Let’s Talk…Standards + The Academy
As the 2025 award season winds down, there has been much discussion around the selection of films that claim the title the nomination category offers them. While this is a topic of conversation each year, this year brought a surge of voices across digital media ranging from short takes on TikTok and X to deep-dives featured on Variety and Entertainment Weekly. Why is it that media that the general public considers below par from all angles gets decorated? Answer: voting. So, let’s talk…standards and The Academy.
Like clockwork, the Golden Globes kicks off award season. Let’s take a look at the notable nominees and wins that stood out to the general public as oddballs:
Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): A Real Pain, Anora, Challengers, Emilia Pérez, The Substance, Wicked
Best Motion Picture (Non-English Language): All We Imagine as Light, Emilia Pérez, I’m Still Here, The Girl With The Needle, The Seed of The Sacred Fig, Vermiglio
Best Original Song (Motion Picture): “Beautify That Way” from The Last Showgirl, “Compress/Repress” from Challengers, “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez, “Forbidden Road” from Better Man, “Kiss the Sky” from The Wild Robot, “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez
I can completely see how this looks like an Emilia Pérez hate train, but I’m just the messenger of the people. Critiques include the film’s harmful transgender representation, French director Jacques Audiard’s blatant ignorance of Mexican culture, and SNL-esque musical tendencies. Even more, Mexican actor Mauricio Martínez reiterates the film’s “lack of respect” overall. That is NOT award-worthy. A film’s full evaluation of its background is vital to its nomination in a category.
During my watch of the film, I found that the storyline was present, but the ability to storytell was not. A movie with sudden cuts to song and below sub-par singing being nominated for in the category of musical or comedy just doesn’t make any sense to me. Or any of the Letterboxd users, who have given the movie a low 2.1/5 star average. So, what are the industry professionals seeing that we are not?
Fast forward to now. Enthusiasts around the globe waiting for the final say in cinema: the Oscars. Hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the Oscars used to be revered as the greatest say in cinema, but in the past few years, it has slowly been losing its credibility. A huge chunk of this issue stems from The Academy’s voting board.
The voting board is made up of more than 10,000 voting members. One must be an active film artist directly working on theater-released motion pictures. Additionally, a new member would need sponsorship from two current members to be let into AMPAS. But, I’m sure as an industry insider, getting in is a walk in the park because it seems like they’re letting anyone in these days.
Interestingly enough, it is not a requirement for members of the voting board to watch each of the nominated films across categories. I feel that it should be a requirement that voters consume all nominated media to ensure a fair voting process. Many members abstain from voting just because they couldn’t spare an extra hour or two. This year, anonymous voters have accredited misinformation and laziness to their “abstain” ballots. One anonymous voter’s misperception of Ralph Fiennes winning an Oscar for Schindler’s List (1993) led to his not getting a vote for Best Actor in a Leading Role. In the age of new media, there is no excuse for a person’s inability to fact-check given that it is at the tip of their fingers. I mean, how do you fully grasp the concept of a film, let alone vote for it, if you can’t even bother to watch it? Feels like a slap in the face.
If fair practices are strictly enforced within AMPAS voting, I think The Academy, amongst other film and television organizations, would be on the right path to patching up things with the public. But as of right now, the choice is theirs. In a time and regime where American people feel the divide between themselves, whether it be by wealth, class, or political opinion, we turn to the arts to escape. Film, music, and theater, all the same. These media are supposed to introduce new perspectives through a kind lens, transport us to other worlds, and provide emotional catharsis. While media does do that, film and television organizations need to recognize that the everyday man’s need for unitedness across all fronts needs to be stronger now than ever. The change starts with upholding high standards for films from start to finish and voting reformation.
