Surprise or no surprise, I wish these results would encourage a certain coup d'état in the world of film. The LA Times decided to investigate just who was handing out the golden boy and the results are somewhat disturbing. Well, disturbing might be a strong word, but it seems that pretty much EVERYBODY is misrepresented. Everybody except for white, rich old dudes who have actually never won nor been nominated for an Academy Award.
The statistics are these:
94% of the voters are white.
77% are male.
64% has never been nominated for an award (19% has been nominated, 14% has won)
98% are over the age of 40 (54% over the age of 60)
What the f*ck Academy? I mean the last statistic is almost laughable considering that "they" keep on saying they want younger people to become interested in the Academy Awards (which was why they decided on the regrettable double whammy of James Franco and Anne Hathaway hosting last year). So maybe have someone that was actually born after 1980. Maybe highlight some films that actually matter to these kids (yet for the love of god, hold us to a higher standard than the generation who loves Transformers)
Just another example of why the Academy Awards are kind of a giant load of malarkey designed to make rich people even richer. One would like to think that the great part about film is that it's accessible to everyone and anyone, no matter what race or age or class. But then there are also the films that resonate with large groups of people that aren't rich, white and male. What happens then when a film may be offensive or scary to them (or maybe they just don't get it)? Should that film be totally ignored despite it's affective quality? Of course, it's hard to speak in hypothetical on the issue. So let's take it to a dramatic simile- imagine if those statistics were the same for people who vote for the president (wait a minute...those statistics are probably similar to whoever cares to vote these days...suddenly things make sense).
All of this surprising yet not surprising news is just another reason why you should take the Oscars with a grain of salt. Sure, they're going to be fun to watch (I will be live blogging, of course) but they should never constitute what you decide to go see. Go see The Artist if you want to go see a different kind of film but know that you are also totally welcome to go see some crap like The Vow. And maybe, if you're that good kind of person that the film industry needs in which you decide to just get out there and make your own work; awards, money and prestige be damned. This is supposed to be art. Who gives a crap if someone that reminds you of your occasionally racist grandpa likes it.
Do you have any thoughts on this? Surprised? Do you care? Comment, ya'll. And you can always find me hanging out at My.Ology. It's kind of like a sexy be-in over there, just with less STDs and general smelliness.
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