The Oscars exist in an insular bubble and the voters have no interest in changing because that would mean they’d have to stay on top of current news and not have their movie choices hand delivered to them by publicists, choosing only what they feel like watching in their screener pile. This year, we all knew the ratings would drop significantly. There was very little general buzz heading into the race.
The #oscarssowhite tag hurt the Oscar brand this year, especially with the younger generations who are politically activist enough to know that they have the power not to watch.
Here are some films that earned high box office, great reviews and became part of the cultural dialogue:
1. Gone Girl – no further explanation necessary.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy – could be included if they had a flat ten nominees.
3. Interstellar – mixed reviews, perhaps, but still a movie that might have been included.
And to make the Oscars MORE INTERESTING at least:
4. Foxcatcher
5. Nightcrawler
Just a thought.