Why am I so disinterested in the "Awards Season" this year? The SAG awards came and went or did they? Same is true with regard to the Golden Globes. Now, whenever I hear "Oscar" I quite literally shrug.

Is any other movie lover here as "over it" as I am? -- due to the revelation last year that the voting is usually rigged and most of the judges not only let their personal prejudices interfere, some actually don't even bother to view all the nominated movies!!!

I had hoped my feelings would have changed by now, but alas Oscar is dead for me. Unfortunately he seems to have taken the other awards with him!

I would suffere award show overkill if I actually cared or watched any of the shows, which I usually don't. I can't even remember the last time I watched an award show in its entirety (maybe the Oscars a few years back).

As for your response, that was a "revelation". Voting for the Oscars is similar to voting for president, you pick the person you like the most, not necesarily the most skilled. It's been known for a while that you don't have to see the films to actually vote, which is why they changed the rules for certain categories to make viewing the films mandatory.

The nominations are usually spot on (IMO) because of the way they do them (the respective guild nominating their own). The fact that the actors make up a huge portion of the voting block leads to some funky winners because of the popularity factor.

It's like the Superbowl, you gotta find out if you're favorite team/movie is going to win. And if you're favorite team/movie isn't even in contention, well there's always gambling.

What revelation was there that the voting was rigged? Because Lion's Gate sent a gazillion copies of Crash to everyone and their mother? The Oscars are more like an election and an attempt at a reflection of society at the time.

I'm always interested in the Oscars. I try to see every movie that's nominated for Best Pic every year.

Give me proof that the voting was rigged last year and I'll agree with you. Thanks.

I don't get it either. Art is not a competitive sport with winners and losers and the result of awards shows, changes nothing about the films. For this reason, I don't understand why people care when their favorite film doesn't win or get nominated.

I love the awards shows. I'm probably in the minority here, but I love them, and I love following them, and trying to predict them. There.

Proof? It is widely understood that many awards, even Golden Globes, are decided not on merit but rather on whom is in favor (didn't Madonna win for Evita?). I believe Saving Private Ryan is a good example of the Academy voting members deciding somebody already had his share of Oscars and deliberately handing an award to an inferior film. Let's see, of course there are countless examples of "make-up" Oscars given to actors for lesser performances years after a trophy was denied to the actual winner.

Come on people, don't pretend these statuettes, especially the little gold guy, are an actual indication of which performances, films and music were the best of any given year in Hollywood. They are an approximation sometimes and sometimes they are just plain wrong. Shakespeare in Love -- please, what a joke!

not paying attention to the search engine either it seems...

So your point is not the the awards are pointless, so much as they are worthless because they don't reflect your own personal tastes and opinions. These award shows represent nothing more than the opinions of those who vote on them, thus they can never be wrong regardless of what wins, so long as the votes are properly counted and represent the views of the voters.

Yes, it's true that not always the best performances/movies/directors win, but that does not mean it's "rigged." Marketing is a huge part of award season. It's just how it is. You take all the awards with a grain of salt and enjoy them.

As much as I disagree with the most of the choices of nominations and wins, I would have more respect for the choices if they were simply based on the voter's opinions. However I think it goes beyond a difference of opinion, and is based mostly on other factors that have little to do with quality.

Some problems I see are:

- voters not watching the films they've decided for/against
- friends voting for friends
- safe, politically correct choices
- choices based on business decisions
- awarding for past works
- spreading awards around to make more people happy
- awarding based on popularity

I never really cared because my taste in movies hardly follows along with what the academy deems "worthy".

A movie could win 87 Oscars, but that doesn't mean it's going to suddenly become a movie I'm going to like.

Ever since Cher won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1987 for Moonstruck, over Glenn Close for Fatal Attraction, I haven't watched a ceremony since. Movie, and Music Award Shows have become so political, and unjust, I refuse to watch them anymore.