I’m not sure anyone cares about awards shows anymore.
Sunday, Hollywood celebrated the 65th annual Grammy Awards. CBS reported a three-year high viewership of 12.4 million, up from 8.9 million in 2022 and 8.8 million in 2021. The 2021 Grammys was the record low in viewership, with the previous low being 18.7 million people in 2006. While some might contribute this to the COVID pandemic, I think it’s safe to say that awards shows have been losing viewership and popularity for a while.
Maybe this is very Gen Z of me, but I think awards shows have got more hype than they deserved in the past. I certainly think it’s important for people to be awarded for their accomplishments. However, the spectacle that comes with an awards show is a little ridiculous. I know maybe one person who watches any of the main awards shows (Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, Tonys). Most people just wait until the next day for the results or the memes, or in my case, just the memes.
One that stood out for a while involved Leonardo DiCaprio and his apparent inability to get an Oscar. Despite his starring in many award-winning films, such as “Titanic,” “The Great Gatsby” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” DiCaprio wasn’t awarded an Oscar until 2016 with the film “Reverent.” The internet went wild when he finally won the award, leading to another round of memes.
More recently was “The Slap” at the 2022 Oscars, the infamous moment Will Smith slapped Chris Rock for making fun of his wife. This spawned a variety of memes, as well as greater consequences, such as discussions related to physical abuse and alopecia, an auto-immune disease that causes hair loss.
Just this weekend, people have taken different screengrabs of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, in which Affleck looks extremely board and Lopez seems to be yelling at him for his boredom. Many seem to relate to Affleck’s seeming reluctance and annoyance at going to an event with a significant other or family member.
My problem with all of this is that the most exciting thing from a televised awards show shouldn’t be the fails or memes afterward. Awards for other things aren’t often televised, and even when they are, the general population isn’t expected to watch.
When it comes to these awards shows, I only have a remote interest if a piece of media I’m passionate about is up for an award. Even then, I’m likely not going to watch it, just check the next morning to see if it received the award.
The award show I probably care the most about is the Tonys, which is likely the award show with the least following. I still don’t really watch the awards, but I do pay attention to which shows have been nominated. While I generally don’t think that the actual winner is always the best of those nominated (politics plays a large roll in the voting), those shows that have been nominated have gained attention for a reason, thus giving me a list of new, well-produced plays and musicals to see in the future.
Last Thursday, I attended the Iowa Newspaper Association banquet, in which newspapers and writers around Iowa were honored for their work in the last year. Our very own Cheyenne Roche was honored with the Best Series award.
As much fun as it was and as important as I think it is to award someone for their work, I also don’t expect other people to be obsessed with the awards. We did not expect all CNA readers to tune in to the non-existent streaming of the award ceremony. We didn’t find designers to lend us $1,000-plus dresses and suits. We simply accepted any awards we won, congratulated our peers and went on our way. While we did share this news with our readers, we didn’t share it with media stations around the country and the world assuming everyone else would care as well.
In defense of this major awards shows, some people certainly do care. It can be a big deal if a smaller or newer artist is recognized. I just think that celebrities need to take themselves a little less seriously.