Hook, Line and Sinker

Every year, the Academy Awards, or the Oscars, celebrate the best in film, honouring achievements across a variety of categories. However, there is a term that continues to cast a shadow over these celebrations: ‘Oscar Bait’. Oscar Bait refers to films that are deliberately designed and marketed to win Oscars. These films are often overly emotional and focus on significant social issues, opulence, historical events or figures, or the hardships of showbiz. Sprinkle in some long, emotional monologues and an extended runtime, and an Oscar Bait film is made. A recent example by some is the 2023 Best Picture winner, ‘Oppenheimer’. While Oscar Bait doesn’t always guarantee an award, the formula still persists, with many viewers claiming they can spot Oscar Bait from miles away.

Historically, there’s no clear-cut moment when Oscar Bait emerged, but many reference ‘The Deer Hunter’ (1978) as a key turning point. The film, a three-hour epic war drama starring Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro, didn’t really initially resonate with audiences. However, it was strategically marketed to the Academy (over 10,000 film industry professionals who vote on the Oscars). Private screenings were held for Academy members as part of a marketing campaign to secure nominations. This paid off, as ‘The Deer Hunter’ received 9 Oscar nominations and won for Best Picture. As a result there was an increase in box office revenue as people wanted to see the ‘best film of the year’. Subsequent films adopted a similar strategy after this, focusing on character driven dramas to appeal to Academy voters and their love of performance and historical significance.

But how far does this phenomenon go? Is Oscar Bait real, or just an unfair label? This blog explores the origins of the term and whether its use is justified.

Some argue that the term ‘Oscar Bait’ is unfair, claiming it discredits dramatic films and performances. When people hear the term, there is almost a collective groan, with some audiences boycotting films outright. But would filmmakers really go through the effort of financing, producing, acting, editing and marketing a film JUST for an Oscar? Many say no and suggest that the term is a trigger phrase to dismiss films. While I agree with its overuse, there is a noticeable trend of films that go to extreme lengths, making it appear that the Oscars are their ultimate goal because of the prestige of having an Academy Award.

Oscar Bait films often take advantage of Oscar season, releasing in November or December just before the eligibility window for the Oscars closes to remain fresh in voters’ minds. Some launch aggressive marketing campaigns directed at Academy members. Harvey Weinstein was known for this (amongst other things…) and used his films to tug on the heartstrings of Academy voters, which is easy to do when the film is biographical or addressed a social issue. With ‘Shakespeare in Love’, Weinstein used everything from writing personal invitations to Academy voters to watch it to starting smear campaigns against his competition. For another of his films, ‘The Imitation Game’—a biographical film about Alan Turing, a gay mathematician who cracked Nazi Germany’s codes (classic Oscar Bait criteria)—the campaign slogan was “Honour the man. Honour the film.” This positioned the film as a tribute to Turing’s legacy, elevating it beyond just a movie and saying that an Oscar win would rectify historical wrongs. Although it didn’t win Best Picture, it garnered significant attention and money after and proves the point of the Oscar push.

Picture credit to a Bletchley Park Youtube video

Oscar Bait extends beyond a film’s content; it involves the narrative and campaigning surrounding the film. This explains why other genres like comedies, horrors, sci-fi, or even Marvel films often struggle to receive Oscar recognition. These genres make up the highest grossing films in the last 15 years and even have Oscar nominated actors, and yet they are typically overlooked during awards season in the acting and Best Picture categories.

I think this happens for several reasons:

1. Comedy is more subjective than drama. Drama is more matter of fact while comedy depends on individual taste.
2. Blockbuster films, like Marvel movies, don’t pander to the Academy because they are already financially successful and have the audience.
3. The Academy consists of mainly older white men *cough* #OscarsSoWhite *cough* so they rule in favour of a more traditional kind of movie and maybe don’t consider other films as prestigious enough.

The Oscars have long struggled with diversity issues, which the #OscarsSoWhite campaign highlighted and shows that maybe Oscar Bait wouldn’t be a thing if it wasn’t for the Academy that is easily coaxed. Their lack of representation also affects the Oscar Bait narrative. Even some films with typical Oscar Bait traits were largely ignored by the Academy because they had a black narrative. Movies like ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It’ (1993), ‘Beasts of No Nation’ (2015), ‘The Woman King’ (2022), and ‘Till’ (2022), were snubbed by the Academy despite following the traditional ‘Oscar Bait’ formula. I know that not every film can be nominated of course, but examples like this show that even when the Oscar Bait playbook is followed, Black people are still at a disadvantage – they dangle Oscar Bait in front of the Academy and yet the Academy rarely bites.

Also, the Academy has been known for voting against the black cause. A striking example is David Oyelowo, who was snubbed for a Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr in ‘Selma’ (2014). Oyelowo later revealed that members of the Academy were offended by the cast’s involvement in protests against Eric Garner’s death.

Oyelowo said: “Members of the Academy called in to the studio and our producers saying, ‘How dare they do that? Why are they stirring S-H-I-T?’ and ‘We are not going to vote for that film because we do not think it is their place to be doing that’,” 

Things have improved since the BLM movement but as always, there is work to be done – but I understand it takes time to change an engrained system.  So, what do we do with this Oscar Bait in our hand – or do we even call it that? I guess we can’t blame films for making dramas, but the Academy themselves for making typical decisions. Maybe we, the public, don’t acknowledge the Academy Awards enough to care. But one thing is for sure, the movie business definitely still cares.