Are The Oscars Still a Thing?
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will host the 96th Annual Oscars. The ceremony will air at 6 p.m. Sunday on ABC and be livestreamed on services such as Hulu Live TV and YouTube TV.
Since 1929, the Oscars have recognized excellence in cinematic achievements, according to the Academy Awards website.
Nominees for this year’s awards include Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer”) for Actor in a Leading Role, America Ferrera and Ryan Gosling (“Barbie”) for Actress and Actor in a Supporting Role and Martin Scorsese (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) for Directing. For more, visit Oscars website.
David Anshen, a UTRGV associate professor of Literature and Cultural Studies, said the Oscars are “fun and worth watching;” however, he encouraged people to look at them skeptically as it is not known how the nomination and selection process actually works.
Now, what do students think?
International business junior Pedro Camacho said the Oscars have now become stale as smaller and more categories are added. He said he thinks the Will Smith scandal two years ago made the Oscars worth watching again.
On the other hand, Merito Balladares, a clinical mental health graduate student, said she just watches the ceremony for fun and is indifferent to the results as she knows they are biased.
Chemistry sophomore Eduardo Martinez and physical therapy sophomore Ariadna Jimenez said Margot Robbie should have been nominated for Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of “Barbie.”
They also said their pick is Oppenheimer for all categories it is nominated for.
A Pulse poll on Instagram showed other popular picks from students are Bradley Cooper in “Maestro” for Actor in a Leading Role, Christopher Nolan in “Oppenheimer” for Directing and Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon” for Actress in a Leading Role. The latter is Anshen’s pick for Best Picture.
Anshen said he thinks “Barbie” is a good film; however, he does not believe it is a movie people will watch 50 years from now.
“If it wins, one has to wonder,” he said. “Is it winning because it’s interesting for its politics or is it winning because it’s the best film? I don’t think, as a film, it’s as good as some of the others we’ve talked about.”
Anshen said the Academy often chooses good films, but other times does not.
“We should also be aware that it’s narrow,” he said. “If you compare the Academy to some of the international film awards contests, like the Cannes Film Festival or the Venice Film Festival, they tend to … come up with much better films.
“… It’s worth looking for films that don’t make the award, that don’t get nominated. … I think it’s important not to think that the Academy Awards [are] the final word on the quality of films. Historically, [the Academy has] gotten some films really wrong and they picked some really mediocre films to become the best.”
What do you think about the Oscars? What are your picks?
