Movies and shows are a crucial part of American culture. Every year, stars and fans alike come together to watch The Oscars, an awards ceremony for artistic and technical roles within the American film industry.
Within the last year, Americans have been blessed with many cinematic masterpieces that have landed on our TV screens, but over time the popularity surrounding the Oscars has decreased immensely.
According to Statista.com, “Oscars viewership fluctuates year by year. The figure recorded in 2021 was the lowest yet (16.6 million) and marked a drop-off of over 50 percent from the 2020 audience.”
While the actors and actresses will always be important to the entertainment industry, teens seemed to have disconnected from the fandom and started focusing more on other things.
“I’ve never seen the Oscars,” junior Savanna Shaw said, “I think no one watches it because people are starting to care less about famous people and kind of just existing in their own world. Also, I’ve heard so many things about them being ‘rigged’ or going to people who don’t deserve it.”
What’s trending within the new generations is constantly changing.
“I’ve either never watched the Oscars, or it’s been a really long time, because it’s not very popular within my generation and it’s just not talked about a lot,” junior Skylar Kelso said.
While advertising has done wonders for TV shows and movies that are new in the entertainment market, some people think not even advertising can save the Oscars from being forgotten completely.
“I don’t think much advertisement would really help the numbers. I feel like ads only show on cable, and I don’t think many people have cable anymore,” Savanna said.
It seems as though, while the Oscars were once very popular in the motion picture world, they have passed the spotlight onto new and upcoming TV shows and trends, and some viewers are even starting to lose hope that there’s a way to bring back their appeal.
The Oscars will be on March 12 at 8 PM.
