78th Golden Globes Awards • Page 3

But the original argument wasn't that people should stop hate-watching, the thesis was that people here think the Globes are a joke but then watch the Oscars credulously. That's not true in any way whatsoever lol it's just more "I'm a true cinephile" self-important posturing that sounds patently ridiculous to anyone who spends any amount of time on this website.

 

I just don't understand the "point" being made here. Everyone agrees both the Globes and the Oscars are bad. Nobody here is watching the Globes and saying "this is so bad but thank god the Oscars are the REAL authority on what's good and what isn't". And nobody here is watching the Oscars as if they're some kind of solemn sacred occasion. It's just a false premise intended to make the speaker sound so smart and sophisticated for being above it all.

Like we get it, you know how to use the internet to find high-quality foreign and independent films just like everyone else does. Very cool, good for you!

 

Nathan’s take on award shows is 100% right imo, but can we at least all agree that Anya Taylor-Joy

 

The whole hate-watching thing is just a new version of "guilty pleasure". If you watch the show, you are increasing its ratings which is what the show needs to survive.

 

eh there’s historically been weight given to the Oscars that isn’t lended to the Globes here and in the outside world, even if people are starting to recognize they’re both ridiculous.

the other stuff you’re saying... okay dude

 

And with regard to the people here on this website, you're wrong. People here are pretty clear-eyed about how awards shows are generally bad. Don't understand what point you were trying to make, truly. Just completely useless posts.

 

but people on here post every year about intentionally seeing every movie nominated because they're nominated. you can go back in previous Academy Award threads and see them. this is a solid community and the film discourse has gotten better, I can agree, but there's all the awards predictions and speculations too, guessing what will win the Oscar based on the other award shows in the run-up, which treats awards season like sports or gambling, not art. and that's extremely uninteresting.

My point is that award shows are bad for movies and investing any energy into them perpetuates the idea that they're worthwhile, prolonging their lifespan. I've gone back and forth on how I feel about them, it's legitimately exciting when something like Moonlight or Parasite wins and Bong Joon Ho's speech from last year is a special moment, but there's a lot of bullshit around them as well. When everyone agrees that the Oscars are generally racist, generally sexist, generally classist, all these terrible things (which are true!), why watch them? Why continue to give them any credence? Is there anything else that basically everyone agrees sucks but still tunes into every year celebrating the rare instances where it doesn't suck?

Look, I get that people are still going to be into them and talk about them and complain about them, etc. But when does it hit a breaking point? I don't think it's crazy to suggest that, instead of saying "hey these historically racist and sexist institutions should include more non-men and non-white people", invest that energy in seeing and amplifying works from non-white, non-male artists, which are largely independent and ignored by awards shows and mainstream Hollywood studios but, in the time of virtual screenings, are as close to accessible as ever. And I know there are those, especially here, who seek that work out and who also care about the Oscars in some form. But for a lot of people (yes, here as well, though this community is largely thoughtful and has solid taste), the Oscars do inform at least some of what to spend money and time seeing.

 

damn the way you describe it it's almost like people treat it like some kind of horse race or sporting event, as opposed to treating like a serious arbiter of the quality of art. huh.

I don't know why people still watch them but people on here don't watch them to be instructed on the relative quality of every movie that wins or loses. And also people just on a primal level like to see the things they like get recognized. It's really not that hard to wrap your head around.

People like to be informed about what they're talking about. If discussions about the Oscars are going to happen, I can't blame anyone for wanting to see the nominated movies so they can participate in that conversation.

And all of this, again, just goes back to the fact that nobody is disagreeing with you that these institutions are bad. I truly don't understand why you keep repeating that as if I don't agree with it. Or as if anyone here disagrees with it. But people watch anyway just because they've always watched them. Or because they want to see if the one or two good movies they like win anything. Or for any number of other reasons. People still watch Saturday Night Live for a lot of the same reasons despite that show also having a lot of the same issues that awards shows have. I just don't understand what you or anyone else is trying to accomplish here preaching to the choir about it. Everyone agrees with you, but they watch anyway for a variety of reasons that, frankly, aren't anyone's business but their own.

I'd recommend just blocking the threads and and then continuing to ignore/not watch the shows. And also to not click on any articles summarizing the shows either.

 

I watch the awards shows to root for like the 3 movies i’ve seen and just because I generally enjoy movies. Plus it’s once a year and not me just getting sucked into another episode of Guy’s Grocery Games haha

 

There is a whisper campaign starting to hurt Nomadland because Zhao's father was or is an important figure in the Chinese steel industry. This is what awards shows cause, and it happens every year.

 

But why would you care whether or not Nomadland loses an award due to a whisper campaign if you don’t care about awards shows

 

It is about ugly attacks against people and movies because of awards shows. It creates very silly backlash against individual movies and puts people into different camps. Harvey Weinstein was famous for his smear campaigns against movies competing against his, but it has existed for a long time and continues to exist.

Maybe one day we can all celebrate when the Oscar ratings get so small that they become a press release, but there is still work to be done.

 

yeah there hasn’t been any backlash against Nomadland and I seriously doubt something as insignificant as what you described would amount to anything in terms of backlash against it. Sounds like you’re just worried about it’s awards chances tbh, which is funny.

 

It will only get worse as the process heats up. I don't know how you think this is about a film's award chances.

 

I promise you the film will still be just as great as it is today if it doesn’t win any more awards. Awards shows are pointless anyway.

 

No one is arguing about the quality of the film. It is about the damages that awards shows cause.

 

The quality of the film won’t be damaged by an awards show, don’t you worry yourself about that. Awards shows can’t hurt you.

 

I see that we've reached the obstinate, cyclical, bad caricature of the argument stage. Which, shouldn't be that surprising, I suppose.

My personal take is that I just don't care either way & don't mind people having healthy relationships with whatever entertainment (within reason) they want. I can't see us reaching a critical mass where individual choices to opt out of these shows will make a dent in Hollywood. But, I feel like @Nathan & @Morrissey have presented a pretty clear argument for why these shows cause more harm than good. Even if you somehow like the Oscars, that shouldn't be hard to get. (I don't, but I do like superhero media a lot, & still largely agree with the critiques of that whole thing.)

 

No one is arguing about the quality of any film.

Awards shows do hurt a lot of people, though. They have a direct influence on what films get funded and which do not.

 

We have seen people make those individual choices to ignore or stop watching awards shows, and it has led to ratings decreasing over the years. Some of it is due to less traditional television watching in general, but overall it is getting less likely for younger people to care about them. That is why they have done stuff like cut down on televised segments, teased the idea of a Most Popular Film, and so on. It also feels increasingly ludicrous to celebrate movie stars wearing tuxedos and gowns that cost more than a person's annual salary talk about how brave they were for playing a character while taking home a gift bag full of stuff that most people can't afford. Younger people are generally more left than the country as a whole, so the absurdity is noticed.

 

And we all agree award shows are bad and unnecessary and stupid, I don't see anyone here arguing otherwise. So again I don't quite understand what point anyone is trying to make that isn't already accepted in its entirety here. Just seems like a lot of posturing for no reason other than individual self-satisfaction to me, but what do I know.

 

I know ratings have trended down, but my understanding is that most of that’s just people finding it boring (plus the traditional tv thing you mentioned), not like an intentional boycott of something bad or whatever. And, it still seems ingrained enough that, with the pool of people who think it’s bad but still watch, there’s not enough of a critical mass to make an impact. If there’s a serious movement to take advantage of its declining ratings & take its power away, though, I’m all for it. I myself have personally never gotten into it.

(Also not sure I like the implication that it’s wrong to appreciate Anya Taylor-Joy’s Golden Globes look when it pops up on Twitter, lol. I can appreciate that aesthetic beauty while also hating the system that allows so much money to go there instead of to my community.)