Are some award categories redundant, and elitist?

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VinegarBob
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Re: Are some award categories redundant, and elitist?

Post by VinegarBob »

CosmicMonkey wrote:And now, since this is the internet, and I had the audacity to mention that trans*-people actually exist, cue all the reactionary transphobic hatespeech by subsequent posters.


I'm really starting to wonder why you came on to this forum. It seems all you want to do is 'educate' and lecture everyone here as if we're all wayward children who don't know how to comport ourselves properly. It doesn't seem to be to chat about movies.

I expect this thread to go the way of the last thread you entered, and nobody will be any farther forward.

Stewball
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Re: Are some award categories redundant, and elitist?

Post by Stewball »

Rumplesink wrote:It seems all you want to do is 'educate' and lecture everyone here as if we're all wayward children who don't know how to comport ourselves properly. It doesn't seem to be to chat about movies.


I think I saw that very concept in the dictionary somewhere under the word liberal. 8-)

BTW, I forgot to mention THE most redundant two categories, best movie and director. INMYNEVERTOBEHUMBLEOPINION, there shouldn't be a separate category for director, and further, that the director should receive the award instead of the producer, whose function is vital (financing, thus the hundreds of produces listed per title in the credits nowadays), but the director is ultimately responsible for all aspects of a film's content.

CosmicMonkey
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Re: Are some award categories redundant, and elitist?

Post by CosmicMonkey »

Rumplesink wrote:
CosmicMonkey wrote:And now, since this is the internet, and I had the audacity to mention that trans*-people actually exist, cue all the reactionary transphobic hatespeech by subsequent posters.


I'm really starting to wonder why you came on to this forum. It seems all you want to do is 'educate' and lecture everyone here as if we're all wayward children who don't know how to comport ourselves properly. It doesn't seem to be to chat about movies.

I expect this thread to go the way of the last thread you entered, and nobody will be any farther forward.




You`re right, no one is going to be any further forward. I`m not going to make the mistake again of trying to argue with you guys on these points, I`ve learnt now that criticker is not the right environment to hold these sorts of discussions. However, if someone (OP) does ask a question about whether we think there is a problem with gender-segregated acting categories, I will still come in, give my opinion and perspective on the topic and call it a day. Now, I`ve put in my two cents, if you disagree, it`s not my responsibility to convince you otherwise, and I`m sorry I didn`t realise that earlier.

Now back onto the topic of redundant awards: Are separate categories for Sound-Mixing and Sound-Editing really neccesary? The average filmgoer doesn`t understand the difference between the two and there`s always a huge overlap between the films that get nominated for those two categories anyways. Wouldn`t it be possible just to combine them into a single category called Audiography (or something similar?)?

VinegarBob
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Re: Are some award categories redundant, and elitist?

Post by VinegarBob »

Stewball wrote:there shouldn't be a separate category for director, and further, that the director should receive the award instead of the producer, whose function is vital (financing, thus the hundreds of produces listed per title in the credits nowadays), but the director is ultimately responsible for all aspects of a film's content.


That's a good point. I've always thought it was weird when a film is nominated for Best Picture, but the director isn't nominated. I'd probably just keep it the way it is though tbh - makes the director and producer both feel important independent of each other. The Oscars as a whole really needs a major overhaul though, because they're outdated - people are tired of them doing the same old thing.

Here's what I'd do:

1. Have a single presenter who's naturally funny present all of the awards. The 'have two famous people read out half of a prepared script each' for every award is embarrassingly cheesy.

2. Show more clips from the nominated movies and performances, and ply everyone with lots of booze to loosen them all up, then see what they say when they win. Let them talk for a bit if they want.

3. Remove the Best Foreign Film category. I thought about this quite a bit, and I actually came to the conclusion that including that category smacks of tokenism, and rather than being more inclusive of films outside their own realm all it really does is add to the notion that the Academy are the ultimate arbiters of taste in all things film. The fact is that they're generally not interested in foreign films and they're not versed in films outside their own culture so why have them judge foreign films at all?*

*The Best Foreign Film category is handy though. It generates a list of 1 film per country that that country considers to be the best they produced during the year, so there is that.

I'd drop a couple of superfluous categories and transfer a few technical awards over to the other Oscar ceremony nobody watches that awards all the tech guys. This would drastically shorten the length of the ceremony too and make it much more viewer friendly, because let's face it who's waiting with bated breath to see which bunch of nerds won for Best Sound Mixing? Why these are included in the main ceremony and not the tech Oscars is a mystery to me. So here are the categories I'd keep in the main ceremony:


Film
Director
Actor
Actress
Supporting Actor
Supporting Actress
Original Screenplay
Adapted Screenplay
Score
Cinematography
Film Editing
Production Design
Costume Design
Animated Feature
Animated Short
Documentary Feature
Documentary Short

Which means Foreign Film, Makeup & Hairstyling and Song would be dropped and Visual Effects, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing would be transferred over to the tech ceremony.

I'm assuming the Criticker forums are monitored closely by many Academy members and officials, so I'll expect to see these changes implemented in 2017 now that I've alerted them. :lol:

jacobclark12
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Re: Are some award categories redundant, and elitist?

Post by jacobclark12 »

Rumplesink wrote:2. Show more clips from the nominated movies and performances, and ply everyone with lots of booze to loosen them all up, then see what they say when they win. Let them talk for a bit if they want.

If you've ever seen Guillermo from Jimmy Kimmel Live on the red carpet, you'd know that he does that part plenty well already.

CosmicMonkey
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Re: Are some award categories redundant, and elitist?

Post by CosmicMonkey »

Should we pose the inverse of the topic as well? Are there any award categories that people would like to see added? Best Licensed Soundtrack? Best Choreography? Best Stuntwork?

I for one would like to see an equivalent to SAGs best cast award, but instead of being awarded to over 20 actors (some of whom just have bit parts) the award goes to the casting director. Casting Directors are in my opinion the most under-rated member of a film crew, and need some recognition.

Bojangles
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Re: Are some award categories redundant, and elitist?

Post by Bojangles »

I like it Rumple. Booze is key.

My favorite part of watching the Oscars as a youngster was the clips that they showed for each acting nominee. Those few years where they had five fellow actors up on stage verbally jacking off the nominees was cringe inducing. The worst part about the Oscars is the cringe and the cheesiness. Eliminate all that by having a top flight cynical comedian be the primary face of the entire ceremony, get everyone fucked up on booze, and step back. Get rid of the esoteric awards that no one understands or cares about. I might even include editing in that category. Every year, Best Editing feels like a mindless extension of Best Picture.

mattorama12
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Re: Are some award categories redundant, and elitist?

Post by mattorama12 »

CosmicMonkey wrote:I for one would like to see an equivalent to SAGs best cast award, but instead of being awarded to over 20 actors (some of whom just have bit parts) the award goes to the casting director. Casting Directors are in my opinion the most under-rated member of a film crew, and need some recognition.


Have you seen Casting By. It's a decent documentary about casting directors and, in particular, Marion Dougherty. It tries to make the case for a Best Casting award, and does a convincing enough job in my mind. I didn't think the doc was particularly fantastic, but it's right up your alley if this is a pet issue for you.

As far as other award categories, I think it'd be really interesting to have Best Stunt Work. I think one of the biggest issues with the Oscars is that non-dramas get short shrift. While there is the Visual Effects category, it'd be nice to have Stunt Work as a separate category that won't be dedicated to CGI. Hell, it could even encourage the use of more practical effects in action movies.

I would hate to see the Oscars get rid of Foreign Film. I totally understand the argument and agree with the points. However, I think getting rid of the category would really negatively affect the ability of foreign films to get buzz in the U.S. That's a side effect I just don't think is worth the change.

djross
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Re: Are some award categories redundant, and elitist?

Post by djross »

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Last edited by djross on Wed Jul 19, 2023 10:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

lisa-
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Re: Are some award categories redundant, and elitist?

Post by lisa- »

Suture Self wrote:IMO we should get rid of award shows altogether and just have hollywood participate in filmed orgies that we can all view on public television. This is a better alternative.


i mean the oscars are already a godawful bourgeois wankfest so this isn't really necessary

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