Before today's Oscar drama, it was fairly known around the entertainment industry that the Academy Awards had declining ratings and that their aura, their prestige, was no doubt headed down on a severe decline.
A record low of 9.85 million viewers watched the 2021 Oscars. That’s a steep 58% decline from last year’s record-low ratings. Disney-ABC have a contractual agreement with the Academy to broadcast the Oscars until 2028. Ratings must stay above sea-level. At the moment, they are entering near-catastrophic below sea-levels.
Back in 2018, Variety had reported that just a few days after the 90th Academy Awards telecast had aired, "Disney-ABC Television Group executives met with leaders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to convey a message" and face the inevitable and dire elephant in the room: The increasing irrelevance of the Academy. Three years later, I cannot fathom these same executives at the 2018 meeting imagining how bad it was truly going to get. Last night’s ceremony must have been their worst nightmares coming to fruition.
What these ABC execs needs to know is that it’s going to get much, much worse in the years to come. What we are seeing is mainstream America’s shrug of irrelevance to awards shows in general. The thought of rich actors getting awards is just not as commonly accepted today as it may have been even a decade ago. The turbulent socio-political changes that have happened in this country have turned awards shows into these mundane, soulless experiences. Father time won't spare the Oscars in the long-run. What many people are refusing to admit is that what we are really witnessing is the deteriorating relevance of awards shows.
Keep in mind that all of this is happening in the middle of a pandemic, where more important issues than just racial politics need to be raised and where an outrageous number of people have lost their jobs, and, even some, their own livelihoods. Being enraged by Chadwick Boseman losing the Best Actor Oscar to Anthony Hopkins is something that 99% of Americans just don’t care about.
In 2021, who actually wants to watch elites in their $30K evening gowns accepting an award for make-believe theatre? It’s a form of ego-stroking, and it’s part of Hollywood’s selfishness that they be aired, pandemic be damned.
Judging by last night’s pathetic display of elitism, it truly feels like the end of an era and were all better off because of it.
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