So it has been a little less than a week since Hollywood's biggest trophy ceremony, the Oscars. In the weeks leading up to the awarding of dozens of little golden statuettes to members of the film industry, there were only two real topics of conversation: Would DiCaprio finally end his losing streak and why were there no black nominations for the second year in a row?
At first, I wasn't sure. I'm a huge movie enthusiast. This is not quite the same thing as a film buff. My roommate is a film buff, and his shelves are lined with classic films as well as foreign works I wouldn't watch if you paid me. A film buff examines and movie's cinematography and editing. To a film buff, a movie is art. To a movie enthusiast, a movie is just a good time. So I'm more of a dabbler than an expert, and I certainly don't know about the ins and outs of the Academy Awards' selection process. So I did a little digging, and here's what I found out. (If you know how the Oscar's work, then the next few paragraphs aren't for you).
It turns out that there isn’t really some small committee, or some impersonal group of film experts deciding who gets nominated. (Although the actual process of mailing ballots and calculating the winner is in fact done by 'an accounting firm'). The nominees are chosen by a little over 6000 members of the film industry. Actors, directors, writers, makeup, etc. each vote for the best in their own category that year, and everyone votes for the Best Picture award. Memberships are for life.
So when you ask who picks these nominees, the easy answer is people who work, (or used to work) in the film industry. But it might be more accurate to say that Hollywood gives out Oscars to itself. The Academy Awards ceremony is really just a party that the film industry throws for itself every year, and they televise it because it's good money to do so. A film may be outstanding, break box-office records, or become a cult classic, but what really matters is if it appeals to a certain percentage of Hollywood insiders with a median age of over 60.
But as much as the statuettes are prized as the epitome of Hollywood success, they often miss the mark. This is the same group that failed to award Best Picture to "Citizen Kane" (arguably the best film of all time) gave Best Picture to "Shakespeare In love" instead of "Saving Private Ryan", and has made dozens of other blunders throughout the years. Getting an Oscar is nice, but it is subjective and just as like as not to be meaningless. It’s sad to say, but the Oscars are more akin to compliments from colleagues than actual awards, and maybe we shouldn't get so worked up about them.
