Are the Oscars a true reflection of quality in the film industry?

 



 .Picture this. Sparkling smiles. Camera flashes. Glittering celebs walking down a long red carpet... We’re at the Oscars, the most glamorous award show in the world. A fabulous celebration of great actors, directors, and films. Where stunning women can show off their outfits and dashing men can compete for the ‘Best Leading Actor’ award; this is surely one of the best ways of showing true quality in the film industry. Or is it? 

  The Academy Awards, or Oscars, started in 1928; since then they have been held in America annually, and will take place on the 2nd of March this year. It is a ceremony which is gives out awards of statuettes to high achievers in film. Indeed, many people think this is a wonderful event, although it does have bad sides, many bad sides.

  Sure, this event can be an entertaining celebration of film, although on another hand, one can interoperate it to be a fake over-glamorised event, which only focuses on star’s looks and popularity rather than their talent. When journalists from glossy magazines write article upon article full of sentences like ‘Who wore the nicest outfit at the Oscars?’ with backchat and useless gossip, which actually just humiliates actors. The ceremony may just be a way in which designers can earn money when stars are seen wearing their clothes when walking down the red carpet. Dress sense can actually become competitive at the Oscars, as stars may just focus on wearing the most dazzling, jaw-dropping outfit at the ceremony. Maybe this whole event is just based on who did the winner of the leading actress’ hair and makeup, than actually focusing on the award they’ve won. A great celebration of the film industry indeed.

  The award show can also be extremely biased. It tends to usually reward the big blockbusters which have been released, and although they might’ve earned lots of money and filled many cinemas, that doesn’t necessary mean they are high quality films. Because of this, it means that some people may just want to make a big, successful film just so they can get a reward during ‘Oscar session’. Take this year’s nominee for example; American Hustle (which was released suspiciously close to the night of the award show) has been nominated for best film, and although it may have a good plot with great acting, many people believe that it’s only popular because of its star studded cast. With the likes of Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper, it obviously will demand attention, but it’s almost as if it screams “Look at me, look at all the famous people who are in this movie, look how incredible that is!” when instead, the film itself does to have lots of depth to become a classic.

  Sometimes independent films can actually prove to be the best. 'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994) is a prime example of this. When it was released, it was hardly noticed, and wasn’t even represented at the Oscars, but now it is regarded as the ‘greatest film of all time’, being a favourite of many and receiving praise everywhere.

  The Oscars only nominating people for their popularity is proved by Quentin Tarantino, who started off as a fresh, but unknown director. His first films 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Pulp Fiction' were not smash hits at that time; because of their gory violence, drug use and constant cursing, they seemed to be more or less banished from Oscar territory. But, as the years went by, one by one, the talented Tarantino’s films gained more and more popularity from film lovers, becoming cult classics. As the director earned more money and fans, suddenly now he became noticed by the Academy, and latest releases ‘Inglourious Basterds’ and ‘Django Unchained’ (which still had lots of controversial violence and swearing) were extremely well praised. Finally Tarantino was a glowing star, although of course, he couldn’t have done that without is almost ignored early masterpieces.

  Plenty of people hardly get represented at the Oscars. Yes, there are universally loved method actors who win numerous awards, especially the likes of Robert deNiro, Daniel Day Lewis, and Tom Hanks. Although, a lot of people have complained about how very celebrated and talented actors have never once won an Academy Award. Now before everyone screams “Leonardo diCaprio deserves his Oscar!” let’s discuss the late Peter O’Toole for a moment. In his 60 year career, he was in many notorious films such as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, ‘Becket’ and ‘The Lion in Winter’. O’Toole was nominated for best leading actor a record breaking eight times, obviously showing he did deserve one, yet not once did he ever win his award. Many others have surprisingly never won an Oscar; there’s the legendary Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Albert Finney, and of course, Leonardo diCaprio.  
  In the end, the Academy Awards can be a competitive excuse for celebrities to get lots of media attention. It focuses largely on glitz and glamour in good looking people, and can lead to callous gossip in magazines. Its awards are usually rewarded to the biggest blockbuster movies, most commercially successful actors, and don’t represent any independent films. This shows that the Oscars are sometimes not an accurate reflection of talent in the film industry. But, it is our own decision to either take these things into account, or to just enjoy this annual event. After all, it’s just showbiz!

By Hayley