# 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:** 16\ **Page:** 5
**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, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/81 "2022-03-30T16:47:45Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > they tend to _think_ they’re smarter than average. You can be a lot smarter than average and still be an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/82 "2022-03-30T17:09:56Z")
Yes the Oscars have zero appeal. I don’t care at all who/what is nominated or wins. However I am I interested in the Red Carpet commentary via Tom and Lorenzo. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/83 "2022-03-30T18:34:19Z")
# [Do the Oscars have zero appeal for you?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830) What a thread title… so, if I hate the Oscars, and they have _almost_ no appeal to me, I’d have to disagree with the OP. Ok, I figured out how to answer that question: **_No,_ the Oscars have other than zero appeal for me**. ---
**Author:** ![Paxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@Paxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paxx)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/84 "2022-03-30T22:16:24Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > I just never began to understand what the Oscars are about. > … > I can’t figure out why I’m supposed to give a shit. > … > What I don’t get is why this particular thing gets such coverage and is taken seriously by anyone. > … > The appeal of all such awards is a bit of a puzzle… I just can’t get my head around why anyone cares at all, much less this much, what a bunch of strangers think about these things. Seems like willful ignorance. You keep saying that you don’t understand why people are interested in the Oscars but it’s clear that you don’t want to understand someone else’s viewpoint. You expect everyone to think the way you do. > [@Roger\_That](#): > > I can’t wait until everyone re-grows a brain and stops yammering about this bullshit Yup, you want everyone to think the way you do. FWIW, look up movies and actors in Wikipedia and notice that the Academy Awards are mentioned near the beginning of the article if there were nominations and wins. Perhaps the contributors to Wikipedia are part of a huge conspiracy whose sole intent it to brainwash people into thinking that the Oscars matter … > [@Roger\_That](#): > > Are the speeches, say, so scintillating or insightful that I’m supposed to need to hear them? Are the nominees so impeccably chosen that there could not possibly be a film that I enjoyed more (like quantifying pleasure in movies is an actual thing) that didn’t make the cut? False dichotomy. You’re implying that if the speeches are not scintillating or insightful, then they’re worthless. They can still be interesting. Also, there’s nothing about the nominations that takes away the enjoyment that someone experienced when watching a movie that was not nominated. And, yes, quantifying pleasure is an actual thing. ---
**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, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/85 "2022-03-30T22:28:40Z")
No, you’re wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Paxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@Paxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paxx)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/86 "2022-03-30T23:52:06Z")
Scintillating _and_ insightful! 👏 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/87 "2022-03-31T10:18:15Z")
My interest in the Oscars has been waning over the years. Partly, it’s because the show goes on for so long, but also because the films (etc.) that are nominated are a little too “artsy-fartsy” for my taste. In other words, I haven’t seen them as they don’t appeal to me. I don’t blame the Academy, as they have so little to choose from. Another Marvel superhero picture, another DC superhero picture, another _Star Wars_ picture, and so on. Those might do well at the box office, and they might deserve a special effects award, but nothing else. Where are the _Casablanca_s, the _Marty_s, the _Sting_s? Those were great stories that were told without the need for cities to be destroyed, giant explosions, _deus ex machina_s who come flying in (superheroes, after all) to save the day–where is the _acting,_ as it was in the films I mentioned? It’s now in the artsy-fartsy films that few people attend, that only screen for a limited time in limited markets. And those are the ones that get nominated, along with their cast and crew. Since they hold no interest for me, their Oscar nominations likewise hold no interest for me. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/88 "2022-03-31T10:53:17Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Where are the _Casablanca_ s, the _Marty_ s, the _Sting_ s? Those were great stories that were told without the need for cities to be destroyed, giant explosions, _deus ex machina_ s who come flying in (superheroes, after all) to save the day–where is the _acting,_ as it was in the films I mentioned? I don’t understand. Those older movies were great because of what they lacked? If a superhero in a superhero movie is a _deus ex machina_, then shouldn’t a master grifter and con artist in a movie like _The Sting_ count as a _deus ex machina_ too? ---
**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 31, 2022, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/89 "2022-03-31T12:04:44Z")
Is the gap between “mindless crap designed to entertain” and “thoughtful serious film designed to enlighten” wider or narrower than it was 30, 50, 80 years ago? ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/90 "2022-03-31T14:24:07Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > It’s now in the artsy-fartsy films that few people attend, that only screen for a limited time in limited markets. And those are the ones that get nominated, along with their cast and crew. Since they hold no interest for me, their Oscar nominations likewise hold no interest for me. I don’t understand. It’s not like every nominated film is a Terrance Malik film. Which movies that have been nominated recently do you think are “artsy-fartsy”? Hell, Dune may be the one of the more artsy-fartsy movies that have been nominated recently, but was very popular. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/91 "2022-03-31T14:58:15Z")
Reasons I watch the Oscars: 1. An actor I like might win one. 2. A British actor might win, and give a witty, self-deprecating, speech. 3. The hosts might be funny. The presenters might be as well. 4. I like seeing which celebrities are good sports, and which are Will Smith. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/92 "2022-04-01T02:15:34Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I don’t understand. It’s not like every nominated film is a Terrance Malik film. Oddly, I actually like most of Terrance Malik’s films. First film I saw when I came home from Iraq? _Tree of Life_. Blew my mind. _A Hidden Life_? Hidden gem is more like it. And don’t even get me started on _The Thin Red Line_ or _The New World_. I’ll admit _Days of Heaven_ was pretty bland. Oh, and not to pass over the irony here, he’s never won an Oscar. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/93 "2022-04-01T02:59:55Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > Oh, and not to pass over the irony here, he’s never won an Oscar. Well yes, because he makes artsy-fartsy films and those normally don’t win, and are rarely nominated (though Malik has been nominated twice for Best Director), Oscars. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/94 "2022-04-01T06:30:45Z")
I don’t perceive them as a cultural touchstone anymore. I do remember growing up it’d be something we’d pay attention to. We’d make a specific effort to watch it and I have a memory of being somewhat invested in the results and feeling that winning something meant that the film deserved a closer look on my part. I knew that people around me where talking about the results. I think that the small subset of movies that were in contention had broader resonance too, and tended to dominate cultural awareness. But that’s different now. As of this writing I don’t actually know who won best picture. I suspect I might if it hadn’t been knocked off the online equivalent of “above the fold” by the slap, but I haven’t really felt any motivation to look it up. I have other avenues for alerting me to movies I might be interested in (various podcasts, etc.) that I put more stock in. My desire to see a movie is pretty orthogonal to how it did in the Oscars (if I even remember this). It’s just not a thing anymore for me. It’s mostly a sensation of it being a thing of a bygone era, like the three camera sitcom or further back vaudeville or circuses. ---
**Author:** ![Pedro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/919ad9/32.png) [@Pedro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pedro)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/95 "2022-04-01T06:45:42Z")
In those days past when the film industry was relevant and the ceremony was amusing and tasteful the Oscars used to be entertaining to watch (the major categories at least) and the public was somewhat invested in the outcome. The next day it would be a fun topic of discussion with your friends or co-workers. Nowadays it feels irrelevant, boring and pretentious. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2022, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830/96 "2022-04-01T09:01:58Z")
Part of the problem is that the line between film (which was the more exalted medium) and television (the more plebeian one) has been firmly blurred now, not just because the big stars move seamlessly between them without it being seen as slumming but because streaming has filled in the gap in between the two media. Made-for-TV movies used to be television, but what’s a Netflix film? Is it a film? Is it television? Is it something else? The industry is lagging behind the rapid changes to the way we consume media. As such, the Oscars have been “brought down” to the level of Emmys, which were never seen as interesting, exciting or glamorous as their cinematic counterpart. And as a result, nobody who doesn’t have a vested interest in them cares anymore. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-oscars-have-zero-appeal-for-you/961830.md?page=4)