In this cinema age, movie fans have continually found the Oscars biased and unfaithful to the public’s opinion. Also referred to as the “Academy Awards,” the criteria is highly selective.
After viewing the nominations, most expected “Dune: Part Two” to be the main frontrunner of the 2025 Oscars, but instead “Emilia Pérez” stole the show. Even though it was rated low by both its audience and critics, the movie received 13 Oscars nominations, toppling the previous record of 11.
This record had previously been set in a three-way tie between beloved movies “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King,” “Ben-Hur” and “Titanic,” each of which were making headlines when they came out. Now, that record has been broken by a movie few knew existed.
Senior Grant Yuska claims “I had never heard of “Emilia Pérez” before the news of its success in the Oscars. I was surprised when the winners announced were movies I had never seen.”
In the end, “Emilia Pérez” won only two of its 13 nominations, starkly contrasting how movies like “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” or “Ben-Hur” won all 11 of their nominations.
Additionally, when “Anora” ended up winning “Best Picture,” fans were outraged, claiming that the award was snubbed from the science fiction feature of 2024, “Dune: Part 2.”
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, “Dune: Part 2” continues the story of its 2021 predecessor, following Paul Atreides seeking ambiguous revenge for his family after the Emperor’s betrayal and Harkonnen attack. Fans claim that the movie succeeded where its predecessor had failed, delivering a more action-packed experience and entertaining viewers for a three-hour runtime.
Fans were disappointed when the sequel only won two of its nominations on Oscars night, questioning the voting process and legitimacy of the Academy itself.
To aid their point, recent information suggests the reason it didn’t succeed was that many of the Academy’s voters hadn’t actually watched the movie prior. Four Academy voters, a director, a publicist, a casting director and a writer each admitted to not having watched “Dune: Part 2,” and therefore didn’t feel compelled to vote it as “Best Picture.”
While four votes may seem insignificant to the sum of 10,000 that vote for Academy Awards, those four were the only voters interviewed, not boding well for the legitimacy of the Oscars. Many question how one could be registered as a voter if they haven’t viewed all of the movies they’re voting for.
Senior Rajan Vaidya however, expresses his opinion on the Oscars in light of “Dune: Part 2” losing its nominated categories, “It’s not a bad thing, necessarily. I think it’s good to put a spotlight on smaller, lesser-known indie films. There have been so many giant, awful blockbusters come out recently and filmmakers need to relearn the art of making smaller movies.”
Even with how disputed the Oscars have gotten in years prior, one undeniable positive to the Academy’s efforts is their advocacy for Indie films. Ballot slots have often been filled by movies that mainstream media hasn’t picked up on, such as films like “Anora” or “Emilia Pérez.” This recognizes good films that wouldn’t otherwise be recognized, despite their quality.
However, this may not be enough to excuse the lack of voter integrity in the Academy. 10 movies in a year are selected for the “Best Picture” ballot and these voters’ jobs revolve around the film industry. It seems like it’d go without saying that these people who have dedicated their lives to film in one way or another would be able to watch 10 movies in a year.
Either way, it seems that some fans were still able to appreciate the 2025 Oscars. “I’d say I enjoyed the Oscars, yeah. I’m going to make an effort to try and watch all of the “Best Picture” nominees and I will continue to support the Academy Awards in the future,” Vaidya affirmed.
While the Oscars may be in the wrong for showing a bias against high-budget blockbusters deserving the praise, some would say that the Academy is still commendable. Its dedication to giving praise to lesser-known indie films is brave and perhaps allows the film industry to learn from the smaller films and improve itself overall.
Nonetheless, fans are wondering how the Academy will respond to allegations of bias and the lack of integrity. Most are hoping for the criterion for selecting voters to be more strict so every movie has a fair shot, not just the indie films and not just the big blockbusters of Hollywood.
