Why the Oscars Are Irrelevant

[boffo]

30,000,000 people were foolish enough to waste their Sunday evening watching a self-congratulatory wankfest where a bunch of people worship themselves for their belief that they're better than you. Ostensibly this was to determine the best movies of the year

Comments

[integreillumine]

Point's well-taken.

Though I'll probably be willing to watch Aviator again in 20 years, and I still haven't seen/have little interest in seeing Transformers or Passion of the Christ, maybe even Cars. (It looks like the weakest of the Pixar films, and I somehow haven't managed it.) I want to see Milk.

I suspect historical films, where video isn't kept, may retain some interest. (Like Frost/Nixon, etc. Even if they're obviously biased?)

[boffo]

I personally never had any interest in seeing Passion of the Christ either. But I think people will still be watching it in decades. Just as people still watch The Ten Commandments 54 years after it came out.

I agree that Cars is the weakest of the Pixar movies, but I think animated films tend to hold up. Kids will still like cars and anthropomorphic things in 20 years. And Disney's marketing machine will keep it from falling into obscurity.

I don't think bias has much to do with how well a movie holds up. But people need to see a movie for it to be remembered. So stuff like Milk and Frost/Nixon will be forgotten.

[phanatic]

Just as people still watch The Ten Commandments 54 years after it came out.

Do they? I remember it playing on the television an an annual basis when I was a little kid, but that was before people had cable, and back when I went to Church.

[boffo]

It wouldn't play on TV every year if people weren't watching it.

[phanatic]

Well, that's sort of my question. Does it still play on TV every year?

[integreillumine]

The popularity of some films do grow after the year they were out though, no? Like Shawshank Redemption.

[boffo]

That happens on occasion. But I think for that to be the case, a movie has to either really speak to people (Shawshank, Office Space) or be really funny (Office Space, Clerks, Austin Powers.) There need to be passionate fans telling people, "Oh my god, you need to see this!"

I don't think movies like Milk and Frost/Nixon fall into these categories.

[integreillumine]

Hm, well I'm seeing them even after they were out in the theaters mostly because people I know did say they saw and liked them, so perhaps it seems more salient/applicable for these movies with respect to me/my network. But that still may not apply to the general pop.