The Academy Awards: Beyond the Glitz and Glamour

"I think the world would be unliveable without art" - Steven Soderbergh

The Academy Awards, more popularly known as The Oscars, are awards for artistic excellence and technical merit in the international film industry. Today, the prestige of these awards is recognised and acknowledged throughout the world, and winning an Oscar is the highest honour that can be bestowed upon an artist for their endeavours in a particular film. These awards are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Over the years, this coveted event has transitioned: it was never simply about the arts, but today The Oscars reflect glitz, glamour and extravagance: they’re a representation of the elite 1% , as well as a marketing ploy for all aspirational filmmakers. Winning a golden statuette can skyrocket an actor to stardom, create millions for a movie’s box office, as well as boost a studio’s prestige and image. Nonetheless,  if the stars are aligned - a nomination alone can change the course of your career. 

Let’s dig a little deeper into why The Oscars symbolise the benchmark of talent and excellence. 

Academy Awards: The Early Days 

Initially, The Academy Awards began as a union-busting effort. In 1926, Louis B Mayer, an American film producer, enlisted persons in different fields across the film industry and created the Academy, as an endeavour to pacify the labour troubles, as well as present a rose tinted perception of Hollywood to the larger public.

With the nearing end of the roaring 20s, and the economy at the edge of the Great Depression, there was a desperate need to uplift the artists and technicians alike. The Academy Awards sought to unite the five distinct branches of the film industry under one roof: Actors, Directors, Producers, Technicians and Writers.  

The notable Oscar statuette, designed by Cedric Gibbons, the main Art Director at MGM Studios, is widely regarded as the academy award of merit. It depicts a person standing with a crusader sword on a can of film reel. This can of film is designed with five specific spokes: each of which represents the above mentioned branches of the industry. Since then, the award categories have branched out into several other fields.  

Here is a video that delves into the history of The Oscars, and their claim to fame: 

Nominations, Voting Procedures, Academy Members: How Does It All Work?

The Academy is an exclusive club of the maestros: they wield the power to make or break millions of careers, and they hold onto this power with authority and grace. As of December 16, 2020, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences  had 9,427 active members. Each of these persons belongs to one of the 17 branches of the Academy, and they nominate for films under their specific branch only. A person belonging to the directorial branch cannot nominate films for best production of the year. The only category that is open and universal to all members of the Academy is that for the Best Picture.

But how does a film actually get noticed, and nominated for these awards? While there is no clear-cut formula to get your film nominated, certain repetitive patterns have been observed in the intricacies of the process. There has been a trend for longer films to be nominated for best films, and they also have a better shot at winning. 76% of the winning films since 1960 have been over two hours long. This may be because longer films provide more scope for character development and plot propelling, and thus are deemed as more important than shorter films. 

Movies are also judged not only on their cinematic achievements, but also on the buzz they create on social media platforms. The more buzz a film creates, the higher the probability of it grabbing a nomination. 

#OscarsSoWhite , Exclusion and Uni-Dimensional Representation

Oscars, through the decades, have been the highlight of the year. It’s the one occasion that houses the geniuses and the prodigies of international cinema, under one roof. Apart from this, it is also broadcasted in real time and thus is accessible to millions of viewers across the globe. It is no surprise then, that one would expect The Oscars to be a platform for monumental change - not only in media representation, but also social justice. The Oscars have gained a lot of flack for catering explicitly to the white, heterosexual demographic - and systemically propelling the masculine narrative forward. This pattern can be traced back since the start of the Academy Awards, and although there has been progress - is it sufficient?

The Awards Season in 2015 saw one of the greatest uproars, with the boom of the #OscarsSoWhite Campaign. This hashtag, started by April Reign, was a prompt response to the revelation of the nominees for the 86th Academy Awards - in which all 20 acting nominations were being given solely to white actors. 

This hashtag and the outrage along with it, leveraged serious claims against the Academy Awards and their Committee. This hashtag acted as a catalyst for an ongoing social justice campaign that blazed the trail for several pertinent conversations and discussions about diversity and inclusivity in the arts.

In the 93-year run of the awards, only seven women have been recognised in the category, even though more than a dozen films directed by a female filmmaker have been nominated for best picture during that time. 

Kathryn Bigelow was the first woman to win an Oscar in 2010 for “The Hurt Locker.” Halle Berry is the only woman of colour to have ever won the Best Actress award, while Chloé Zhao was the first woman of colour to have ever won Best Director, and this was in 2021.

“A more structural and systemic change must occur, not just within the Academy but Hollywood as a whole. The decisions about what films to green light, who tells those stories and how they are told must also be more inclusive of marginalised communities.” - April Reign

Embracing Change: The 94th Academy Awards

The Academy Awards are evidently embracing change, as well as colour.  Four actors of colour earned acting nominations this year – Will Smith (‘King Richard’) and Denzel Washington (‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’) for best actor, and Ariana DeBose (‘West Side Story’) and Aunjanue Ellis (‘King Richard’) for best supporting actress. 

Jane Campion is the sole female filmmaker that has been nominated this year, for her film - ‘The Power of the Dog’. Several international films have also received nominations and accolades - such as ‘Drive My Car’ and ‘Writing With Fire’.

As of June 2020, the Academy board announced that it had actually surpassed its goals of inclusion, and the new 2020 member class was “45% women, 36% underrepresented ethnic/racial communities, and 49% international from 68 countries.” 

The Oscars are reckoned as the pinnacle of success, and thus it is important for them to stay true to their roots and act as a platform for budding talent across languages, borders, and races.

As we await the results of the 94th Academy Awards in anticipation, it is essential to reflect upon the values of these awards, and what they mean for the growth of our society at large. Art imitates reality after all. 

Films are stories and personal narratives, and they are supposed to stay with you long after the credits roll out. Your favourite film should be one that resonates with you at an individual level, not one that wins multiple accolades. 

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