With Best 'Popular Film' award, did Disney just buy themselves a whole new Oscars category?

And the 2019 Oscar nominees are… Avengers: Infinity War Black Panther Incredibles 2 Ralph Breaks the Internet Solo: A Star Wars Story Wait, did Disney just go out and buy themselves a whole new category at the Academy Awards? [caption id=“attachment_4928541” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Avengers: Infinity War, Incredibles 2 and more Disney or Disney-owned studio films could be Oscar-nominees in the Best ‘Popular Film’ category.[/caption] In the aftermath of the ratings catastrophe that was the 2018 Oscars , Disney-ABC Television Group executives met with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to formulate a plan to combat declining viewership and accusations of elitism against the film industry’s most prestigious honours. So, the organisers announced, among other changes, the introduction of a new awards category to recognise mainstream films, or as they put it for “outstanding achievement in popular film.”

Change is coming to the #Oscars. Here's what you need to know:

- A new category is being designed around achievement in popular film.
- We've set an earlier airdate for 2020: mark your calendars for February 9.
- We're planning a more globally accessible, three-hour telecast. pic.twitter.com/oKTwjV1Qv9

— The Academy (@TheAcademy) August 8, 2018

And there was instant outrage among industry observers and film critics fed by the frenzied uproar on social media and the 24/7 news cycle. A lot of the criticism was warranted with some asserting a ‘popular film’ category tarnishes the Oscar brand’s value and reputation while others rightly wondered, “Isn’t awarding popular films what MTV Movie Awards and People’s Choice Awards are for?” Owing to criticism that the Oscars are out of touch with the consumers, the Academy’s new category hopes to bridge the divide between its voters and majority moviegoers — those who prefer indie arthouse films and mainstream popcorn fare. Although the Academy is yet to determine what the exact metrics of popularity are supposed to be, it would be wise to assume box office collections would likely be one of the primary eligibility requirements. So, if this was introduced a few decades ago, Armageddon and Transformers: Age of Extinction — 1998 and 2014’s highest grossing movies worldwide — could have turned plain old Michael Bay into two-time Oscar-winning explosion auteur Michael Bay. Then again, it would also mean films that have had a lasting cultural impact — Jaws, Star Wars, Alien, Toy Story, The Matrix, Iron Man and Mad Max: Fury Road among others — on popular culture would have got their due. And Marvel Studios too would be recognised for what it has accomplished over the last decade with its cinematic universe. [caption id=“attachment_4928521” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Black Panther and A Quiet Place could be nominated in the Best ‘Popular Film’ category and snubbed in the Best Picture race.[/caption] But having a separate category for mainstream films actually undermines the work of these visionary filmmakers. This suggests commercially successful and critically acclaimed films like this year’s Black Panther  and  A Quiet Place will be nominated in the ‘popular film’ category but will almost certainly — and conveniently — overlooked in the race for the more coveted Best Picture Oscar statuette. So, what the Academy is really saying: “We’re throwing a bone to the movies most of you liked but this does not mean they meet our elitist standards for what we think is the real Best Picture.”

The Academy has never been known for its brave, inspired choices and has rarely championed the year’s crowning cinematic achievement.

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Nominating Black Panther — a film that imagines an alternative yet personal global black experience in a world not corrupted and brutalised by the ravages of white colonialism — in the Best Picture category, rather than Best ‘popular film’, will not only reward the unapologetically daring vision of a talented filmmaker in Ryan Coogler but will also help dispel the persistent and hurtful Hollywood myth that “black movies don’t travel.” Perhaps, a more meaningful category would have been “outstanding achievement in a debut directorial” — one that recognises talented, emerging filmmakers from around the world. Such a category would have helped bring much need attention to filmmakers like Ari Aster ( Hereditary ) or Cory Finley (Thoroughbreds) this year. The Academy’s sweeping changes also include limiting the ceremony to three hours and to do that, some of the Oscars (read: technical) will be handed out during commercial breaks. Edited excerpts of the presentation and celebration will be aired later during the broadcast. [caption id=“attachment_4928561” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Disney’s ABC will broadcast the annual Oscars until 2028. Image via Twitter[/caption] Again the Academy — rather than cutting down on the endless montages, the needless celebrity stunts and the host’s mostly predictable jokes — wants to deprive the talented men and women who work behind the scenes their moment to shine. Previously, they were unceremoniously cut off by the show’s orchestra during their acceptance speeches. Now, by pushing the technical awards to the commerical breaks, the Academy is practically saying: “If you’re not well-known in Tinseltown, we don’t really care about you”

So, to accomodate the shorter telecast of this self-congratulatory spectacle, the Academy has made changes that are quite frankly insulting to those involved in editing, sound design, or production design among others.

Of course, the Academy is not solely to blame for this Oscar misadventure, you can sense the dirty paws of a much larger and menacing organisation were involved in its decisions. With its ravenous desire for media consolidation , Disney continues to prove it is no Mickey Mouse operation. Considering ABC will air the Oscars for the next decade (until 2028), the company has drawn out a plan which best serves their corporate interest in a bid to arrest the show’s ratings slump. However, if ABC and the Academy do go ahead with these changes despite the growing backlash, the answer to the big question — for now — is Paddington 2.