For 90 years, the Oscars have established itself as the most-anticipated Hollywood film awards that enthusiasts all over the globe take pleasure in annually. To at least be nominated in one of the 24 categories is what Hollywood filmmakers strive to do.
However, time does not define quality. Oscar is not perfect itself. Generations change the way films are presented, as well as perceived. Due to recent events in the United States, their has been a call to action for equal rights for all races and genders. The Oscars, too, needed to change. In 2015, it was shown that most of the year’s nominees were caucasian. It turns out that 94% of Academy members were caucasian, while 77% were male. This led to former lawyer April Reign shedding light on the subject with the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag on Twitter, calling out the lack of diversity in the awards giving body.
As a response, in 2018, the Academy invited 928 diversified personalities to the group. Since then, the ratio of women Oscar voters to men have become 49:51, and the racial diversity has also become more evident than in previous years.
The Oscars may be fixing their diversity issue, but just this year they encountered another problem. The latest telecast hit its lowest viewership in recent years with just 26.5 million viewers tuning into the 90th Oscars. In pursuit of getting over this new challenge they are facing, The Academy announced three major Oscar 2020 shakeups that will ultimately change tradition:
“A new category is being designed around achievement in popular film” and “We’re planning a more globally accessible, three-hour telecast.”
The declining viewership is not an underlying problem. In fact, TV viewership for the ceremony has been in a constant decline. The Academy’s new decision is in hopes that their event will be more accessible to the regular movie goer. A shorter airtime will be implemented, fitting the entire awarding into a 3 hour-long telecast. With this, many of the technical achievement winners will be announced during commercial breaks.
The Academy has also announced the addition of a new category for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Film. A move that hopes to acknowledge the reality that the general public requires mainstream movies to be honored by The Academy as well. Could it be a sign of the lowering standards of the prestigious award?
All over the Internet today, people have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with the new category. In addition, people are rallying around the addition of other, more relevant categories, such as ones that honor stunt work, casting, choreography, voice acting, and motion capture performances. Hardcore Oscar fans are discussing how unnecessary the new category is, especially when their are other motion picture crafts yet to be recognized by AMPAS.
“We’ve set an earlier airdate for 2020: mark your calendars for February 9.”
Normally, the Oscars air early March, allowing films ample time to campaign in hopes for gold. However, the Academy has moved the awards show to early February. This major change will immediately affect studio planned campaigns, other award giving bodies, and ultimately, the release dates of films vying for Oscar contention.
Are you happy about the new Oscar rules?
