It’s the beginning of the new year, and, for the entertainment industry, that means it is award season. This January and February, awards ceremonies including the Oscars, the Grammys, and the Golden Globes will be held. In addition, the Emmys have been moved to January as a result of the writers’ and actors’ strikes. Awards season is usually a big spectacle in the pop culture world, however, it seems that very few students at Millard South are all that excited.
A poll conducted by the Millard South journalism department found that, on average, only about 22% of Millard South students watch awards shows. However, these values range from a relatively high 30% for the Grammy awards, which recognize achievement in music, to an abysmal 9% for the Tony awards, which recognize achievement in dramatic productions. The Academy Awards, or the Oscars, widely considered to be the most prominent awards shows, only draw in approximately 26% of our student body.
So, what can explain the apathy towards awards shows among Millard South students. Our poll suggests that a significant majority of students (62%), simply do not find awards shows interesting. One of those students is junior Zach Stoj. Although he tunes in to an award show every once in a while, he does not watch them consistently.
“I find them boring”, Stoj remarks, unenthusiastically.
Millard South Journalism Poll, 90 responses. (Robert Baker III)
On the other side of the spectrum, Kylee Self is a part of the 38% of the Millard South student body who is a fan of awards shows. Self says that she does find awards shows interesting, but, that belief isn’t as straightforward as it appears. Self loves awards shows, but instead of tuning in live, she catches up on the highlights after the fact
“Afterwards, you get all the drama, like what happens and the secrets behind what happened”
Self has a distinct set of criteria when deciding whether an awards show is worth her time. She is much more entertained by awards shows when they function more as a variety show.
“I don’t really watch awards shows”, says Self, “but I do if they put more variety into it. If it’s just one where it’s all speeches, maybe put something that’s not speeches, like a slideshow presentation about what the person did as they’re doing the speech”
One awards show that Self says is produced in a very entertaining matter is the Emmy awards, which celebrate achievement in television.
“There’s a lot more variety in the content”, Self says
Millard South Journalism Poll, 90 responses. (Robert Baker III)
Stoj also has a novel idea that he believes would make awards shows more interesting.
“I think that they should try to get the fans involved. I don’t know a lot about [awards shows], but maybe they could try to get the fans to vote on it”
Specifically, he wants the selection of the winner to be similar to the voting process for the NBA All-Star Game. In the NBA All-Star Game, the players who play are selected based on two factors: their performance throughout the season and a fan vote, with each criterion making up 50% of the overall score. Stoj believes that film critics and film fans should split the responsibility of choosing the winners of awards at awards shows
“I definitely think it would give a different aspect to it”, Stoj says
Whether it be a greater variety in programming or getting the fans more involved, something could be done to cater awards shows more towards a younger audience. Because, as it stands, few young people seem to be interested in what awards shows have to offer. Awards shows are an important piece of our popular culture, and, if changes aren’t made to the format that encourage younger viewers to turn in, they will remain as they are currently: disinterested.
