Column:

Award shows losing legitimacy

By Justin Prochaska

Published March 9, 2010

We've all seen it. After every new Grammy, Oscar, Emmy and Gong Show award winner is announced, the recipient goes up on stage to thunderous applause. Then the winner or winners will thank their producer, director, family and say the same phrase, "It is an honor just to be nominated."

But is it really?

I don't think so. I mean, think about it.

There are so many award shows now that everyone who did an above average job in a high-grossing movie is going to win something.

Sure, it's every Hollywood star's dream to win an Academy Award, but even if they don't, they'll probably win a Screen Actors Guild Award, a People's Choice Award, a Golden Globe Award or well, you get the picture.

Because there are so many award shows by the time the Emmys come around we already know who is going to win "Best Comedy" or "Best Screenplay."

There is no need for all these different award shows. They all basically serve the same purpose.

The thing is, these award shows will only grow in number. They generate revenue for the committees, be they the Screen Actors Guild or MTV. We know by now money is what they want.

For the first time, I actually took a good look at the different categories for the various award shows.

The Golden Globes have separate categories for drama and musical or comedy.

What is the point of that? Is it so two movies can claim to be the best? What a rip.

If a movie is indeed the best, it shouldn't matter what genre it is.

The Grammys have a comedy division. Seriously. Comedy is not music.

The Grammys also have 22 different categories for gospel music alone. I know the gospel genre is important to a lot of people, but is it really necessary to have 22 different categories? You could win in one of those categories and be forever considered a "Grammy" winner. That's a joke.

Even the Academy Awards, arguably the most prestigious of all awards, are being watered down.

This year, the Academy has nominated 10 movies for Best Motion Picture of the Year.

I don't even think I've seen 10 good movies this year. Ten nominations work well if there are tons of good movies being made, but that's not the case.

Movies aren't getting better. Now, we are just rewarding mediocrity. Some of the movies nominated might be amazing movies, but it's kind of a cop out to see 10 different movies consider themselves Oscar-nominated.

If they are going to dole out nominations for Best Picture like the University of Kansas gives out admissions, why even have nominations for Best Picture at all?

Hopefully, the Academy will do the right thing and go back to five.

I also think the Academy nominates the big name stars whether they are actually worthy.

Last year, Angelina Jolie was nominated as best actress for her role in "Changeling." Jolie is not a good actress, nor was she good in that movie. There were far more deserving actresses, yet they were passed over.

In this case, it's not an honor to be nominated because they aren't even nominating the best anyway. What's the point?

It seems the award shows don't really matter much to the fans, anyway. Fans of Lady Gaga will buy her albums and merchandise whether she wins. People will most likely watch their favorite TV shows whether they win Emmys.

The time is nearing when even the most esteemed awards will be nothing more than a blue participant ribbon.