***nat sound- and the award goes to***
ON MONDAY…TONY AWARDS WERE ANNOUNCED…AMIDST A CONTROVERSIAL AWARD SHOW SEASON…SPECIFICALLY FOR THE OSCARS.
***Chris Rock pop***
YET…DESPITE THE DRAW OF INTERNET ATTENTION AND THE MOST VICIOUS BREED OF TWITTER DEBATE…THE OSCARS SAW ITS SECOND-LOWEST VIEWERSHIP AND RATING PERFORMANCE IN THE HISTORY OF THE SHOW.
“I am a terrible film major, and I don’t think I saw a single one of the movies that were nominated for like the best picture at the Oscars last year”
THAT WAS FRESHMAN ETHAN LUBOW.
DESPITE STUDYING FILM, IN HIS PERSONAL LIFE HE DOESN’T FEEL THE NEED TO WATCH THE OSCARS OR NECESSARILY EVEN CARE ABOUT THE AWARDS.
“I think it’s good to have a, you know, award shows as a fun thing and a measure of what’s popular, but on an individual level decide yourself.”
FOR ETHAN…HE TURNS A BLIND EYE TO CRITICAL ACCLAIM AND RECOGNITION FOR HIS FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME…SUPERBAD.
YES…THE CULT-CLASSIC SETH ROGAN AND EVAN GOLDBERG COMEDY FEATURING TWO TEENAGE BOYS…PLAYED BY YOUNG MICHAEL CERA AND JONAH HILL… AND THEIR MISSION TO ILLEGALLY SECURE ALCOHOL AND GET THE GIRL BEFORE THE END OF HIGH SCHOOL.
***McLovin quotes***
Skelly: “Do you think it matters if Superbad has won an Oscar – would that change your opinion at all?”
Lubow: “I think that it would be really weird if Superbad had won an Oscar, but no that would not change my opinion of it.”
WHAT ETHAN BRINGS UP IS THE SIGNIFICANT DISCONNECT BETWEEN POPULARITY AND ARTISTIC ACCLAIM. ACCORDING TO THE NEW YORK TIMES…IN THE PAST 30 YEARS ONLY FOUR FILMS WERE NAMED BEST PICTURE WHILE TOPPING BOX OFFICE CHARTS.
THIS IS SOMETHING FRESHMAN COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJOR MARIANNE CANO TAKES INTO ACCOUNT WHEN WATCHING AWARD SHOWS.
“I watch the Grammys and I sometimes watch the Oscars, depending on the year”
“why depending on the year?”
“because sometimes there are movies that interest me and I want to see, like oh did they win? And then sometimes the movies up for the biggest awards I’ve never seen and never heard of until the nominations came out, so why would I listen to something I don’t even recognize.”
THOUGH THE GRAMMYS ALSO SAW THE SECOND-LOWEST RATINGS AND VIEWERSHIP THIS YEAR…MARIANNE SAID SHE WAS MORE FAMILIAR WITH THE CONTENT AND THEREFORE MORE INVESTED IN SEEING HOW HER FAVORITES COMPETE.
“I do listen to a lot of music. And this year Olivia Rodrigo was up, Doja Cat was up, and I love all of them, so I wanted to be there to you know see if the people I am watching are going to win the awards.”
Skelly: “If they win, there is a more personal stake in it if you know the people?”
“Like Olivia, I followed what she was wearing, was she prepared for the speech, like what after party she was going to. So it is kinda something, its more than the award itself. It’s the whole production, it’s a whole day, it’s its own storyline if you will.”
YET…SHE WAS LEFT DISAPPOINTED…ESPECIALLY WITH JOHN BATISTE WINNING BEST PICTURE.
“I hadn’t heard of him before the Grammys, I don’t think anyone really had and that’s not just to say like, I’m not well versed in me Is it? Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. Who knows. But truthfully, I’m not sure he was ever at the like the top charts like the Billboard Top charts, he never really gained too much of a radio presence. And so I guess he didn’t reach as many people but somehow he’s winning like the most like acclaimed awards at the Grammys, like I’m not sure how that works.”
OVERALL…MARIANNE QUESTIONS THE CALLS MADE BY AWARD SHOWS TO CLAIM ONE FORM OF MEDIA IS SUPERIOR TO THE OTHER. SPECIFICALLY, WHEN IT GOES AGAINST THE MASSES OPINION.
Marianne: “if the masses are liking something, whether it be a movie, or whether it be a certain artists or certain album, that has something to say about it, like the general public isn’t going to like garbage, you know. So if that’s what people are flocking to, that sort of acts as its own vote, you know, that’s what people are loving. So if you are loving that, why would that be winning awards?”
FRESHMAN JOURNALISM MAJOR JACOB WENDLER SECONDS THE GAP BETWEEN POPULAR MEDIA AND AWARD RECOGNITION.
“I think that’s something that’s often forgotten in conversations about award shows and nominations on in that there’s lots of music and shows and movies that I’ve seen that I’ve really enjoyed that might not necessarily fit the criteria for what’s deemed award worthy within these academies
FOR HIM…. THE TONY NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED MONDAY CAME AS SOMETHING AS A SURPRISE. WITH TWO POPULAR THEATRE PRODUCTS COMING LACKING IN CRITICAL RAVES AND AWARD LUSTER.
I found it interesting that the recent arrival of funny girls starting at Feldstein didn’t score any nominations. I think that the Jessie green, the New York Times chief theater critics review had some adverse effects on that and also the fact that it was released pretty recently. And another one I guess that I was somewhat surprised about was Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick in the Broadway revival of the Neil Simon comedy Plaza suite, which I saw and I enjoyed, although I’m not I am surprised because they’re big stars, although I can see why the academy chose the way it did.
THE TONY AWARD SHOW WILL BE ON TKTKTK
AND THEIR OUTCOME OF THE TONYS REMAINS TO BE SEEN…
FOR WNUR NEWS, I’M ELLIE SKELLY.
