The Academy Awards are not the Grammys. What I am saying is simply that the job of the Academy is to recognize all movies of the highest caliber, despite their budget, sales, or production company. If a film wins an Oscar, often times, its sales increase. If an album wins a Grammy, rarely does this affect its sales. Also, only major label artists can be nominated for Grammys. It’s important you know the difference. 

This is because the Academy Awards honor a slew of films that fans likely haven’t even heard of. “Philomena,” the Stephen Frears film starring Steve Coogan and Judi Dench, hasn’t had a wide release yet. It’s about a journalist reunited with his mother, who had to give her infant up to live in a commune. “Dallas Buyers Club”, “Nebraska” and “Her” are other Best Picture nominations not likely to be found in small-town multiplexes just yet. 

A lot of casual film watchers, usually the same demographic who actually pay to see “Transformers” sequels, tend to think the Academy Awards are passé, when in actuality, it is one of the only award circuits that still retains credibility. Yes, maybe the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences are in fact made up of primarily middle-aged or older white males, but that is just a fallacy used to argue the redundancy of the awards. If it were up to the general movie-going public, the Best Picture race would be between “The Hangover 3”, “Oz the Great and Powerful” and “The Fast and the Furious 6”.

That’s not to say the Academy isn’t without its faults. It’s believed the Best Picture award purposefully goes to films that are socially and politically relevant. “The Hurt Locker”, “Slumdog Millionaire” and even “The Artist” were not widely considered the best films of their respective years by critics, but they all had something that made them relevant. Often times the best stylistic or critically respected film of the year is passed over (sorry “Midnight in Paris” and “Silver Linings Playbook,” that means you.)  

It’s a series of pros and cons, but I support the Academy. The opinion of Chad at Planet Fitness, who thinks “A Good Day To Die Hard” should at least be nominated for best screenplay, is exactly why the Academy Awards will always be left to the experts, and retrospectively why the Teen Choice Awards still reaches the 18-25 demographic.

Contact Zac Younkins at [email protected].