You Get the Picture
Tell me you
didn't! There was a time when the Academy Awards broadcast was something to see. Not anymore. Last year's (2021) television audience was the smallest on record, and it was 58% smaller than the previous year's audience with 10.4 million viewers, that according to an article in the WSJ. It looks like the public is losing interest.
The article continued that the 2022 show was the second to least watched in history but ahead of 2021. Fox News gave the figures of 13.73 million viewers in the 18-49 age range.
People are not talking about the winners or planning to see the “Best Picture.” They are talking about you know what.
Is handing out little statues really in order any more?
I've lost my fascination with beauty contests and think The Oscars should go the same way.
There is nearly every kind of “award” imaginable. The entertainment industry is carved up to make sure everybody wins something, sort of like kids being trophied for attending practices.
According to Gallup, of those polled on movie attendance, 61% did not attend a movie at all last year. Admittedly, the pandemic affected that, but ticket sales were down even with the adjustment.
To my knowledge there are no longer meandering lines of movie patrons waiting for tickets.
It is safe to say that fewer folks are “popcorn people.”
AMC, the largest movie theater chain in the world, according to their website, charges $8.89 for a large tub of popcorn and a regular container for $7.89. The largest container, “the bucket,” is $21.99. A regular soft drink is $5.89 and a bottle of water is $4.39.
Concessions at your local theater might be different, but you can easily spend more on popped corn than tickets.
It is possible to bring nearly any motion picture ever made to your home. Wide screen televisions and sound systems make it easy to stay home on date night.
I think The Oscars should be sent back to the barn and let the film that earns the most revenue or has the greatest number of ticket sales be the winner.
There is plenty of room to recognize the craftspeople who make motion pictures work but not for people famous for being famous.
Money is why we do everything, really. It is why we go to work — to get paid. Only people who do not need the job go to work solely for the enjoyment.
I can do without seeing a parade of stars in loaned dresses willing to show the most of showing the least on the red carpet.
The most talked-about element of this recent Academy Awards show is the execrable behavior of an actor who likely will face no consequences for his behavior.
He's too big, too important. But if he had been a special effects person or make-up guy: Well, you get the picture. joenphillips@yahoo.com
