Caitlyn Girdner
English 11
Haddorff
March 10 2014
The Academy Awards
“An academy award nomination is stuff dreams are made of” -Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Academy award winner in 2012. Since 1927 the academy awards have been fulfilling the dreams of actors, producers, and directors everywhere (History). From when the academy awards were first created, through the milestones over the years, and the iconic oscar statute, the academy awards have become one of the biggest award shows of all time.
In early January 1927, MGM Studio Chief Louis B. Meyer held a dinner at his house. Conrad Nagel, Fred Hiblo, and Fred Beetson, along with Meyer, came up with an idea to benefit the large group of people in the film industry (History). They proposed an idea to celebrate the many accomplishments of the past year. The next week, 36 people met at Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, to hear about the proposal for the International Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The proposal was a success, as that March, they started to find articles of incorporation, elect the first officers, and the first President, Douglas Fairbanks, who lead the group 1927-1929 (History). They came up with five branches to honor at the awards, Producers, Actors, Directors, Writers, and Technicians. On May 11th 1927, they held the first meeting in the form of a banquet, at Biltmore Hall. Out of 300 people, 200 joined the academy, paying $100 each. That night, they awarded the first Honorary Membership to Thomas Edison (History). After that night, the Academy decided, that they would honor achievements between August 1927 and July 1928 at the next ceremony. The first awards were presented at a black tie dinner on May 16th, 1929. The first awards were ones of meri...
... middle of paper ...
...n astounding amount of 8 and a half pounds. For the first ceremonies, the statues were gold plated solid bronze (Statuette). Then through the years changed from bronze, to gold, then onto plastic during the war, then back to gold plated metal. The gold finish is not what the celebrities thrive for in the awards. The Oscar means so much more. The award signifies their achievement in their career. It must feel pretty good knowing you have been noticed for what you do, not just for your name.
From the very first dinner, to the first award show, to what the oscar statue means today, the Academy Awards have become the most worldwide known award shows. Imagine what the creators would say now if they could see what their simple idea has become. They would be pretty shocked. Like Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy said, “An academy award nomination is stuff dreams are made of.”
This point is illustrated by the heated controversy surrounding the director’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented to him at the 1999 Academy Awards. Kazan’s importance to the world of cinema is undisputed, but Hollywood remains divided by a single political affair that took place over half a century ago. The Academy Award was therefore protested by some and supported by others. But should Elia Kazan still be regarded with such contempt by his peers and contemporary members of the Hollywood community? Should his legacy be based on this one transgression, rather than his long history of cinematic achievement? And has Kazan already put the entire subject to rest in On the Waterfront, perhaps the best work of his entire career? I hope to answer these questions in an essay that will discuss the t...
The screenwriter chose an effective way of illustrating the point of attack, establishing the setting and handling of exposition. The first scene of the film was a black screen which had audio of a man and a woman having a conversation. After, the film switches to a grainy video of men being detained by police. The video clip manages to bring the dramatic tension to all time high because an unidentified character is shot by the police. Therefore, this left a sense of uneasiness and tension throughout the whole film. The beginning of the film also did a wonderful job of establishing the setting. The scene of the grainy video clip had a caption box stating it was “Fruitvale BART Station 2:15AM New Year’s Day 2009”. The film then introduces the
The tendency to go soft on McCarthyism has been evident in popular culture as well. The presentation of a special Lifetime Achievement Award to director Elia Kazan at the 1999 Oscar ceremony is the most flagrant and controversial example. Another example of the current vogu...
On March 3, 2010 The New York Times ran an article written by Kim Elsesser entitled “And the Gender-Neutral Oscar Goes To.” Elsesser is a research scholar in Women’s studies and psychology at UCLA with a primary focus on gender issues in the workplace. The op-ed article argues that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences should merge the Academy Awards categories of best actor and best actress. Elsesser argues that the two categories need to become one category in order to eliminate gender segregation in Hollywood.
It is a common mis-conception that films are merely entertainment, and serve no other purpose than to provide for the viewer a two-hour escape from reality. This is a serious under-estimation of the power, purpose, and potential of film, because film, upon reflection, revea...
In 1932, Walt Disney won his first Academy Award for his production of Flower and Trees. Winning an Academy award is no small prize. Accomplishing this only boosted Walt’s self-confidence, and his ability to make even greater things.
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them”, said by Walt Disney himself (“Walt Disney Quotes”). Disney had a big imagination followed with big goals. As always in the entertainment business, there are going to be people competing to tear each other down, but Walt Disney kept his focus and determination to take on great things. All it took was one person with a strong passion for entertainment to set the stage for filmmaking long after he was gone.
... the award was given back in 1901 until today the thoughts of those winners have helped shape our world. Those winners will be forever known as people who helped promote peace and make this world a better place for everyone.
The Latin American film genre is one of the most known genre worldwide and one of the most popular and successful of all of the genres in this business around the world. Yearly a number of productions from Latin America become favored and demanded successes, often-earning high levels of recognition and recommendation. In foreign film categories and in events and functions such as the Oscars, which are very highly respected around the world, Latin American films are awarded and praised and unquestionably make audiences sit on seat’s edge to bear mind films being produced in countries here. Latin American films are most likely to be as successful as they are because of the mixture of all of the elements, which their cinema provides, including
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) was founded in 1922 as membership-based business association of the American film industry. At first, the Motion Picture Association of America had the responsibility of combating the waves of criticism of American movies. In addition, the Association worked to reestablish a positive view from the public for the motion picture business. Since the 1920s, the Motion Picture Association of America has grown to reflect the change of the expanding industry.
One way to represent success is through numbers, and those numbers can lead to awards. Elvis’ excessive popularity resulted in countless awards and honors in not only his
In 1922 the Motion Picture Producers and Distributers of America (M.P.P.D.A.) was created in response to national protest by several parent groups who feared that films suggested provocative messages to children, which would cause negative influences. Fearful that the...
Often times people neglect the fact that the things- such as films- that they see and hear day to day can actually be worthwhile in teaching them. They come into contact with them purely for the purpose of being entertained and, sometimes, do not even realize that they are being taught valuable life lessons in the process. In conjunction with this theory, Professor Michael Taylor once said, “We don’t often think of the value of media beyond its entertainment, but there is a whole area that has to do with education through entertainment. As filmmakers, the work that we do has a huge impact on our culture. With that comes an opportunity, and may be even a responsibility, to use that impact for greater good.” Many French and Francophone films
Ethnicity and appearance has become a tremendous problem in the media due to the fact that they try to use it as a power to control creativity of abstaining the truth in media. According to journalist Nishijima, A, she refers to the Oscars and explains that it is very absurd how the media is slowly progression in lacking diversity. This was recognized when watching the Oscars and seeing that based off predominantly white nominees. Nishijima quotes “Boone Isaacs decl...
And now, presenting the twenty-two time winner of the annual “Ultimate Gratitude” Competition, in which we determine who is truly the most deserving of our thanks: Mom! For your incredible feats of stamina, wisdom, and patience, the “Award of Ultimate Gratitude” is yours. Thanks Mom!