Claire DuMont
Editor-in-Chief
The 91st Academy Awards ceremony will be held on Feb. 24. However, the event as a whole has been creating confusion for movie lovers and those in the film industry.
When the Academy announced nominations, I, along with other movie lovers, was disappointed by the amount of movies from the past year that went overlooked. While it is no surprise that some movies will be snubbed, the nominations this year left many in disbelief.
The 2018 Oscars included a lineup of movies that became some of my favorites, such as “Lady Bird” and “I, Tonya.” I spent my weekends in January and February at Arclight, trying to watch all of the Best Picture nominees, and it didn’t just entirely have to do with Timothée Chalamet.
I was equally excited for the new awards season to start, but I was quickly disheartened. Some of the most critically acclaimed movies from the past year, also happened to be my favorites, including Bo Burnham’s “Eighth Grade” and “Beautiful Boy.” These movies did not receive any nominations, leaving me disappointed and in disbelief.
It is becoming increasingly obvious that the Oscars are moving away from what makes the show great. The controversy surrounding Kevin Hart, who was chosen to host, left the ceremony without a host. Additionally, the Academy announced that most of the songs nominated for Best Original Song will not be performed live, with the exception of “Shallow” from “A Star is Born” and “All the Stars” from “Black Panther.” The Academy later reversed this decision, but it still shows that the viewers’ wants are not being taken into consideration. In an effort to make the ceremony shorter, four of the categories will be presented during the commercial break, including the awards for cinematography and editing. This choice led to anger and outrage in the film industry: these films would not exist without editing and cinematography, and those categories deserve recognition.
Hollywood’s biggest night has been met with understandable disappointment. Televised events like the Super Bowl don’t shorten the game or play through commercial breaks, but are unapologetically three hours long. It is a shame to see something devoted to celebrating the movies of the year shy away from what makes it great.
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