Too Many Awards to Absorb
Have film and music awards shows become too numerous to maintain their appeal? The Oscars and the Grammys are probably the most notable awards for film and music, respectively. They have undergone changes to their rules and standards to keep up with the current cultural times and to stay relevant. But they have also changed to maintain their marketing value.
Ads and Entertainment
The Academy Awards and the Grammys were first started partly as a way to honor people who excelled at their particular art and, more importantly, as a way to advertise movies and commercial music. The commercial aspect is why we seem to be almost overrun with awards ceremonies today. A typical awards ceremony is little more than hours of ads and entertainment for the year’s best movie, TV show, song, or album.
There are now the Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes, and BAFTAs for the visual arts. Not to be outdone, the music industry has the Grammy Awards, the American Music Awards, the Billboard Awards, and the Rock and Roll HOF Induction Ceremony. All of these award shows are vying for your attention and your entertainment money. But how much do you really care about the awards shows?
The Academy Awards are the only awards show with a certain cachet because movies have such a broad appeal, and the Oscars were the first awards show to be aired, starting in 1930 and being broadcast over the radio.
The sheer volume of awards shows today diminishes their value. It’s difficult to keep track of who has won which award, and it doesn’t really matter to the public anyway. Too much of a good thing makes the public numb to all the hoopla that once made these shows special events.