The 98th Academy Awards, or Oscars as they’re more commonly known, are coming up soon, and audiences are on the edge of their seats waiting for the nominees to be announced on January 22nd. This showcase is in charge of handing out awards to films that performed exceptionally well in certain aspects of filmmaking, such as sound design, acting or technical effects. However, since they have been going on for nearly 100 years, it seems as though the awards and their showcases have been geared more towards older audiences, leaving younger audiences behind. Whether this is really the case or not at Lambert is a hard question to answer, but the lack of talk about the Oscars begs the question of whether or not the awards show is still relevant among younger generations.
One thing to consider here is the change in media over the years. Back when the Oscars were first airing, long form content was extremely popular, therefore making the Oscars popular. Nowadays, short form content has taken over most of the media with younger generations, such as with shorts on TikTok, Instagram and Youtube.
“The general public has less will and desire for long form,” senior Gabe Teater said. “That’s the way the world is shifting now, and you gotta work with the world, otherwise they’re just going to forget you.”
Since modern audiences are losing desire for long form content, the Oscars are going to continue to lose viewership from younger audiences, unless a change can be made.
A key part of the Oscars is the films that they showcase. While some films showcased are popular box office hits, such as “Wicked”, others are less well known by the general public. And this is especially the case today with the rise of streaming platforms, as services like Netflix only show the most popular content in order to increase membership. If most films shown on the Oscars are ones unknown by average movie-watchers, then less people are going to want to stick around for the entire awards show.
“Say if you only have Netflix, you’re watching mostly things that Netflix releases., whereas the Oscars usually tend to have a bunch of different movies from a bunch of different production companies,” senior Eric Grinberg said. “I think people just aren’t branching out and watching other stuff, so something like the Oscars won’t be as important to them.”
As a result, with the transition to short form media and less desire to watch more films, the Oscars have not remained relevant with younger audiences. However, recent changes are being made to hopefully change this. In 2029, the Oscars are going to move over to Youtube in hopes of increasing viewership on a streaming platform rather than cable television. With this wider reach can come a wider awareness of certain movies, which can get audiences interested in lesser-known films all around the world. And despite the lack of talk, there are still certain students at Lambert who are excited for nominees to be announced.
‘I think Best Picture probably would be One Battle After Another, Sinners, Hamnet, Frankenstein, Wicked,” Grinberg said. “I think there’s a bunch of stuff that’s really good this year.”
While the Oscars may be losing popularity amongst newer generations, the changes that are yet to come, as well as excitement from avid film fans, may mean that the Oscars and their relevance are subject to improve in the near future.
