#13: Oscars Fatigue
In case you missed it, the Oscars are tonight. As someone who enjoys going to the movies, I usually watch the Oscars to see who takes home the big awards. Who could forget some of the iconic moments, from Kathryn Bigelow winning Best Director, to Leonardo DiCaprio winning his first Oscar, to the Best Picture mishap in 2017 to Parasite’s groundbreaking win last year (yes, that was only last year—it’s been a long year)? This year, though, I am not going to lie. I couldn’t be less excited, and I have no plans to watch.
The pandemic has shifted the way we watch movies, and because of that, it feels a little less exciting showcasing the movies that I could have streamed on my laptop at any time. Compared to last year where I saw nine of the ten Best Picture nominees on the big screen, this year despite having more time at home, and it never having been easier to stream, I’ve seen a whopping zero of the nominees. Curiously, I don’t feel like I’m alone in this apathy—fewer people I know are actively tuning in, and those who are are much less pumped about it. One of my friends who religiously fills out a bracket each year says he’s not doing it this year for the first time since the mid-2000s.
I’ve never really watched the show for the Red Carpet, but given all that’s still going on with Covid-19 worldwide, this part of the show seems even less appealing and out-of-touch to me. Having no host worked well the last few years to keep the show more on schedule, but this is no normal year. If it isn’t going to be over Zoom, it would help to have a comedian that could humor an audience tuning in for a few hours and help serve as a distraction from the difficult year. We could all use the laughs.
Now, there are some positives. Across a number of metrics, this year’s Oscars appears to be the most diverse ever thanks its best picture nominees, and its nominees in the leading male and female categories. And tonight is a big win for streaming services, and it appears movie theaters will likely be re-thinking their strategy when they reopen thanks to how the pandemic shifted user behavior.
I can’t blame the Oscars, however, because my apathy is not unique to movies. I’ve felt this same kind of apathy towards many sports games I’d usually watch, too. Covid-19 has just brought about a general fatigue to everything that isn’t direct human interaction. I’ll be curious to see how the Oscars’ ratings turn out, but I’m betting they will be lower than in years past. It won’t be for lack of time, though.