In August, the Academy surprised the entire film industry by creating a brand new award category named “Best Popular Film.” The news prompted online discussion, with everybody from film critics to actors weighing in on the issue. Even though the Academy ultimately got rid of the category due to heavy backlash very recently, the mere consideration of the category itself has caused people to speculate over the intentions of the Academy. The Academy has also stated that it will institute the category later down the road, a decision that renders all of these speculations and questions still relevant. How does a movie qualify to be “Best Popular Film?” How will this affect general Hollywood blockbuster movies and their place at the Oscars? Is introducing the new category later just an easy way for the Academy to avoid criticism?
The Academy did not elaborate on the necessary qualifications for said category, and told everybody that details would be coming in later. However, some have speculated that basic financial reasons could have motivated the Academy to add such a category, and others hinted at larger issues with the awards ceremony.
The first reason for the addition of such a category is to draw in more viewers. The Oscars are generally viewed as an awards show only for movies deemed to be “artsy,” “heavily critical” or “realistic,” since movies that the general population has not even heard of receive awards. Famous presenters for the Oscars such as Chris Rock have poked fun at the ceremony’s elitism by asking members of the general public if they have even seen any of the nominated movies. The obscurity of some nominated movies is not inherently a bad thing. The Oscars show that a movie does not have to bring in millions of dollars at the box office to be recognized for critical cinematic achievement. However, awarding movies that only a small portion of the general population has seen has impacts on the show itself. The latest Oscars had the lowest viewing rate of all time, which resulted in a loss of profit for the channels that paid to broadcast the show.
Therefore, the addition of such a category and an increase in the amount of Hollywood blockbuster movies nominated at the Oscars could bring in more viewers, as the ceremony would become more relatable to a general public able to gain a critical perspective of movies they have already seen. This increase in viewers would make the Oscars much more profitable for all parties involved.
On the other hand, people have speculated that this new category is going to be used as a way to separate Hollywood blockbusters entirely, leaving the other categories entirely to the “artsy” movies. Modern Hollywood blockbusters that are received well by the masses consist mainly of superhero movies, large franchises and action flicks. People have been complaining about the lack of representation of such movies at the Oscars, stating that the Academy is afraid to include superhero movies among its nominations, fearing it might damage its prestigious and elite reputation. With the addition of such a category, the Academy could simply nominate and place box office hits within the “Best Popular Film” category. This move would please the masses by recognizing the movies that they like, while keeping these popular out of other categories. Such a speculation does seem probable, but we will have to wait until next year’s ceremony to see what the Academy has in mind.
The third and last speculation involves a whole other controversy, one that has been brought up several times over the past couple of years, and that is the separation of movies regarding race and black cinema in general. For several years, the Oscars have been criticized for its lack of representation of the black community. Very few movies have been nominated that have a black protagonist or a more black-oriented cast in comparison to other races and ethnicities. With the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag trending and famous actors such as Will Smith boycotting the Oscars, such backlash has forced the Academy into a corner. The rollout of a “Best Popular Film” category could address criticisms about the Oscars while maintaining many of its core features.
Some people believe that if somebody makes a movie about racism, the Academy would most probably give it an Oscar out of guilt. This argument was brought up several times after Moonlight was announced as the winner of Best Picture, with Warren Beatty stating only seconds that La La Land got Best Picture. The same argument has been made about movies such as 12 Years A Slave and it has been haunting the Oscars for the last decade. Additionally, thanks to the success of Black Panther, the Academy is facing a whole other scenario: What is it going to do with a movie that has an all-black cast, is a superhero movie, is a cinematic achievement and is popular amongst the general masses? Prior to the roll back of the award, people speculated that the Academy’s answer to Black Panther is the “Best Popular Film” category. By having Black Panther nominated for popular film, the Academy would not need to nominate it for Best Picture and could protect its status as an organization recognizes elite movies.
Such an idea made ripples across social media, with even Marvel stating that it planned to have Black Panther nominated for Best Picture and not Best Popular Film. Chadwick Boseman, the actor playing Black Panther, also stated that the filmmakers were aiming for Best Picture. This backlash provides insight into why the Academy withdrew the award.
One might look over this and think, why does this matter? Why does it matter whether a superhero movie gets nominated for Best Picture? Why does a new awards category matter at all? Truth is, it does matter. The Oscars have been around for 89 years and are, to some extent, a representation of our society. The Academy votes for and rewards movies that it deems essential to cinema, art and culture. The Oscars are, in a way, a reflection of our culture. Therefore, how the Oscars and the Academy change, what the Academy chooses to incorporate, chooses to leave out, chooses to reward shapes the future of our culture. Even if the Oscars have withdrawn the “Best Popular Film” category, the Academy has shown that it has intentions to change the format of the show. Whether it is to adapt to the changing culture to represent the public better or to benefit their own, the Academy has set change in motion. How future Oscars ceremonies plan to represent the whole film industry has much more importance now and we should all keep an eye out for what the Academy chooses to do. •
