This Sunday the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present the 94th annual Oscar telecast. Last year the pandemic forced the Academy to scale back its gala awards show but this year it returns to its usual pageantry. But the show has also stirred some controversy with proposed changes.
Past controversies
The Academy has run into controversy in recent years for a lack of diversity among the nominees, winners and voting membership. There was an #OscarsSoWhite social media movement in 2016 that eventually led to the Academy actively trying to diversify its membership.
There have also been controversies about changes to the number of nominees for best picture in hopes of including more popular movies that would attract more viewers. And back in 2018, the Academy took flack for trying to create a "Best Popular Film" category.
New controversy
This year the Academy announced plans to remove eight of the craft category Oscars from the live telecast and instead pre-tape the winners an hour before the ceremony and then edit them into the regular broadcast. This seems to be prompted by the record low ratings the telecast received last year.
The categories affected are documentary short, film editing, makeup/hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live action short and sound. The Academy already gives out a group of technical awards, which are probably seen as too nerdy for the telecast, on a separate day. These are the Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards created to, "honor individuals and companies whose discoveries and innovations have contributed in significant and lasting ways to motion pictures."
I can cut the Academy some slack about removing the short films but the other categories especially editing and sound absolutely deserve to be part of the show. If the Academy wants to cut the running time then they should reduce the silly banter from presenters and cut out bloated musical numbers (why not perform the nominated songs before the show and put the awards back in?). It feels like a slap in the face to these vital craft categories.
The irony is that the Academy just opened its museum with the goal of educating people about the arts and science of film, and they have already had some wonderful exhibits and screenings. It would be great if they took the educational cue from the museum and used the telecast to enlighten people about what these artists and craftspeople do.
New Fan Favorite category
But the Academy has added a new category called Fan Favorite Award in which fans can vote on Twitter to nominate and then award their favorite film. Again this seems an attempt to increase viewers while ignoring the real purpose of the show, which is for the industry to honor outstanding work. The 10 nominees include a Johnny Depp film, "Minamata," that has yet to screen in theaters, Zack Snyder’s "Army of the Dead" and a new "Cinderella" movie, all movies from people who have very vocal Twitter followers.
Again, if there is so little time in the show that the Academy has to cut eight categories why add a new one? And why do the voting on Twitter? Why not encourage people to vote in cinemas in some way to celebrate actually going to a movie theater.
But cutting down the running time also seems to run contrary to adding three hosts to the show: Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes. As much as I enjoy these performers, having three hosts is simply not the way to streamline.
I am happy to see some truly great films such as "Drive My Car," Flee," and "Power of the Dog" up for awards and I always hope that the Oscars do encourage people to see some of these films. But each year the awards seem to move further from their original goal of honoring the best work in motion pictures — but maybe that goal has always been fraught with controversy and ulterior motives.
A complete list of the 94th Annual Academy Award nominations is here. The Oscars will be televised Sunday, March 27, at 5:00 p.m. on ABC.
