# Do the Oscars have zero appeal for you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies, talk-variety-show\ **Created:** [March 28, 2022, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830 "2022-03-28T11:13:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/61 "2022-03-29T01:58:18Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > It’ll probably take more than a slap to revive interest in the show. Maybe a full-scale audience-clearing brawl? Ok, I’d admit that I’d watch that. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/62 "2022-03-29T14:37:21Z")
I used to watch the show. Because I enjoyed it. The opening was fun and they injected humor throughout the show. It hasn’t been well hosted or well written for several years. The cringy corny moments by far exceed any entertainment. Make the broadcast entertaining again and I will watch again. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/63 "2022-03-29T15:14:53Z")
Most award presentations, hell, most of the awards, are crap. Oscars are already mentioned. Emmys are just like little Oscars. Grammys are even worse-when the music I like was eligible, it never won. I don;t believe it has ever been about the best music. Hell, Milli Vanilli won a Grammy. I think the saddest is the Hugos. I read all the Asimov-edited Hugo Winners books. In his little introductions, it all sounded so neat. I pictured the conventions as being in some grand hall, like the Oscars, full of bright, interesting people. Quick repartee and intellectual bon mots. Then as I get older, I realize the conventions were probably in some Holiday Inn out on the freeway, and most of the writers (including Asimov, sadly) were one form of jerk or another. And almost without exception white men. And that the Sad Puppies exist show that things haven’t changed there anymore in the past 60 years than they have for the Oscars. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/64 "2022-03-29T15:36:43Z")
Informative hour long radio program thru the sixties. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/65 "2022-03-29T23:16:42Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Then as I get older, I realize the conventions were probably in some Holiday Inn out on the freeway, I’ve been to a lot of award ceremonies for the Hugos, and they certainly aren’t in Holiday Inns. They are too big for that. They are held in reasonably large halls in convention centers and hotels. As to whether the writers are jerks, well, most people are jerks at some level. The people at the Hugos ceremonies are somewhat smarter than those at Oscar ceremonies on average. The Oscar ceremonies have more money poured into them, so of course they look fancier. The Hugo ceremonies are still reasonably well run. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/66 "2022-03-29T23:20:32Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > The people at the Hugos ceremonies are somewhat smarter than those at Oscar ceremonies on average. That’s very doubtful. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/67 "2022-03-29T23:27:24Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > That’s very doubtful. Why is it very doubtful? ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/68 "2022-03-30T00:23:01Z")
I see no reason the audience at a sci fi award show should be smarter than the audience at a motion picture awards show. I mean sure, the sci-fi crowd will imagine it’s smarter, but that’s the nature of nerd culture. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/69 "2022-03-30T00:36:25Z")
I don’t think they’re a “meritocracy.” Maybe they once were. I didn’t read the whole thread but I found this. > **[The Oscars: You’ll Never Believe How Much it Costs to Win an Academy Award](https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/oscars-how-much-it-costs-to-win-academy-award.html/)** > > You’ll never believe how much it costs to win at the Oscars. Sometimes, the price of winning an Academy Award is more than a film’s budget. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/70 "2022-03-30T00:55:48Z")
Oh I doubt they were ever a meritocracy. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/71 "2022-03-30T03:00:35Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > I mean sure, the sci-fi crowd will imagine it’s smarter, but that’s the nature of nerd culture. Do you actually know any science fiction fans? I know a lot of them. My experience is that they tend to be somewhat smarter than average. Please remember, first, that I’m talking about the people at Worldcon, where the Hugos are awarded, not the ones at Comic-Con. That’s an entirely different crowd. The ones at Worldcon tend to be quite a bit older, among other things. I also spend a lot of time with film fans. They aren’t stupid either, but the science fiction fans are smarter. Furthermore, a lot of the people at the Hugos ceremonies are writers, and they tend to be even smarter. I tried to find any website online with reasonably reliable studies of science fiction fans and I couldn’t find any. Do you know of any? If not, all we have to rely on are my experiences at many Hugo ceremonies. If your opinions merely come from your personal imaginings of what science fiction fans are like and what Worldcons are like, without any actual personal experience of them, I don’t see why we should care about those opinions. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/72 "2022-03-30T10:22:21Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I love movies but have gone from “don’t care about the Oscars” to “actively turned off by them”. > > They are no longer anything to do with an appreciation of cinematic excellence and a mildly diverting conversation starter, to a yearly grandstanding opportunity for identity politics, box ticking and cultural conflict. That seems to be par for the course for all awards ceremonies. > > No thanks. Ditch the drama and just give me good films and actors being congratulated and celebrated. The politics and conflict have been there for a long, long time. There are always celebrities who grab their moment in the global spotlight to “raise awareness” of their particular favorite issue. And it’s always been really fucking annoying, as it abuses the platform and the goodwill of people watching. However worthy your cause is, take it to the internet, people, _especially_ if you’re only there as a presenter. So what do we want the Oscars to be? Is it the pinnacle of the light entertainment genre it used to be, a spectacle of stars and film and music and dancing and comedy? Does anyone even want that anymore? Or is it primarily about the awards (setting aside whether the films and people nominated and winning are the “right ones”)? Is it about the clothing? Is the problem that it’s too long, or simply that it’s too much of the wrong stuff? I mean, yes, it’s a self-indulgent nonsense designed to make the people in the industry feel all warm and fuzzy at its heart, but I don’t think the Academy know what the public want from the show anymore and I’m not sure the public do either. (On a side note, and speaking of spectacle: I stopped watching the Tonys after 2013, because frankly there was no way in hell they were ever going to top [this opening number](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SQfsBsMFls). It’s all downhill from there.) ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/73 "2022-03-30T10:35:56Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > So what do we want the Oscars to be? Perhaps the world should start watching with the amount of respect and seriousness it deserves, i.e. none. In the UK we watch the Eurovision Song Contest in that way, i.e. we don’t really care who wins but it is a multi-cultural car-crash with funny costumes and silly dance routines that ultimately has zero to do with actual objective merit. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/74 "2022-03-30T15:26:41Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I mean, yes, it’s a self-indulgent nonsense designed to make the people in the industry feel all warm and fuzzy at its heart, This is a good comment to point out one thing about the Oscars: Hollywood _loves_ movies about Hollywood, and they get a lot of nominations. Especially (but not necessarily) if they make the industry look awesome. It’s the cinematic equivalent of a circle jerk. For Example La La Land The Artist Sunset Boulevard Once Upon a Time In Hollywood Mank The Player ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/75 "2022-03-30T16:10:36Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > > [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > > > I love movies but have gone from “don’t care about the Oscars” to “actively turned off by them”. > > > > They are no longer anything to do with an appreciation of cinematic excellence and a mildly diverting conversation starter, to a yearly grandstanding opportunity for identity politics, box ticking and cultural conflict. That seems to be par for the course for all awards ceremonies. > > > > No thanks. Ditch the drama and just give me good films and actors being congratulated and celebrated. > > The politics and conflict have been there for a long, long time. There are always celebrities who grab their moment in the global spotlight to “raise awareness” of their particular favorite issue. And it’s always been really fucking annoying, as it abuses the platform and the goodwill of people watching. However worthy your cause is, take it to the internet, people, _especially_ if you’re only there as a presenter. > > So what do we want the Oscars to be? Is it the pinnacle of the light entertainment genre it used to be, a spectacle of stars and film and music and dancing and comedy? Does anyone even want that anymore? Or is it primarily about the awards (setting aside whether the films and people nominated and winning are the “right ones”)? Is it about the clothing? Is the problem that it’s too long, or simply that it’s too much of the wrong stuff? > > I mean, yes, it’s a self-indulgent nonsense designed to make the people in the industry feel all warm and fuzzy at its heart, but I don’t think the Academy know what the public want from the show anymore and I’m not sure the public do either. > > (On a side note, and speaking of spectacle: I stopped watching the Tonys after 2013, because frankly there was no way in hell they were ever going to top [this opening number](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SQfsBsMFls). It’s all downhill from there.) If you want me to watch the show make the show entertaining. I can just read about the winners if I want to. It’s been proved that it is very hard to make an award show entertaining. It’s a testament to the unique talent of NPH that he is able to be so entertaining in that setting. There are very few that can. And good luck getting a comic to do it now. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/76 "2022-03-30T16:15:22Z")
Yep, zero. I haven’t watched them intentionally in years. In general, I think there are conceptual problems with annual awards for art in the first place. But, specifically, I think the Oscars have just about the worst structure imaginable for awarding honors for artistic achievements. Also, the show is boring. Absolutely everything about it is mediocre. I want to see the movies, not people being awarded for movies. If they _have_ to give these awards, give up on the show. Just release a list. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/77 "2022-03-30T16:16:35Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > good luck getting a comic to do it now. Let’s have a bet: I say next year’s host will tell jokes in a catcher’s mask, with comical padding, protective devices, and maybe a picket fence around him as he tells his mild jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/78 "2022-03-30T16:16:50Z")
# [Do the Oscars have zero appeal for you?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830) TCM has been having their ‘31 Days of Oscar’ films. I don’t know what day they’re on, but I think the Oscars should be pretty soon. Anyone know when they’re on? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/79 "2022-03-30T16:20:46Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Do you actually know any science fiction fans? I know a lot of them. My experience is that they tend to be somewhat smarter than average. I know a lot of science fiction fans, too. My experience is that they tend to _think_ they’re smarter than average. Whether that’s actually true is uncertain, at best. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/80 "2022-03-30T16:40:23Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > (On a side note, and speaking of spectacle: I stopped watching the Tonys after 2013, because frankly there was no way in hell they were ever going to top [this opening number](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SQfsBsMFls). It’s all downhill from there.) That was awesome! Neil Patrick Harris is the antidote to this week’s “famous person mess”. I sometimes tuned into the Oscars. Living in central Europe means that the last awards are being awarded just as I’m getting up to start the next day. Nope, not watching them live. And I’ll look at the articles about who wore what and find out who won, and I might watch some highlights. As we now have Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Disney+, we’re catching up on many years of movies and tv shows that we missed. And I just happened to notice that I can watch CODA on Apple. So we might watch it, because I heard about it due to the Oscar buzz. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830.md?page=5)