Amid all the award shows I’ve been hearing a lot of tired criticisms of the Oscars. To me, these are usually pretty easy and unfair. I’m not saying the Academy is perfect by any means (Darkest Hour should not be a best picture nom over I, Tonya, Blade Runner, etc) but I feel like they don’t get enough credit for the good they do.
If the Oscars ran like the Grammys, the nominations would consist of superhero movies and Star Wars. I don’t want to live in that world. Without the award shows, movies such as CMBYN and Three Billboards would fly completely under the public radar (as if they aren’t low enough already). And while I have no statistical evidence to support this, several people I’ve talked movies with said they only saw Moonlight either after its nomination or after its win. Anyone saying the Academy is just a “circle jerk of Hollywood’s elite” (quote from a comment I saw earlier today) needs look no further than last years best picture winner. If you called Barry Jenkins part of Hollywood’s elite, well, I’d want to slap you in the face but I’d probably just call you an idiot. This years highest grossing nominations are Dunkirk and Get out at #14 and 15 of the year respectively, followed by The Post at #45 (all of these well deserved, imo). CMBYN and Phantom Thread sit at #123 and 124.
The Academy has its issues, but let’s at least appreciate the fact that it brings a plethora of films nobody would otherwise see to the forefront of Hollywood-at least for a moment.