Change is coming to the Oscars – and some are not happy about it.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced last week it will shorten its glitzy awards ceremony to three hours, and there will be a new category of awards based on “achievement in popular film.”
Critics blasted the news on social media, questioning what a shorter ceremony will look like, and what kinds of films will be presented in the new category.
How is it judged for a movie to have "achievement in popular film"? Sounds like a lazy way to include movies that audiences like but aren't necessarily artful. Plus several deserving movies will probably get reduced to this category instead of seen for their real achievements.
— Go Soundtracks (@GoSoundtracks) August 8, 2018
Shame. All the artists deserve the same respect. I really hope you abandon this idea of selecting only a few to be shown live. And "popular film"? Come on! Blockbusters earn money, that's prize enough. Don't ruin the show just to "please" more people.
— Felipe Fonseca (@felipefonsecaps) August 8, 2018
“This seems more like a blatant attempt to lure in people who are not all that interested in film, at the risk of devaluing great films that are already out there,” said Allison Shoemaker, a Chicago-based film critic for the online publication “Consequence of Sound.”
Poll: Do you think adding a “Popular Film” category to the Oscars is a good idea?
The 2018 Oscars ran almost four hours long and saw just over 26 million viewers – a decline in viewership of 19 percent, compared with 2017. That was an all-time low for the awards show.
But Shoemaker says the new category may help reduce a stigma often associated with “popular films”: they’re not deserving of recognition for their artistry.
“A movie like ‘Black Panther,’ which in my opinion is a remarkable achievement in filmmaking, is sort of shunted into this ‘Best Popular Film’ category,” she said. “We should have interesting, diverse movies wherever they come from.”
Shoemaker joins us in discussion.
Related stories:
Millennium Park Film Series Returns Tuesdays, June 5-Aug. 21
2018 Academy Awards: A More Inclusive Age of the Oscars?
Illinois Now Ranks Among Top 5 States for Film, TV Production
‘Black Panther’ Breaks Box Office Records, Racial Barriers