Peculiar for a young heterosexual male, I used to really look forward to the Academy Awards. For 0ne night of the year, you felt like you got to sit with the cool kids and see how they operated. You get some sort of weird validation when your favorites win, and you get to stomp around and be pissy when they lose. I imagine it’s a little like being a sports fan, only you have to get worked up about it one night a year, instead of 80 or 90. (That’s for baseball fans. Hockey fans are like that year-round, near as I can tell.)
Now, you know and I know that the Oscars haven’t meant anything since Shakespeare in Love except which company has the most money and the greatest willingness to spend it on a given flick. But even so, I can’t help but feel a little pandered to by the Academy’s choice to move to ten nominees instead of five. I mean, sure, it’s nice that District 9 get a nod, but is there actually a hope in hell that it’ll win? Of course not. Ditto for Up, which is a shame, because it really would be fitting for Pixar to win for something before the magic inevitably fades.
I’m sure there are still people out there who will tune in to root for those two to win. And that’s what Oscar is banking on. But it won’t mean that a crowd-pleaser is going to take home Best Picture, and all that’ll lead to is even more people stomping around.
Luke
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