Release from Cultural Bondage Oscars and Award shows.

By: Asher Gann

The chart Prisoners have been released from cultural bondage featured in Ted Gioia’s article demonstrates how in recent years ratings for The Oscars and other award shows have decreased while people have increasingly been binging movies and TV shows. One of the big reasons is time. In today’s world, it is easy to just sit down on the couch, pull out a streaming service, and binge a show with little interruptions. The general population has also been forced to spend more time at their jobs with a debt-inducing economy. The move to streaming services has allowed for quicker and more accessible movies and shows. Comparatively, these drawn-out 3-hour award shows that feature many movies the general public has not seen do not capture an audience. Most of the American population simply does not have the attention span for that long of a show. Additionally, the general public who do tune into the shows only cares about a select few categories. Award shows are asking too much from audiences to sit for 3 hours and watch a program that most people only care about a quarter of it. Another possibility for the decrease in rating is the internet as a whole. Anyone with access to the internet can search for the “best movies of all time” or “Greatest movies of 2023”. This begs the question “Why would I sit through a long-winded show to find answers I can get in two seconds?” while the world becomes more modern, it is more difficult to rationalize a pre-modern award show. Audiences also put less of an emphasis on institutional art. At its core art is subjective so the idea of a few affluent people deciding the Best Picture or Best Actress of the Year has bored the general public. People are tired of being told what to like or if their favorite film is liked by others.

I think the Oscar’s decrease in ratings is overall a positive thing. The trend has the potential to demonstrate how people do not care about a profusely rich committee’s opinion. It would hopefully bring changes to the format and how movies are judged in general. It could lead to dismantling a toxic subculture in the United States that is solely built on bringing money and prestige to Hollywood. The lower ratings could also lead to better, more creative film making. Filmmakers can focus on personal projects instead of focusing on awards. Many people (including myself) would argue some of the best films are low budget indie films that have no expectations of ever making it to the Oscars. Directors and producers could start focusing on wider audiences and try to impress general audiences rather than a few elites. The decrease in viewership will also lead to a change in the show format in general. Last year a few categories were cut from The Oscars to keep viewers interested. I think the Oscars will probably continue slowly decreasing the filler categories it has and most likely elect to have a shorter duration on air.