27 March—The most newsworthy news worthy of comment today is the provocative question the Republican-American asks under the fold of Section D’s front page: “WHO WILL WIN THE OSCARS?”

The Monitor’s comment: WHO CARES? Shame on me for answering a question with a question. But, really, who gives a damn about Academy Awards outside the daisy chain of people in the movie business?

Obviously millions of the great unwashed who have nothing better to do or watch on the idiot box do give a damn, but that number has been dwindling steadily and drastically. Last year, according to Nielsen, only 10.4 million people watched the Oscar show, down 56 percent from the 23.6 million in 2020. Even 10.4 million is a lot of viewers, to be sure, but a 56 percent drop is significant and must have quite a detrimental effect on ABC’s advertising revenue and whatever the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gets out of it.

Full disclosure: I haven’t watched or listened to the Academy Awards shows in 79 years. That means ever. Even in my antediluvian youth. And I haven’t been to a movie house for perhaps a couple of decades. But I do watch movies when they get to HBO, Showtime, or whatever freebie premium channels Cablevision throws at me to keep me from jumping ship after 45 years.

The Academy Awards themselves are and always have been intended for publicity and revenue enhancement. Period. Best pictures, performances, cinematography, direction, and everything else? Get real. The inherent quality of whomever or whatever it may be doesn’t mean a damn thing to whoever votes for the awards.

As in everything else, it’s politics that determines Oscar winners and losers. Winners evidently get better jobs and box office receipts. In a capitalist economy, that’s what the politics used to be all about. The good old days. But now, of course, there’s political correctness—including minority and gender employment and enrichment as well as good old-fashioned affirmative action and diversity—that must be considered.

But the bottom line is the bottom line: Profit is its own reward.

As recognition of the best of the movie business, then, the Academy Awards are a scam. As for entertainment, if the Oscar show floats your boat, go for it . . .