By Mali Sapsed Foster and Seham AL Amshan
The 95th Academy Awards: the most anticipated night of the year in Hollywood just concluded at the Los Angeles Dolby Theatre, where viewers marvelled at the 200 nominees – donning luxurious haute couture designs and statement jewellery that, in some instances, are valued at millions.
But with a projected 1.3 million UK residents to fall into absolute poverty next year due to the cost-of-living crisis, the debate of whether the Oscars are out of touch has been reignited.
With many struggling to pay for their electric bills and feed their families, award shows are arguably emphasizing the gap between the rich and poor more than ever.
Viewership of the Oscars has been steadily declining since 2019, with 2021 pulling in the lowest ratings yet – at 9.85 million. While this year’s ceremony saw a 4% increase in viewers, this barely compares to the view ship of previous years, as reflected in the Statista chart below.
Students on Holloway Road, shockingly, seemed less interested about the showbiz and pop culture, considering the Oscars is one of Hollywood’s biggest nights.
Decline in the entertainment business
Movies and Netflix has generally helped people out the most during tough times, and to no surprise, especially during the pandemic. According to the article by Forbes magazine, in 2020, the entire entertainment market estimated total was around $80.8 billion, the lowest figure since 2016 and a decline of 18% from 2019.
According to an article posted online on GameRant, the nominations for this year’s Oscars and the movies that won have disappointed a lot of people as there were many other talents and much more deserved work that well-deserved award.
The Oscars 2023 had many reactions and not all of them were enthusiastic, the meme culture had taken over this year’s Academy Awards as well. The bad press, and the desperate attempts at reinventing Oscars and making it more relevant each year has made little to no difference.
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