Spring Break
Good movies robbed of well-deserved awards; with the Academy, elitism wins every time
Paresh Jha
Issue date: 1/27/09 Section: Focus
The 81st Academy Award nominations were announced last week, featuring some of the year's most impressive films and performances. Or did they? Every year the Academy throws around awards and nominations that are generally accepted by the public as some of the best work of the year. This year, however, I cannot get my head around this list of nominations.
For those unaware, elitism is the belief that there is an "elite" group of individuals with "superior" wealth and intellect whose opinions and viewpoints carry the most weight. Sometimes that belief is taken too far as is the case with this year's Academy Awards. "The Dark Knight," the most watched and talked about film this year, was left out of the best picture and director categories. The film did get the requisite best supporting actor nod for Heath Ledger but the rest of the nominations were all technical and artistic nominations (well deserved nonetheless). The point is that, because "The Dark Knight" is based on a fictional comic book character, it may never get the true recognition it deserves. This is where the closed-minded, elitist mentality comes into play. If the movie were a historical drama or based on a famous novel, it would have no problem racking up the nominations. The fact that "The Dark Knight" is a summer blockbuster also weakened its chances. This is because most films that are nominated are designed to come out right at the end of the year so producers can meet the deadline. Movies that are released before December rarely get recognized. So now studios are essentially getting penalized for making a film that millions of people will go to watch.
Maybe it is my own fault that I am disappointed. I loved "The Dark Knight" and so did 99 percent of the people I know (The Daily Campus named it movie of the year as did many critics and other Internet outlets). I was wrong to think the Academy would nominate a film that transcends genres to give audiences an experience that was both entertaining and thought-provoking. Maybe that was simply building my hopes up. I figured that if a film like "Lord of the Rings," which involves wizards, hobbits and elves, can garner elitist recognition, surely a movie about a man fighting crime and chaos could do the same.
For those unaware, elitism is the belief that there is an "elite" group of individuals with "superior" wealth and intellect whose opinions and viewpoints carry the most weight. Sometimes that belief is taken too far as is the case with this year's Academy Awards. "The Dark Knight," the most watched and talked about film this year, was left out of the best picture and director categories. The film did get the requisite best supporting actor nod for Heath Ledger but the rest of the nominations were all technical and artistic nominations (well deserved nonetheless). The point is that, because "The Dark Knight" is based on a fictional comic book character, it may never get the true recognition it deserves. This is where the closed-minded, elitist mentality comes into play. If the movie were a historical drama or based on a famous novel, it would have no problem racking up the nominations. The fact that "The Dark Knight" is a summer blockbuster also weakened its chances. This is because most films that are nominated are designed to come out right at the end of the year so producers can meet the deadline. Movies that are released before December rarely get recognized. So now studios are essentially getting penalized for making a film that millions of people will go to watch.
Maybe it is my own fault that I am disappointed. I loved "The Dark Knight" and so did 99 percent of the people I know (The Daily Campus named it movie of the year as did many critics and other Internet outlets). I was wrong to think the Academy would nominate a film that transcends genres to give audiences an experience that was both entertaining and thought-provoking. Maybe that was simply building my hopes up. I figured that if a film like "Lord of the Rings," which involves wizards, hobbits and elves, can garner elitist recognition, surely a movie about a man fighting crime and chaos could do the same.
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