Award shows are overrated

The+Hollywood+sign+stands+tall+on+Mount+Lee%2C+looking+over+the+glamorous+city+of+Los+Angeles.+

Sohrob Tahmasebi from Pixabay

The Hollywood sign stands tall on Mount Lee, looking over the glamorous city of Los Angeles.

     Slime, pop stars, orange blimps, and the voice of Spongebob; as a whole, the Kids’ Choice Awards is a strange concept. This is likely why, as a child, I was obsessed with voting for my favorite entertainers every year. 

     I think it is safe to say that every kid born out of Generation Z was either a Disney, Cartoon Network, or Nickelodeon kid. Personally, I was a consistent Nickelodeon viewer. I was so entrenched in the shows and movies I watched, and obsessed with the actors and artists that I supported. Each spring, I would pull up Nickelodeon’s website and vote for my favorite entertainers as many times as the software would allow. I was truly a dedicated fan. As I have grown older though, I have come to realize that award shows for adult audiences are overrated.

     There are too many award shows to count, all of which are dedicated to a certain portion of the entertainment industry. The big four, however, are the Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and Tony Awards. There is even a title for people who have accumulated all four; an EGOT. 

     Despite all of the excitement and preparation that is involved with these award shows, I just do not understand their popularity. 

     Unlike the Kids’ Choice Awards, the individuals who are voting in these classy competitions are not the general public. Each of the aforementioned ceremonies have a series of members that vote on the various categories. These members are, more often than not, celebrities and professionals in their respective fields. The majority of people probably think that this is the fairest option for voting, as only people who truly understand the art of cinema, music, etc. would be able to decide. This is how award shows have been for years, and I am quite bored of it. 

     Award shows come off as pompous and stuffy. I think that if the public were able to vote for the nominees and winners of these trophies, it would make these ceremonies much more entertaining. I cannot remember any time in my life in which I have wondered how many Grammys a certain musician had, or who won best actress at the 2018 Academy Awards. Having a public that is ignorant to the workings of the entertainment industry would add some much needed chaos to these ceremonies. 

     I would much rather watch Harry Styles win album of the year at the Grammys because a rather large group of fifteen year old girls decided to bombard their Twitter feeds with One Direction gifs than an artist I have never heard of winning because a group of music connoisseurs thought their album was a bit more technically sound than the rest. 

     It can be argued that the people that actually win these awards are helped tremendously by it, and that they deserve it. I disagree. While there are many deserving artists who have achieved these sought after awards, these ceremonies themselves are very inaccessible to the majority of small and independent entertainers. They may be just as deserving, but they just do not have the same money and opportunities as other people in the industry. 

     Money is a huge part of these shows. It costs an exuberant amount of money to even submit your work to be considered for these achievements, let alone attending the actual ceremony. They are rooted in very elitist ideals. There are dress codes and huge costs for events such as these, making them very inaccessible to the public. The award shows themselves are built on a foundation of advertisement. Winning an award such as an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, or Tony Award greatly increases the popularity and price of entertainers’ services. It is all about the money. At the creation of these shows, the purpose may have been to highlight the successes of people in the entertainment industry, but now it has transformed into something purely capitalistic. Few people win these types of awards without sacrificing some cash. 

     I would love to see another strange award show like Kids’ Choice Awards, where it doesn’t really matter who wins. Life is too short for the grandeur and coldness of these ceremonies. I would love to see an award show with a reality show type of energy—a little bit kooky and a whole lot of fun.