Random Oscars Rant and February 2025 Content Plans
The current state of the most prestigious award show is worrying but not doomed.
Some people (including myself) might argue that the awards season is the most wonderful time of the year. It’s the time to reflect on the past year’s best films and television shows, cheer on the favorites that received recognition, and passionately defend the ones that got overlooked.
March is fast approaching, and with it comes the biggest, most prestigious film award show of all, the Oscars. The highly anticipated event will take place on March 2. Over the last decade, the perception of this specific award show has generally been negative. While the most devoted fans try their hardest to keep the excitement over the Oscars race alive, others have completely lost faith in its legitimacy, expertise, and fairness. The nominees list for 2025, in particular, sparked significant controversy.
I’m still contemplating my personal feelings about the Oscars. I genuinely want to maintain my innocent love for this awards show. The Academy Award remains the most prestigious recognition in cinema, and it will continue to be for many years to come. While many might argue that the Oscars are not what they used to be, that’s the reality we have to accept. Unfortunately, the Academy Award isn’t offering passionate cinephiles much to engage with right now.
I still remember how I accidentally stumbled upon a YouTube video featuring Oscar predictions in 2014. It was a wonderful time when the Best Picture nominees included films like Whiplash, Birdman, Boyhood, and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Let’s take a moment to appreciate what these films represented for cinema. Each nominee showcased outstanding filmmaking and was distinct from the others, making it challenging to predict a winner.
Fast forward to this year’s Oscars, where everyone just prays to God that Emilia Pérez will go home empty-handed. Given the recent controversy surrounding the film, we might be granted this wish. However, it's disheartening to witness how low our standards have fallen. We went from celebrating every nominee to hoping the worst film doesn’t win.
It's very easy to fall into negativity in this situation, but we already have enough of that. Perhaps a healthier approach would be to accept that cinema, like all forms of art at some point, is in a crisis stage. It's neither good nor bad; it simply is. Nothing exists without its inevitable ups and downs. As one of the youngest art forms, cinema will find its way back to greatness.
In the meantime, I encourage everyone to appreciate what we have as it is. While we can and should use criticism as a valuable tool, I believe we should avoid extremes and excessive negativity – I doubt that will lead us anywhere. Let’s watch and analyze the movies available to us, find hope in the ones we cherish, and identify issues in the ones that don’t quite resonate. My call is not for complacency but for greater tolerance and respect. I aim to maintain a healthy balance of objective and subjective opinions in my writings.
With the Oscars just a month away, I’ll be posting various articles about the 2025 Awards. I will focus primarily on the Best Picture nominees but will also explore other topics related to the event.
What do you think about this year’s Oscars?