The following quote comes from Patrick Goldstein and James Rainey’s LA Times articleThe Big Picture.

“Why are the Grammys so much more oriented toward the mainstream than the Oscars, whose voters regularly opt for cinematic snobbery over populist appeal?” 

I hear this question brought up again and again in numerous different areas: why does the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences always nominate films no one has heard of? Why are the Oscars so boring? Why don’t films like Transformers and Twilight ever win anything?

Because those aren’t good movies. 

I’m not here to combat the idea that the Academy is chocked full of cinematic snobs. It is. I also happen to be one myself. I’m here to say that the Oscars honors good movies, not popular movies. 

Artistic recognition should not be based on box office returns, or in the case of the Grammys, record sales. 

Keep in mind that the people that vote for the Academy Awards are, well, part of the Academy. They are directors and actors and set designers themselves. They know excellence when they see it and they know what really goes into making a great film. They don’t let big explosions or not-so-talented teenage “heart throbs” distract them from the quality of the project. 

And no, Taylor Lautner, of course I wasn’t calling you out. 

In the case of the Oscars, sometimes popularity and recognition do coincide. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won Best Picture. More recently, Avatar was nominated for 9 Oscars and won 3 — it was a strong runner-up behind The Hurt Locker for Best Picture. What’s important is, popularity doesn’t define recognition.

Those filmmakers whose projects fare well with audiences have loaded bank accounts to console their lack of Oscar glory. Unless you’re James Cameron, of course. He has both. 

If you want to truly enjoy the Academy Awards, you’ve got to do a little homework. Go see the movies that are nominated; read about them; follow the buzz. Then you can sit by me when the winners are announced and know what’s going on. But if you’re going to complain that you don’t know any of the nominated movies and if you’re going to talk when they’re announcing Best Cinematography, I’ll tell you what Gretchen told Regina in Mean Girls: “You can’t sit with us!”

And if you wear a track suit like Regina, I’ll tell you the same thing.