The Merit of Award Shows Amidst a COVID-Ridden World
Award shows have long been a huge staple of the film and television industries as we know them; the works of art rewarded go a long way in reflecting the industry standards of a specific era or time period.
At the Oscars, a Best Picture Win for ‘Moonlight’ or ‘Parasite’, for example, may be seen as the industry taking a huge step forward in rewarding creative, diverse works of art; a win for ‘Green Book’ can be seen as the industry taking a step back and reverting to more conservative, traditional values. These awards that the industry holds so near and dear to its heart are supposed to reward the best pieces of art in a given year, free of outside influences. On paper, it’s simply about rewarding the best film of the year, or the best television show. It’s about acknowledging the hard work that actors, directors, writers, producers, etc do each and every day.
Regardless, we know that a lot goes on behind-the-scenes before an actor or a producer ever steps foot on stage to accept an award; award shows have always been heavily influenced by campaigning and politics, and this is particularly true in the modern awards landscape. Many film fans and avid watchers of these award shows agree that award shows have become less about rewarding actual good work and more about Hollywood simply giving itself a pat on the back or making the safest choice in awarding works of art. How well run a campaign is, and how much money is put into one, has become extremely important; if a film or television show doesn’t have the funding or big name talent, it can be hard for it to make a name for itself come awards time. And as a result, many may argue that the best works of art rarely get rewarded.
While all this is subjective, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who genuinely felt ‘Crash’ was a deserving win over ‘Brokeback Mountain’, or ‘Green Book’ over ‘Roma’. There are countless more examples where the “wrong” movie won. It’s a fair point to consider, and the heavy weight of how well run a campaign is for awards success is undeniable. With all that being said, why do we even need these award shows when there is so much arguably wrong with them?
Award recognition can heavily boost a film’s box office performance, drawing in a wider variety of audiences. On the television side, award recognition can help to increase viewership of a season, which in turn can help a show be renewed for future seasons. During the 92nd Academy Awards this past February, 23.6 million people viewed the ceremony, and during the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards last September, 6.9 million people tuned in. Unmistakably, these award ceremonies draw in large viewership, therefore serving as large platforms to highlight works of art that people may not have otherwise heard about.
For example, when ‘Moonlight’ won Best Picture, the Academy’s recognition of such a small-budget, independent film with an all-black cast helped to push the film out to general audiences who likely had not heard about the film before. Although ‘Moonlight’ represents a rare exception to the type of “Oscar bait” the Academy usually tends to recognize, the film’s historic win has since paved the way for smaller films and films with diverse casts and talent involved to make their way into award conversation. Just this past year, the Oscars had their first foreign language Best Picture Winner with ‘Parasite’.
It’s important for smaller films to have a platform to build their hype, especially as these films traditionally may not make much money at the box office, and without award shows to help shine a spotlight on independent films, it can be difficult for them to garner attention. Even though smaller films like ‘The Farewell’ and ‘The Last Black Man in San Francisco’ got snubbed this past year, their awards consideration alone helped to build their hype and encouraged people to seek them out on their own terms.
On the other hand, with our world dealing with a global pandemic, the question of the merit of award shows become even more complex, ethical and harder to answer. Award shows can simply be broadcasted online – that’s not the problem. The problem here is that focusing attention on award shows in our current times could be considered unethical. With so many people’s lives at risk and lives lost, it can be called out of taste to continue hosting such award ceremonies. All the money and attention placed on awards is money and attention that could instead be given to help with COVID relief. And these are all completely fair and valid points.
But we know Hollywood, and Hollywood will do anything – whether it be delaying the Oscars by two months and extending the eligibility period for films – to make these ceremonies happen. And that is just a fact we are going to have to accept. During the 74th Academy Awards Ceremony, which took place just months after the tragic events of 9/11, the night opened with a speech given by Tom Cruise. Cruise pondered whether we “should… celebrate the joy and magic the movies bring” given the state of shock the world was in, to which he responded, “well dare I say it, more than ever.”
Even in a COVID-19 ridden world, award shows will still continue. With so much stress going on in the world, it can be nice to be swept up by the power of the movies and our favorite television shows, and celebrating the best of both worlds is an extension of this. The movies and television we celebrate can help bring us as people together, even in such trying times for our world. It’s a nice escape. But a delicate balance must be maintained for these award ceremonies; it’s important to continue to find ways to honor the beautiful works of art put out by talented people behind and in front of the camera, but in doing so, not forgetting the pandemic our world has and will continue to face, and the lives that have been tragically lost as a result.
At the end of the day, no award show will ever succeed in making everybody happy. No decision the Academy makes with the presentation of these award shows in our current times will be perfect. And there will always be disagreements with consensus picks. But award shows most certainly have their place, helping to spread the word about films and shows to wider audiences that may have not checked them out without the extra push. It’s possible to recognize the limitations of award shows while also acknowledging their cultural importance simultaneously.
What truly matters in the long-run, beyond which works of art are recognized with golden statues, is that smaller-budget films and shows with diverse casts and unique stories to tell get the funding and recognition they deserve. In recent years, these award shows have seemed to broaden their horizons and make strides to diversify membership. The Emmy nominations that recently came out saw 38 black performers nominated in acting categories, a huge showing for diversity. But more work needs to be done in recognizing even more black actors and film-makers along with other people of color that continue to be sidelined. We as consumers must broaden our horizons in the works of art we watch, especially when the industry fails to do so themselves. What we choose to spend money and time watching is vital when film and television studios consider which projects to fund and greenlight. It’s up to us to keep the times moving along, and the industry will hopefully follow right alongside us. – Matthew Minton
The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards are set to air on September 20 and the 93rd Academy Awards are currently planned for April 25, 2021.