Oscar Snubs and the Importance of Awards Season

Yeah, yeah, yeeeeah, I'm still talking about nominations. Early last Thursday morning, golden tickets to Hollywood's biggest night were handed out, and—as it goes every year—a flurry of opinions are being pelted around the internet regarding blasphemous snubs and undeserved nominations. This video by Nick Bosworth from JoBlo does an A+ job in covering what was passed over for a chance at Oscar Gold:

From what I've seen and heard (especially on the comments section of this video), two general opinions have formed regarding this year's Academy Awards:

1. It needs to allow for more nominations in each category (This year it's 9 nominations for Best Picture and 5 nominations for all other categories).
2. It holds no importance whatsoever and we should not even waste our time talking about it.

After some intense soul-searching over a turkey sandwich this afternoon, I'm leaning toward the first point of view.  If we were to completely disregard award shows, what would happen?  Sure, we'd put ourselves above the disagreements that can arise over movie opinions or Oscar ballots, but that's the fun of it! I don't ever want to lose the consolidative sport-like aspect of awards season!

I read once that people love following professional sports because it's something bigger than themselves—something beyond their control. Fans don't invest in a game with the intention of personally influencing the score; they're doing it to be a part of something: to put a personal stake in an enormous occasion and watch with white knuckles as it unfolds. Movie-lovers should be treating the Oscars like THAT instead of trying to exert control by undermining their significance.

So, while I agree that there were some shocking snubs and mind-boggling nominations this year (Alan Arkin?!) I'm learning to take the nominations for what they are. Just as a diehard football fan would still attend a Super Bowl party despite his or her home team not playing in it, I will most definitely sit down with friends and family to watch one of the greatest events on television—no matter who or what was snubbed. Let the games begin! Let's make the Dolby Theater our arena, y'all.