OSCARS INDUSTRY
AND THE OSCAR GOES TO…
With lukewarm attitudes towards award shows in recent times, mixed with a history of baiting and bias, Katie Kasperson evaluates the Oscars’ place in the film industry F or almost a century now, the Academy Awards (aka the Oscars) have played a significant
role in cinema’s history. The awards are meant to honour creative and technical filmmaking talent, but, like any decades- long tradition, this isn’t always the case. Attention has arguably moved away from celebrating cinema and towards celebrity outfits and the occasional scandal. It all begs the question: why should the Oscars matter any more? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences originally formed a committee for ‘Awards of Merit’, now the ‘Academy Awards’, but the truth is that the Oscars have never actually been a real meritocracy. The Academy’s bias came to the fore in 2015 when, out of 20 acting nominees, none were people of colour. The hashtag #OscarsSoWhite began trending and the Academy has since made an effort to diversify its pool of 10,000 voters. In 2023, Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win best actress. Despite her milestone achievement, it has taken 95 years to get there – and she’s only the second woman of colour to receive such an accolade. This year, the Academy excluded Greta Gerwig from best director for Barbie , a film that broke box-office records. Best director has historically gone to men, with only eight women having ever been nominated – and only three having won. These awards, while significant, mean nothing if they don’t open doors for others.
SIGN OF THE TIMES The Oscars have been slow to implement change, argues Katie Kasperson
Catering to the Academy’s tastes was once formulaic: paint Hollywood in a positive light; travel back in time, particularly to a World War; tell a tragic tale. Genre films like horrors and comedies could set their expectations low and animated works were ‘for kids’. Despite their calculability, it would be naive to write off the Oscars altogether. ‘Oscar-bait’ films have become less successful in recent years, with best picture winners like Everything Everywhere All At Once and Parasite representing a rejection of the easy choice. There have been other exceptions. Horror films like Silence of the Lambs and Get Out both received Academy Awards
and, while Get Out wasn’t that year’s best picture, it has since been crowned one of the greatest films ever made. Critical and commercial reception have been converging recently, too, and once- overlooked crowd-pleasers are now earning their due respect. The Oscars have never been perfect, but they have usually been popular. With a declining viewership – and 96 years to their name – it’s high time to reflect on the awards and question their continued significance. A fresh influx of voters, along with internal awareness of its historic bias, should hopefully mean the Academy can learn from past missteps and amend its industry status.
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