Chadwick Boseman in Black Panther (Image courtesy: blackpanther)
Highlights
- Internet think it's an excuse not to nominate films like Black Panther
- #OscarsSoPopular is trending on and off
- The change is expected to roll out from 2020
When it's not #OscarsSoWhite, it's #OscarsSoPopular. The Academy's announcement that they are expanding the list of award categories to include one for Best Popular Film has been greeted with scorn and derision on social media, which suspects that the Academy simply wants an excuse to leave blockbusters such as Black Panther out of the Best Picture nominations. "The Best Popular Film makes zero sense," a tweet hashtagged #OscarsSoPopular read. "Black Panther's unprecedented success is a remarkable achievement for black filmmaking. The Oscars: 'Let's make up a new ghetto category so we don't have to give it Best Picture'," another user tweeted. "The Oscars creating a whole new category so they don't have to acknowledge Black Panther in the best picture category is the most racist and elitist thing I have heard today," read yet another tweet.
Here are some of the other tweets criticising the Academy's decision.
Meantime, Twitter also went into overdrive imagining this horrifying scenario:
Now, the new category doesn't become effective until 2020 so it's unlikely that Black Panther, a film beloved by both critics and the box office alike, was the intended target. However, the Academy's latest attempt at inclusivity is being seen as wrong-headed at many levels. Several tweets have flagged controversial past Best Picture winners that were awarded over arguably worthier contenders - such as Forrest Gump over Pulp Fiction. Such wins prove the Oscars have always favoured the popular film, Twitter thinks. Actress Frances Fisher, who starred in Titanic, seen as among the most undeserving Best Picture winners of all time, offered advice on how the Oscars can actually be improved.
Ms Fisher's plea to let the winners be allowed to speak will likely go unregarded - not only is the Academy going to award popular films, it also plans to cut the ceremony short.
"Change is coming to the Oscars," tweeted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last evening.
For 2019, organizers are hoping to produce a "more accessible" three-hour show -- by presenting some of the awards during commercial breaks, Academy president John Bailey and chief executive officer Dawn Hudson told members, news agency AFP reported.
Oscars 2019 is scheduled for February 24.
(With AFP inputs)