First of all you should be aware that the ACADEMY is not solely comprised of critics. There are many actors, directors, producers, and other men and women who have significant experience in the movie business in the Academy as well. However the theme still applies... there is a large disconnect between the Academy and the rest of country/world. Each year the Academy comes out with the movies/actors/actresses/directors/writers that they feel have done better work than the rest in the past year. And year after year the films that receive the most nominations and awards are films that hardly anyone saw. Do you remember three years ago when Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight (Batman #2) was not even nominated for Best Picture?
So the fundamental question behind this gap or disconnect is this:
What makes a film great?
If we say that what qualifies a film to be considered as one of the best of the year is how much money it made at the box office, I think we're off base. But that's what we do many times when we complain about which films did not get nominated or did not win an Oscar.
Think about it. Are the best books out there the ones on the best-seller list? Not always. Many times those books are on there simply because they have a famous author or an interesting title that grabs the attention of people shopping in bookstores and online. Some of the greatest books written every year don't even crack the top 100. Sometimes you can find a great book simply by reading what everyone else is reading, but my point is that's not always the case.
The same is true with movies. While The Dark Knight is a classic example of a movie that was both vastly popular and extremely well-made, there is a plethora of other examples where a popular film was horrible, or a lesser-known film was great. This is because what mainstream America often wants in a film is not always what makes a film great. Special effects and 3D are fun, but no one will remember a film for these things 10 years from now. Action is great but in the end it's just action... it doesn't contribute as much to a great story as some other things do.
My point is this... this year when the nominations for the Academy Awards come out, don't just write off the films because not many people have seen them. You'd be surprised at how many Oscar-type films are actually worthy of being there. It might take some digging but try to watch some of them and just see what you think. You might find one of your favorite films of the year unexpectedly.
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