2009 Oscars: Does America Still Care?

Another Oscar show is in the books and the ratings did tick up a bit from last year’s record low.  While the show format is tired, it is not the real story of why it no longer holds America’s interest as it once did.  The original purpose of the awards was to provide a sales boost to the winning movies and to get some PR love for the industry’s image.  That is still the purpose today and it is reflected in the nominated movies and the tone of the show.  This is the industry’s opportunity to show that they make “Big important movies about big important ideas”. 

The nominated movies are often loaded with political messages and diversity.  That is not a bad thing, but a complete disconnect with what the movie industry actually produces in large quantity today.  The majority of releases are marketing concoctions aimed at the at the lucrative demo of young men and women and kids.  Tad Friend wrote a fascinating article in the New Yorker about the movie marketing business.  The story takes you into the sausage factory and it is eye opening.  The artistic process has given way to focus groups and market testing to make sure the product resonates with the target audience.  Between 25-35% of a movie’s budget is taken up by marketing efforts.  Much of that money is dumped into a barrage of unmeasurable and unaccountable 15 and 30 second TV spots.  Like their cousins in the auto industry, movie marketers show no signs of breaking their addiction to print and broadcast advertising that is high in cost and low in return. When it comes to “renting” media channels, the movie industry spends money with a fire hose.

The whole situation becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.  The added marketing costs make it harder for movies to make a profit, so they market test them and alter the film to resonate with the ticket buying young men and women.  This is apparent when reviewing the top movies of 2008.  The top grossing movies are mostly action and comedy films aimed at 15-28 yr old men and women.  There is also a number of animated movies for the under 12 crowd.  The first “adult” movie checks in at numbers 11 and 12 with “Sex in the City” and “Mama Mia”.  After that it is slim pickings for the over 35 set (I could also say the over 110 IQ set, but that would be mean). 

The fact that Hollywood is primarily producing products for the youth market is not a crime.  They are in business to make money and those are the people who buy movie tickets.  Ironically, the target audiences for their movies are the people least likely to settle in on a Sunday evening to watch an Oscar telecast that moves at the pace of a 1970’s variety show.  Unlike the Grammy awards that live in the moment, the Oscars are often about the past.  And, giving technical and behind the scenes awards (sound, costumes, editing) during prime time is not appealing to anyone except the families of the nominees.

There is also another factor at play in why America is tuning out the Oscars and that is political persuasion of the movie and entertainment industry.  They are not shy in their support of Obama and liberal causes.  This manifests itself in both financial and vocal public support.  Sean Penn came through last night talking about how America elected an “elegant” man.  Who knew Obama was like Fred Astaire.

This can be a turn off to the roughly 48% of the country that did not vote for President Obama – elegance and all.  It is one thing to tolerate a difference in opinion from elected officials such as Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi, but quite another to be lectured by rich, spoiled celebrities like Matt Damon.  Don’t underestimate some of the hard feelings from moderate/conservative voters who got fed up with the media and entertainment industry during the past election.  Nobody likes to be told how we are not doing enough about global warming and healthcare from surgically enhanced people who earn millions to stand in front of a camera and recite someone else’s words.  The individuals in the movie business have every right to speak their minds, but it can be a risky proposition when you are selling a product to a broad consumer audience. 

This explains some of the reasons why the Oscars are losing relevance, but what about the future of the movie industry in the age of new media.  We’ll explore that next week….