HOLLYWOOD – Watching the Academy Awards Sunday night was a major treat, but I have come to question rather there is a game of politics when it comes to garnering that elusive prize known as Oscar. It’s something everyone who works in the entertainment industry strives for. But those who may not be in the know, when it comes to Oscar there are some politics involved. It’s a game of who you know, who likes you and playing the part that can make a huge difference between becoming a winner.
I thought the idea of campaigning for an award is something that is quite trivial. Why in the world should I have to campaign in order to claim a prize, this is not an election here, this is a time to honor the power of art in cinema. Putting on a pretty face and vying for votes is something that reminds me of high school. What has been presented on the big screen or behind the screen should be the ultimate factor in determining who wins what.
When I discovered a large portion of the 6,000 plus members of the Academy Awards hadn’t viewed half of the films nominated for Best Picture it startled me. How in the world are you casting a vote without at least attempting to screen most of the films nominated. Then it hit me, it’s more of a popularity contest; who likes who and who has made a good impression on the overall membership. For so many years I had the perception that within the Academy, the various sub-groups were only responsible for voting for their respective categories, but that is not the case.
It almost makes me question the possibility of the Academy perhaps governing rules that allow only cinematographers to vote for cinematographers, editors to vote for editors and actors to vote for actors. It would be fair right? That’s my perception of thinking. Who would better appreciate that particular craft of filmmaking more than the person who works in that particular field? Honestly, that is something that I rarely see taking place in the Academy because, let’s face it things change does not happen easy. There were some historic moments at Sunday’s ceremony.
Lupita Nyong’o became the sixth actress to take home the Best Supporting Actress prize, Alfonso Cuaron became the first Hispanic to win the Oscar for Best Director, John Ridley became the second African-American to win Best Adapted Screenplay and Steve McQueen made history by becoming the first African-American to win an Oscar for Best Picture. That’s something that has never happened in the Academy Awards 86 years. I would argue the political groundwork of the Academy is slowly shattering year by year, but more change is imminent to change the game of politics, which in some ways has halted some phenomenal auteurs from taking home the film industry’s top prize.
The Oscars should not be a game of politics, plain and simple; it should be about one thing and one thing only, honoring the best of the best when it comes to art. Yes, it’s a bit decisive to put the hands of the award to an elite group, but let’s face it the Academy Awards has been award longer than any other award show there is.
