The Oscars is Fixing What Isn't Broken - PPC

Pencils and Pop Culture: The Oscars is Fixing What Isn’t Broken

I have a love-hate relationship with the Oscars.

On the one hand, my family and I throw an Oscar party every year, as we will do at end of this month when the awards air on February 26. We like the pageantry, the shared collective experience, and the excuse to eat fancy finger–foods and drink champagne while looking at pretty clothes.

On the other hand…my ire at the Academy is still pretty well- known. I’ve already called out Kevin Costner for robbing Martin Scorcese at the 1991 Academy Awards, and the last time we had a Studio 602 staff meeting, things got downright tense when conversation turned toward the win scored by “Crash” for best picture in 2006.

However, I am willing to overlook a lot for the Academy Awards, especially when they’re done right. I grew up in the 1990s, so for me the “right” Oscar ceremony involves Billy Crystal hosting, a bunch of pretty people in fancy clothes, and films that I’ve actually seen scoring nominations for Best Picture. Check, check and check.

But now the Academy Awards are on my list once more. And landing on the list is not a good thing.

On January 25, the Academy announced that it would be partnering with Everyone Counts to develop an online balloting system that would replace the tried-and-true handwritten ballots of the past eighty-five years. Everyone Counts has partnered with firms across the world, including the U.S. Department of Defense, which…it may not have been Everyone Counts’ fault, but seriously, is that an example you want to point to in this situation? Any more hacks and the DoD website will be the subject of the next “Saw” movie.

We’ve detailed the process of handwritten ballots for award shows in our piece on the Emmys, and the Oscars follow a similar process with equally high levels of security and precision. Part of the reason that there are never any “spoilers” for these award shows is due to the fact that none of the results are entered electronically. Security has been cited as a major concern in the past for not transitioning to an electronic method, but the Academy and Everyone Counts are reasonably certain that they come up with a hack-proof system.

The Academy always suffers the worst PR when they try to fix what isn’t broken. They tried to tap into the popularity of long-running San Francisco cabaret “Beach Blanket Babylon” in 1989, resulting in what’s roundly been called the worst Oscar opening number of all time. Their attempt to court a more youthful demographic in 2010 was met with similarly painful results in hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway.

While the pencil and paper method may be time-consuming, there’s a reason it works. All I’m saying is that the interwebs don’t like it when a challenge is thrown down, and the minute you proclaim that you’ve made a hack-proof online Oscar ballot is the minute the golden guy will be at the mercy of those with a proclivity for online shenanigans and Guy Fawkes masks.

Though come to think of it, a gold-painted statue wearing a Guy Fawkes mask would still probably be a better host than James Franco.

Photo Credit: Idea Go/FreeDigitalPhotos.net