social media, so they tend to be bored by long drawn-out categories and dramatic ads. If television is being made to please future generations of people, are award shows going to stand a chance in 10-15 years? My guess is probably not.
Benjamin Upson
ReplyDeleteThere was a time in the past when award shows used to be appointment television to see what awards were going to be handed out for the best movies, TV shows and music of the year. Now this narrative has changed as they have started to decline over the years for a variety of reasons, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. It ranges from the lack of diversity and inclusion for nominees and winners, along with incorporating politics into the shows. Not to mention the more obvious one, it simply feels like there are too many now.
A great example is what happened with the Golden Globes this year. Normally a broadcast event on NBC, they were not televised this year and instead streamed online. There was no discussion at all about it and I had no idea that the show had even happened with the lack of promotion for it. In short, this is amplifying that most people didn’t notice or care enough to look into what happened and are just fine with it. To make matters worse, HFPA President Helen Hoehne took to the event’s Twitter feed, basically writing that the Golden Globes is united with a passion for movies. Clayton Davis and Michael Schneider of Variety noted that, “Considering the organization also recognizes television programs, they seemed to exclude half of an entertainment industry that they are rewarding” (Davis, Schneider). This is a bad look for the organizing committee because I believe it shows they’re not paying all that much attention on how they handle their own event in regards to hosting it.
As for another award show that has dominated headlines over the years, look to the Oscars. This is one of the longest running events in show business and it’s in hot water as telecast viewership on ABC has declined, along with some questionable decisions by executives that continue to show there is too much experimentation being done. “In an effort to get more blockbusters into the mix, they announced some bizarre popular-choice scenario in which people from Twitter (never a good idea) will vote on their favorite movie” (Ebiri). This has no right to be a part of the show. The Oscars isn’t meant to be a fan popularity contest but apparently this is the identity the show might flirt with this year. Judy Berman of TIME Magazine brings another critical issue to light for a lot of awards shows in that they’re “suffering from the political polarization of the American public, as partisanship invades sectors of society that used to be essentially neutral ground” (Berman). This is valid because politics are becoming more and more prevalent in host monologues and other incorporations of the shows. While some of it can cause laughs, I believe it’s overused and is starting to get annoying.
Benjamin Upson Part 2
DeleteI believe that award shows are not as important anymore. I’m not undermining that this is part of someone’s life, whether they’re an actor or actress, director, producer, or editor. If they get recognized for their efforts by one of these events, it’s obviously still important to people in the industry. As a whole, between the four big award shows (Oscars, Grammys, Golden Globes and Emmys), the fanfare and hype has declined overall. Ratings are declining, people are less engaged and there seems to be a lack of parity with the awards in regards to diversity and inclusion. It also seems like certain shows and movies completely dominate the categories, which I believe makes it less entertaining. Awards season continues with the Oscars and Grammys over the coming weeks and there needs to be Hollywood moment to get their control back and revive these once crown jewel events.
Works Cited
Berman, Judy. “Award Shows Are Dying. Is That Such a Bad Thing?” Time, Time, 16 Jan. 2020, https://time.com/5766190/award-shows-2020-relevance-essay/
Davis, Clayton, and Michael Schneider. “Golden Globes Put on an Event That Could Have Been Put in an Email.” Variety, Variety, 9 Jan. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/news/golden-globes-twitter-show-netflix-oscars-1235149983/
Ebiri, Bilge. “Self-Loathing Will Kill the Oscars.” Vulture, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2022, https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/please-stop-trying-to-fix-the-oscars.html.
Each year, our favorite industries come together and celebrate the best of the best at their respective award shows. Or at least they used to. In recent years, award shows have faced a lot of criticism and many have even questioned the need for them at all. For a while I defended these shows and their ranking systems, but I am now playing for the other team as well. From the Oscars to the Golden Globes these shows have proven to be their own worst enemy in recent years, touting blatantly biased criteria and awkwardly forced collaboration to the point that even their own hosts have called them out on it (Cieply). They have also defeated their own critical purposes by letting popularity have a stake in these awards. This has shown viewers how little they care about the original purpose of these shows. These shows have cracked under the pressure to please everyone, and as a result of their indecisive pandering they have alienated both their critical fanbase and their spectator fanbase. These shows have let popularity influence nominations, then they try and snatch the critical audience back with segments that typically belong to the spectator audience, and it is all backwards (Ebiri). There are also a handful of decisions that have been clearly made just to switch things up, and there is not a lot of purpose going into them. This year’s Oscars will feature a very skewable category voted by Twitter users, and on top of that the winner will not even be receiving an award. Not only are they bringing these game-show style features to the most critical award show of the year, they have also taken it upon themselves (at the request of nobody) to remove eight critically valued categories from the main show. No one can figure out why “Best Original Score” is being removed from a critical film award show, but if you thought that was bad just wait until I tell you they removed “Best Editing”. Yes, you heard me correctly, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts no longer feels they should dedicate time to the audio and editing sides of the films that their show is entirely based on. Thankfully, despite all the nonsense, numbers will never lie. Most people have come around to the new agendas of these award shows, and we are seeing the people designate their own winners now. The people’s champs are always the real winners at the end of the day, and not only are people acknowledging it but they are now outwardly pushing these shows to do the same. In a world that is staged enough already, people are tired of seeing the industry’s favorite children win all the awards just because they do what they are told. Back in the good old days, the winners were those who broke the mold and now it feels like these award shows are trying to push everything backwards (Thomson). This is bad not only for their ratings, but because these conglomerates are the ones with the power to influence and they are not doing it the right way. Thankfully, it is showing strongly and rapidly in their numbers so it can’t go on for much longer if they want to survive. While I have grown impatient with these shows in the last few years, I don’t want to see them go anywhere. I just want them to stop pandering and get back on track for serving critics and spectators, because I fear what will happen if they don’t.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited
Cieply, Michael. “Inevitably, the Film Awards Reckoning Has Arrived.” Deadline, Deadline, 9 Feb. 2022, https://deadline.com/2022/01/inevitably-film-awards-reckoning-arrived-1234903542/.
Ebiri, Bilge. “Self-Loathing Will Kill the Oscars.” Vulture, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2022, https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/please-stop-trying-to-fix-the-oscars.html.
Thomson, David. “Does Anyone Care about the Oscars Anymore?” Esquire, 8 June 2021, https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/film/a36105697/does-anyone-care-about-the-oscars/.
Flaherty 1
ReplyDeleteAward shows no longer matter and their absence during the pandemic (even if they did occur it wasn’t at the same scale as previous years) proved that. The Oscars are trying too hard to reach the wrong audiences targeting “someone who gets bored at the idea of watching editors or sound mixers or production designers win awards” (Ebiri) is not someone that is truly interested in the Oscars as an awards show, they were never going to be an audience member. The Oscars are too worried about appealing to audiences they don’t normally reach because of rating declines- but this is normal for the fall of live TV programming. The Grammys had “19.9 million viewers in 2019, while the Oscars drew 29.6 million” (Ebiri). The Oscars shouldn’t worry about viewers, because the Grammys had Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Harry Styles that same year and still did worse compared to the Oscars. The Oscars biggest problem is their nomination process really. Blockbusters are what the public is watching, those smash hits in theaters are what pull people into watching films. Sometimes the Academy does well with this but only “when those blockbusters are movies that the Academy seems to genuinely like” (Ebiri). It all comes down to a room of voters' opinions in the end, and most often those opinions aren’t going to align with every opinion of the film audience world. Unlike the Oscars, the Golden Globes chose to live-tweet their awards in lieu of having a host and big event. They claimed to have changed, even though many people said they have not and the Globes have faced boycotts. The most pressing issue of awards show is lack of diversity, and this is something the Globes (and the Oscars) have been ridiculed for in the past for. The Emmys, also face this issue. The Emmys “had zero Black members while also demonstrating patterns of unethical and inappropriate behavior” (Davis).
Flaherty 2
DeleteI as an audience member and big fan of award show season in general, have always noticed the discrepancies in awards by race and gender. It’s always white men really, and it wasn’t until recently and when celebrities started speaking out that some change started to happen. The hashtag #OscarsSoWhite trended in 2020 “with only one person of color nominated for acting and no nods for women directors” people were “disappointed but not surprised” (Nath). Parasite was innovational- when it really shouldn’t have been the first foreign-language film to take home a top prize at an award show. I as a fan post-pandemic will probably not tune into awards shows unless I have nothing else going on. As the live-tweet show proved, it can be done as an email, or just on social media. There's no point to make it a huge over-the-top spectacle for 3 hour run times. While I enjoy the red carpet events, the shows are just too long and not for good reasons. Award shows don't still matter to me and while it's sad, I won't waste any time watching awards shows.
Davis, Clayton. “Golden Globes Put on an Event That Could Have Been Put in an Email.” Variety, Variety, 10 Jan. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/news/golden-globes-twitter-show-netflix-oscars-1235149983/.
Ebiri, Bilge. “Self-Loathing Will Kill the Oscars.” Vulture, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2022, https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/please-stop-trying-to-fix-the-oscars.html.
Nath, Ishani. “Why Are Awards Shows Still so Damn White and Male?” FASHION Magazine, 13 July 2021, https://fashionmagazine.com/flare/awards-show-diversity/.
Johnny Marquardt part 1
ReplyDeleteFilm and television awards have been around for almost a century, and as we continue forward into the 2020s, these award shows are beginning to gain some serious negative attention and a lot of criticism. One of the biggest issues is the lack of diversity in award winners. One of the biggest culprits Is the Oscars. According to IDS News, “Compared to the 2021 record of nine people of color being nominated for acting, there are only four this year. Since 2000, only 14 Academy Awards have been given to Black actors…In 2015 and 2016, only white actors were seen in the nominations. Black filmmakers such as Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee boycotted the awards. In response, the academy promised to be more inclusive in its membership. This is why the backlash was almost immediate when the 2022 list of nominees was released” (McComish). The fact that in 21 years only, there has only been 14 black academy award winners is absolutely insane. That isn’t the only problem the Oscars have had recently. In the previous awards this past January, there was no extra ‘pizazz’ that could grab the audience’s attention. There were no special extra features with a classic award show. According to Varety, “The Golden Globes were held with no pomp and circumstance in a room devoid of celebrities, red carpets and splashy media coverage. Instead, winners were live tweeted on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s social media channels, with the show focusing on philanthropy” (Davis/Schneider). An award show with no red carpet makes absolutely zero sense, they go hand in hand, like PB&J. The audience wants to see more than just the awards. The audience wants to see the glamourous outfits, what celebrities arrive with who, the intriguing and comical interviews. The award shows are becoming less human. The Golden Globes took an insane hit this year as well. According to Deadline, Think how easily the Golden Globes disintegrated. What began as a media chastisement of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association—too white, too clubby, too self-serving—turned into an on-air reprimand by its own show hosts. That begot a boycott. Which led NBC to suspend this year’s broadcast. If the audience had bothered with last year’s show—the ratings were down 60 percent—all those indignant publicists and executives might have looked more kindly on the HFPA’s promised reform” (Cieply).
Johnny Marquardt Part 2
ReplyDelete). So as time progresses, the question rises, will the awards stay remotely relevant? Well to be honest, if there aren’t any serious changes to the system, I think they will be relevant. This could give someone a chance to create a new award show that could have as much of a status symbol as the Academy Awards. Every Actor or Actress wants to add an award to their resume so that’s the downside to these award shows; it’s all about status. They shouldn’t have to be relevant in my opinion. So many movies get robbed of awards every year and it shouldn’t be that way. There needs to be serious changes to the award system.
Cieply, Michael. “Inevitably, the Film Awards Reckoning Has Arrived.” Deadline, Deadline, 9 Feb. 2022, https://deadline.com/2022/01/inevitably-film-awards-reckoning-arrived-1234903542/.
Davis, Clayton, and Michael Schneider. “Golden Globes Put on an Event That Could Have Been Put in an Email.” Variety, Variety, 10 Jan. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/news/golden-globes-twitter-show-netflix-oscars-1235149983/.
McComish, Maria. “Black Voices: The 2022 Oscar Nominations Lack Diversity.” Indiana Daily Student, 16 Feb. 2022, https://www.idsnews.com/article/2022/02/black-voices-the-2022-oscar-nominations-lack-diversity#:~:text=Since%202000%2C%20only%2014%20Academy,Spike%20Lee%20boycotted%20the%20awards.
Over the last few years awards shows like the oscar have been under fire. They have been under fire for a number of reasons such as lack of diversity and the bias of blockbuster movies. Lack of diversity can mean a number of things from minorities, LGBTQ, and women winning awards, pay gap and other lack of diversity issues. An insider takes a deeper look into the Oscars diversity issues with a numbers approach. In the past decade 89% of Oscar winners have been white nominees. “best director, the top four acting categories, and the two writing categories (original screenplay and adapted screenplay), we found that the gap between the number of nominations given to white people compared to people of color has closed in the past four years compared to the previous six”(Jacob Sarkisian) . In the last decade there were a lot of strong minority driven films such as Hidden Figures, Widows, Sorry To Bother you, Fruitvale Station and more. All of these films had a strong message for the world and strong lead actors and actresses. In a time where the film industry was supposed to be progressive, the lack of diversity proved that they were still in the same spot. The Oscars now in 2022 are making some progress in diversity nominating films. “Smith earned his third best actor nomination and his first nod as a producer for “King Richard.” The sports drama landed six nominations in all, as Ellis represented the film in the supporting actress category, where she was joined by fellow first-timer “West Side Story” star DeBose, who becomes the first Afro-Latina actor (and the first openly queer woman of color) ever nominated(Angelique Jackson)”. Even with just a few actors being nominated for an oscar this year, that is still progress but not substantial. There are a lot of independent black films that are heavily talked about and overlooked by the academy. Even with hosting they have gotten slightly better with adding people of color to host the show. In recent years Chris Rock is one of the few people of color who hosted the oscars. Award shows as the years progress aren’t really matterting to many as they used to. The lack of inclusivity is the main reason. Most times you see the same faces winning the awards and not adding anything different to the shows. “What began as a media chastisement of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association—too white, too clubby, too self-serving—turned into an on-air reprimand by its own show hosts' '. Also a lot of people aren’t watching the shows due to streaming. “Whatever replaces it, when the process is complete, will have new rituals, new rules, and new economics. If the players, some of them, remain the same, that will only be because they, like everything else, have changed(Micheal Cieply)”.
ReplyDeleteCieply, Michael. “Inevitably, the Film Awards Reckoning Has Arrived.” Deadline, Deadline, 9 Feb. 2022, https://deadline.com/2022/01/inevitably-film-awards-reckoning-arrived-1234903542/.
ReplyDeleteJackson, Angelique. “Oscars Make Strides in Diversity beyond the Acting Categories.” Variety, Variety, 8 Feb. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/awards/oscars-diversity-denzel-washington-behind-camera-1235174558/.
Sarkisian, Jacob. “A Complete Breakdown of the Oscars Diversity Problem over the Past Decade.” Insider, Insider, 2 Feb. 2021, https://www.insider.com/oscars-diversity-problem-race-gender-numbers-academy-awards-2021-2.
Derek Goldrick
ReplyDeleteIn recent years, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic bringing the shows to a halt, the TV ratings for live award shows has been on a gradual decline. Viewer percentages dropped so low that sponsors such as ABC Network had renegotiated their “guaranteed” fee set for the Ocscars down to about 12.7 million dollars (Cieply). For the most part, the Oscars and the Golden Globes are much more important for those involved such as studios, promoters, talent, filmmakers and media than they are the people. Although the pandemic forced many challenges and changes to the industry and their shows, they have not been able to recover from continuous racial accusations and nomination biases.
In both 2015 and 2016 Oscar Award ceremonies, every actor that had been nominated was white. This misrepresentation of the talent that is found within the African American and other non-white communities was very controversial. As one can imagine, viewers of these raes felt as though their stars were not being seen and so the Academy and these award shows received huge amounts of backlash. It was not until 2021 that even the slightest bit of change could be seen. As stated in ‘Oscars Make Strides in Diversity Beyond the Acting Categories’, in 2021, “a number of historic wins in front of and behind the camera. “Minari” star Yuh-Jung Youn became the first Korean person to win an acting Oscar (best supporting actress). Daniel Kaluuya won best supporting actor for “Judas and the Black Messiah,” which made history as its all-Black producing team — Shaka King, Charles D. King and Ryan Coogler — were the first to earn a best picture nomination.”. Records then began breaking as many “first ever” nationalities and disabilities finally became represented on the big screen.
As we know, bias plays a role in everyday life whether we like it or not and the Academy and their award shows are no different. Over the years, the blockbuster movie nominations have fallen subject to their biases numerous times and it’s playing a role in their loss of viewers. As said by Bilge Ebiri in the article ‘Self-loathing Will Kill the Oscars’, “the show has tended to do better ratings-wise in years when films like Titanic and Avatar and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King were real contenders. But those movies were, at least in the Academy’s eyes, still exceptional on an artistic or technical level, as were such previous blockbuster Best Picture nominees like E.T. and Jaws and Star Wars.”.
Overall, I think that although awards shows have lost a great deal of popularity in the past few years, they still play a huge part in the media. The days following an award show like the Oscars are loaded with social media content on all platforms.
Derek Goldrick 2-
DeleteSources
Cieply, Michael. “Inevitably, the Film Awards Reckoning Has Arrived.” Deadline, Deadline, 9 Feb. 2022, https://deadline.com/2022/01/inevitably-film-awards-reckoning-arrived-1234903542/.
Ebiri, Bilge. “Self-Loathing Will Kill the Oscars.” Vulture, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2022, https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/please-stop-trying-to-fix-the-oscars.html.
Jackson, Angelique. “Oscars Make Strides in Diversity beyond the Acting Categories.” Variety, Variety, 8 Feb. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/awards/awards/oscars-diversity-denzel-washington-behind-camera-1235174558/.
Oleksinski, Johnny. “Oscars so Dead: Here's How the Academy Could Revive Critical Awards Shows.” New York Post, New York Post, 24 Apr. 2021, https://nypost.com/2021/04/24/oscars-so-dead-how-the-academy-could-revive-awards-shows/.