So, red carpet season is upon us again. Which means for the next month or so we are going to be bombarded with nominee lists, glamorous dresses and ‘who won what’.
The award season always appeals to us and although we might wonder why, it’s simply because of the entertainment it provides. Looking back over the years we can clearly see that the acceptance speeches are worth watching; someone’s always bound to blubber uncontrollably and struggle to get ‘thank you’ out. Remember Gwyneth Paltrow’s speech for Shakespeare in Love in 1999? 15 years later and she’s still known for the most hysterical performance at the Oscars themselves. And let’s not forget Jennifer Lawrence’s fall last year when she was collecting her Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook. You couldn’t help feeling sorry for her, but she handled it very gracefully and with humour, and for someone who is a similar age to ourselves, we can’t exactly say too much against her. She’s 23 and nominated for her second Oscar, whilst here I am, 19 and struggling to get through my degree.
Of course, we can’t forget that half of the entertainment comes with the build-up of the season. Trying to guess who’ll win what, what people will wear and if there will be any special performances. Only last week at the Grammys we were treated to a special performance from Beyonce and husband Jay-Z, music’s ultimate power couple. But, the most shocking show of the night was the mass marriages that took place on the stage. Whilst Macklemore and Madonna sang, Queen Latifah officiated the ceremony that saw 34 couples get married right there on the stage! Awards have seen their surprising moments over the years but this does seem to take the top prize. Furthermore, this particular stunt is in response to current debates regarding same sex marriages, showing us very publicly how the award season supports marriage equality. And let’s not forget how much we love the shock factor; when have we seen any marriages at awards before?
However, not everyone is a fan of this season. Some claim that it is pointless, stating that any award is not going to make us like any films, or suddenly stop liking films that are not mentioned. Yet, even though these awards don’t really have any bearing on us and our own tastes, is there any harm in recognising the hard work of the people in an industry that affects us all? I don’t think so. Others believe that it is too focused on the looks and dresses which in turn shapes our opinions of these people. But to be honest, it’s really just about the dresses, which is a huge part of the entertainment! It’s not awards season if we don’t endlessly flick through all of the night’s dresses and pray for a day when we can wear such a glamorous gown.
Award season might not be to everyone’s taste, but with so many different award shows around there certainly are enough genres to please everyone. Everyone is a teeny bit interested to know if their favourite TV show or singer does well, it won’t affect what we think about them, but it’s entertaining to know who has been successful each year.
So prepare yourselves for the 86th Academy awards on March 2nd 2014, there’s going to be a lot of hype around it. Will American Hustle clean up as it has done at other awards? Will Leonardo Dicaprio finally win his first Oscar? Who knows? But we’ll all definitely be excited to find out.
