Musical award shows like the Grammys, Billboard Awards, and the AMAs make it pretty easy for anyone to provide their two cents on which musical artist or song did or didn’t deserve an award. 

Shows like the Oscars, not so much.

With time, it’s become evident that award shows like the Oscars have included a wide array of films and actors on their nominees list, including extremely niche or underground ones. 

It seems like the most popular movies amongst teens are usually the ones that aren’t acknowledged by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences –  which votes on the nominees and the winners in each category. This is understandable because teens’ expectations are very, very low. 

After all, it’s not common to see documentaries such as “The Tinder Swindler” nominated for Best Documentary Feature or movies like “Lemonade Mouth” as the top contenders for Best Picture, although they were pretty excellent.

Truth be told, the Oscars simply don’t cater to people who fail to keep up with every critically-acclaimed film being released. This year’s Best Picture nominations did have a few recognizable titles for teens, however. 

Films such as “Dune”, “West Side Story”, “King Richard”, and “Don’t Look Up” comprise four of the 10 total nominees for Best Picture. It’s no surprise that these popular films have at least one notable celebrity that is popular in this generation,  or close to 10 in the case of “Don’t Look Up”. 

As an avid film watcher and actress, I often find myself conversing about critically-acclaimed movies with other actors and film lovers. For Cal High students who don’t watch many films, it may be the exact opposite.

This is where we ask the big question: Are the Oscars really nominating the wrong films, and should they be giving attention to movies that teens actually watch?

“I think they need fresher faces nominated for Oscars,” said Cal senior actor Adrian Casiano with no hesitation. “The Oscars aren’t necessarily outdated, but the movies they pick should be ones that a majority of us see. The lens on criticizing movies needs to be switched because it’s not the 1980s anymore.” 

Avid film watcher or not, it’s safe to say that there are other teens who agree that the Oscars have created the standard for movies deemed to be “nominee worthy.”

“I don’t really watch the Oscars, so I don’t care much, but I feel like they nominate the same kinds of movies over and over again with the same kinds of people,” senior Simi Saini said. “It’s always the weird movies that nobody really knows. There’s never really a chance for other people because they’re so set in their ways and the same people keep winning.” 

Saini said the film “Passing with Ruth Negga” and “Tessa Thompson” definitely should have received an Oscar nomination.

The 2021 film is an adaptation of the 1929 novel by Nella Larsen, which follows two Black women in the 1920s. 

Despite the actresses and film being nominated for a Golden Globe, BAFTA, and NAACP Award, “Passing with Ruth Negga” was not recognized by the Academy.

Other films such as “House of Gucci” and “Respect” were also listed among the films supposedly snubbed from the Oscars nomination this year.

With the rise of successful television shows, it’s safe to say that the Emmys may give the public the nominations they’ve been looking for. The reason for teens not finding interest in Oscar nominations may simply be because they are more invested in TV shows such as “Euphoria” and “Love is Blind”.

“Since the Emmys nominate more TV shows that teenagers watch, like ‘Bridgerton’ and ‘The Queen’s Gambit’, it attracts us to the show so we can see if our favorite actors win,” senior TV fanatic Dhriti Avala said.

Luckily, the six-month gap between the Emmys and Oscars gives actors a few more opportunities to get an award for their work, and that’s if they don’t get snubbed.

In reality, televised award shows will never please all of the public, especially ones that choose which critically-acclaimed film deserves a grand award over another. Honestly speaking, Twitter is a never-ending cat fight on these specific days of the year.

All in all, this year’s Oscar nominations have been a miss for many, but there’s always next year for better nominations. Knock on wood.