Every year the Academy Awards roll around and a crossfire breaks out over which of the supposedly eminent (mostly English-language, Western-made) films are deserving of their respective nominations and every year the same accusations of “snubbing” are brought up and the Oscars’ integrity is once again questioned. This annual onslaught of divided opinion reminds me why they shouldn’t mean anything anyway.
We put our trust in the anonymity of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to faithfully vote for what deserves such a—as we are frequently reminded—prestigious award. Anything opinion-based is bound to be divisive, but when a controversial yet rightfully criticised film like 2024’s Emilia Pérez emerges with 13 nominations (equalling 2023’s esteemed Oppenheimer), it once more raises the question if the Oscars are truly even representative of which films are praiseworthy. No doubt it’s great to see the work of filmmakers that you adore achieve official praise, but a film’s triumph at the Oscars isn’t necessarily a signifier of its greatness as much as its popularity.
But remember, the public essentially decide the real results anyway: when most people agree with the winner, it’s correct, when they disagree, it’s wrong. If the public can easily bulldoze the Oscars’ attempts to delineate what should be deemed as the apogee of cinema, do nominations even hold any meaning? When films need awards to corroborate their artistic worth, the individuality of filmmaking is futile since the purpose becomes merely to impress the Academy.
It doesn’t mean that there’s no place for the Oscars. After all, they’re entertaining, great for a film’s exposure, and if they convinced you to finally go watch a highly praised foreign-language film or something else completely unfamiliar, I’m glad (but also a little sad that you needed them to prompt you). I just think cinema is better as a subjective experience, irrespective of whether or not it’s perceived as the best of its year.
“1988 Academy Awards” by Alan Light is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
