Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

Have you ever noticed how many of Oscar movies are just beyond depressing? How many times have you actually had honest to god fun watching them and did not felt as if you are emotionally tormented? I rarely talk about it since it makes me look like uncultured simpleton (just for clarity sake, I am uncultured simpleton, I just do not like to brag about it)
but I sometimes think that Oscars are chosen by rich guys who never had any real problem in their lives, they feel guilty about it so they vote for movies about difficult issues to show that they care, and they empathise with people in different situations etc.
I am sorry to say it but world is filled with sad stories, if I wanted to hear a tragic story about old person being abandoned by their loved ones guess what? I can just knock on the door of my neighbour and hear all about it. Sick children- there is a hospice which I sometimes visit. Parents being cruel to their child- one phone call away, Parents not being accepting of their children choices- two streets away. And I am not even really good or engaged person, I am kind of selfish prick to be honest.
But I know that world is filled with tragedies, is it so strange that when I watch a movie I want feel god story where heroes achieve their goals, bad people are punished and friends are reliable? I know it may seem childish but I see movies as a way to unwind, to help me deal with the world. Give me "die hard" over von Tier any day of the week.
What do you think?

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

I agree there aren't many optimistic movies, but more importantly, not any good ones.... Last year, I heard about Spotlight (before it was nominated).. It was ok, I even gave it a generous 6 (I handicap newer movies with an extra point usually).. But then to find out it won Best Picture..

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

I personally find the type of stories you are talking about to be the ones that teach me empathy. So I don't find them depressing, I find tgem rather life affirming.

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

Idk about all "depressing" word(not even watch many of titles on the award) but yeah there type of stories that selling well with award ceremony. I mean, The like typical true story that selling, heroism, patriotism, mellodramat-ism, pacifism or whatever the -ism been used. Not implied award bait as an utter garbage, only there that stereotype in nominees, I suppose, including the sad story or "tragic-ism" formula.

For me It's not "utter watch list" or something that I'll catch all each of it. It's just a kind/sort of filter (for north america released) in a year so I don't need waste my time or resource more, efficient-wise. Still not even a perfect filter ofc as there could be more interesting titles out of it contention, and that's part I suppose make it more intriguing and fun to dig and compare on.

Obviously I could be wrong but for me it's up to us ppl how to use instead of solely dictated by it. It simply popularity contest among the oscar circlejerk with some political taste on it.

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

I like psychological dramas, issues, tragedy in a movie.
Could you please support your thought with concrete movies?

It will be hard because I purposefully avoid what I like to call "Oscar bait" movies, but from the top of my head
Birdman- main hero having a crisis of life, wondering about squandered chances, yearning to prove himself while world seems cruel and uncaring... I have it every time I look in the mirror.

12 years of slave- I get it, slavery is bad, which is why it was abolished, I do not need to watch emotional heart-wrenching drama to know that being a slave is not pleasant.

Brokeback mountain- everyone who has half a brain knows that even today being gay is not all roses and sunshine, especially in smaller cities, people look at you like you are a freak of nature and will not hire you in many jobs if you are open about who you are. So yes, this story should be accompanied by nothing but giant "DUH!" from the audience.

Lost in translation- basically a movie about loneliness in the world.

I guess what I am trying to say is...I am human therefore I am empathetic being. I am not a robot, I do not need to watch 2 hour movie to finally say "oh so that is what loneliness feels like?" or " being a jew in death camp was terrible" . I know this, I do not need exercise of empathy because I know people who have been throught some terrible stuff, from being very ill to becoming disabled or simply depressed. When I watch a movie I want to see a world in which friends are tried and true, and justice wins in the end.
Sorry for long rant, I guess I just wanted to throw it from my chest.
Cheers.

Sadly, the history of "feel good" movies that actually are worth watching is pretty thin. It's easier to make a drama because, deep down, most people realize that, when you strip away the veneer, a lot of people are unhappy a lot of the time and don't want to see too much about others that have good lives, are happy, healthy, well off and have lots of friends and a loving family. We're also drawn to adventure and violence, most of which is unhappy too. Seeing others with scary, sucky lives makes us feel better about ourselves. You may not be happy all the time, but at least you're not being chased by the mafia or hanging on to a world threatened by extraterrestrials.

Film makers learned this from dramatists, like how, if you name the greatest plays of Shakespeare, you probably think about Hamlet or Macbeth, not one of his comedies.

this made me laugh. Being cultured is over rated anyway.

I havent seen Spotlight.
or Birdman.
12 years a slave - heavy watch but I liked it.
Argo. I was interested in the story but I didnt think it deserved best movie, but movies like that are always going to be right up there in hollyweed.
The Artist - havent seen
King's Speech - love it!
Hurt Locker - havent seen.

So mixed bag for me just going back to 2010.

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

I think skizzerflake pretty much nailed it. Just look at people talk about fb when they track down people they went to school with. They get so distressed that people have such a better life. Oh c'mon. Someone on social media isnt going to talk about how their life really is.

Do you need to watch a two hour comedy to remind you to laugh, or do you watch them to laugh?

I mean, like what you want. I'm just not on board with the criticism.

I cant remember that being about loneliness. I watch it from the point of culture clash because I've experienced that exact thing living in japan. Two people speaking the exact same language but their interpretation goes in opposites ways. Hell, you see it on the net all the time.

As for Brokeback Mountain, I loved it and thought it was very deserving.

This.

I don't find any art from depressing. I find it pretty inspirational that people can make, write, direct and act in movies that brilliant.

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

I think this is an interesting topic.

1. to get back to your OP, yes I do think the oscars are loaded.
2. life is not all puppies and rainbows. If I want happy ever after riding off into the sunset I'll watch disney movies.
3. Just on the Brokeback mountain thing, I'm going to assume you think that's 'hollywood gay agenda'? I see it as a love story with a tragic ending, much like Out of Africa for example. My focus is not on the gay element, but that sometimes sht happens to good people. Love does not always conquer all. I might have cried and I like movies that make me feel a range of emotions. I dont always want to be Pollyanna, if you know what I mean.
Even family movies can have bad stuff. Secret Life of Pets is not all cute stuff for kids. Either are kids books. They prepare young minds for real possibilities in the world, like some little creep at school might be a horrible bully.

Having oodles of fun at the movies is why they make all of those gawd awful comic book movies. I was just looking at the new releases at Netflix, and the majority are those fun-action packed-popcorn movies. The world has enough of those.

There's scant few movies made each year that approach a level of sublime art. Give me serious thought provoking cinematic dramas anytime.

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

Serious question because this comes up a lot on the other place but I never get an answer. Why exactly is 'oscar bait' seen as a bad thing? Doesn't bother me at all. Either does nepotism in hollyweed. They're cast and crew networking, not politicians IMO. I am open to both sides of the debate.

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

Notice there are no more heroes or inspiring people.

Can't answer because oscar bait is my favorite genre.

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

I honestly I don't care if a film is a depressing or not. I watch films mostly for the performances more than anything. As an inspiring actor myself the movie can have a pretty thin plot, but if the performances are great it more than makes up for it in my opinion. Manchester By The Sea is the perfect example I liked the movie, but it was mostly for the performances more so than the story itself. I think Michelle Williams should win for her performance in that it was incredible. There are others I can think of like Silver Linings Playbook that was a pretty by the numbers romantic-comedy but the performances by the cast are what make it special to me.

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

I love Oscar films, so sue me.

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

I don't watch movies to 'feel happy', so this doesn't bother me at all.

I get where you're coming from, but you should embrace any movie that gets an emotional response out of you. The most depressing films for me are ones where I don't feel anything at all.

Plenty of awards films fit that bill (Mr. Turner, Thin Red Line, Manchester by the Sea)
but there is an ocean of commercial-tuned fluff with zero heart or soul put into them (Jurassic World, Avengers 2, Spectre, Ant Man, Rogue One, Hobbit Trilogy, Iron Man 3, Amazing Spiderman, Captain America 2)

Oscar bait is based on the idea that the Academy and its voters have a history of rewarding certain types of films more than others, mainly because of their subject matter. The most obvious examples involve movies about Hollywood and acting (e.g. Argo, The Artist, Birdman) or those involving real-life historical tragedies (Schindler's List, 12 Years a Slave, Spotlight). The reason why it's called Oscar bait is because the Academy's overall voting preferences have become so easy to identify that any film that happens to fall in line with said preferences can be interpreted as the creators deliberately aiming to "bait" the Academy into giving them awards. The problem is that it reflects a sort of stagnation from both Academy voters and filmmakers alike that suggests that there is an arbitrary list of criteria that a film needs to aim for in order to be considered worthy of awards recognition. Not only does this come across as a generally limited way of appreciating films as artworks, but it implies that creators and executives can cynically exploit these preferences when they make their own films in order to chase awards over making a truly resonant piece of work. This is why "Oscar bait" is usually used as a pejorative - because it is most frequently used in conjunction with films that seem to aim for that kind of acclaim but fall short because the films themselves aren't particularly good.

As for nepotism, it's sort of the same thing since the concept of a person's success being attributed more to their connections than their ability reflects the rather disagreeable idea that filmmaking is less an inherently artistic medium than it is a heavily commercialised industry.

Leaving aside whether or not I could contest some of your examples, I wonder what you make of "hating" movies. Would you consider getting angry at a movie's badness preferable to not feeling anything at all over a movie's badness?

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

Eloquent answer, Iro. I appreciate that. Maybe down the track this needs it's own thread to flesh it out some more because it's very interesting IMO. Or if the OP doesn't mind we can keep discussing it in here.

I'll defer to the mods if necessary, but I do reckon the two ideas overlap enough for the discussion to be relevant. The Academy almost always favours dramatic films over comedic ones when it comes to handing out awards (and some of the comedies they do recognise skew towards the negative side of emotion anyway - Birdman is technically a comedy, but OP counts it as a depressing movie). I think there is a bit of a pretense there where drama is considered superior to generally lighter genres like comedy or action, presumably because it's "easier" to make people laugh or thrill them with spectacle than it is to get them to have Real Feelings about a film.

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

Ok so I'll continue on a bit unless the OP doesn't like the direction. I can't remember when I first saw 'Oscar bait' mentioned but I don't think it was long ago. To use an example The Danish Girl was bashed for being 'Oscar bait' and 'the hollywood gay agenda'. What do you think? To me it was just a beautiful, expensive film about two people going through a journey that doesn't necessarily have a happy ending. The gay agenda, as such, doesn't affect me; I just like seeing lush productions that make me think, feel, and do some research so historical, even loosely based, is going to prick up my ears. Flame and Citron, for example, has me sniffing around for references re Denmark in WWII. Danish Girl has me wanting to read the diaries. so in this sense, is 'award bait' a bad thing?

Make sense?

Sometimes. Movies that I really genuinely hate (The Room) are at least are a little bit more memorable than stuff that was just mildly mediocre. Although in the case of Human Centipede 2, I would prefer that the movie be removed from existence.

I couldn't say too much about The Danish Girl itself since I never got around to seeing it (I may yet, but it doesn't seem urgent). The main concern I kept hearing about The Danish Girl was that it was going to be a movie about a transgender woman who was being played by a cisgender man. The problem comes from the fact that trans women already face discrimination due to the prevailing perception that they are "men in dresses", so the idea of a man being given public acclaim and awards recognition for merely pretending to be transgender carries an unfortunate double-standard about what is considered acceptable. To tie this back into the concept of Oscar bait, when it comes to acting the Academy does like to recognise the performers who go for "difficult" or "challenging" roles. This often involves the actors being challenged on a physical level,whether through physical discomfort or through transforming themselves physically. A good example of this is Eddie Redmayne winning an Oscar for playing Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, which involved him having to act almost completely disabled. Him getting nominated for his role in The Danish Girl the following year involved him taking on another physically demanding role, so it already came across as Oscar bait. However, the transgender identity politics made it seem even worse because of how it was trying to tell a story about a transgender person without actually involving a transgender person. It's the kind of thing that Tropic Thunder was parodying with Robert Downey Jr.'s Oscar-winning "serious actor" character turning himself from white to black in order to play a black man; the joke comes from the idea that turning a famous white actor black is considered a more acceptable/profitable/ingenious decision than just casting any actual black actor. If The Danish Girl is willing to make that kind of choice, that does not speak well of the filmmakers' intentions.

I figure it's the kind of thinking behind Film Crit Hulk's "Never Hate A Movie" column where Tarantino tells him that you should treat movies you don't like as learning experiences rather than just objects of empty scorn. The idea that you can learn as much about filmmaking as art from the worst movies as you can from the best movies is an interesting one, though I also agree that I can't even think about what net gains I'd get out of watching a Human Centipede movie.

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

I have to mull over this a bit but good post. I don't have an opinion on a cisgender man playing a transitioning person anymore than if a gay man plays a straight man or vice versa. I have to ponder this some more. I know it caused a stir at the time, but the initial choice I believe was Nicole Kidman so yeah, I can see that he might have just been going for a 'Name'. I know Hopper consulted quite a few (dont remember numbers) trans people but I've never read an interview where he was asked how he went about the casting choice.

re Tropic Thunder with a white guy playing a black guy who is actually white, I actually thought that was a dig at the controversial skit of the Jackson Five on hey Hey it's Saturday Night. (you're aussie, I think?) You would have seen the fall out when the american singer on the panel called it racist. the guy playing Michael jackson with white skin foundation is actually a POC and he was dumbfounded.

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

Any actor should be allowed to play any role. Political Correctness will kill creativity and pigeon hold us with unnecessary labels.

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

That's the stance I tend to take as well, Rules. I also don't mind in reboots if a gender or ethnicity is changed. Not sure how I feel about an all women's ghostbusters or ocean's 11, though. Why not write a new story all together.

will? or has?

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

"Oscar bait" is a term thrown around a lot, but actually has some weight to it; there are indeed types of movies that get awarded more than others. For example, zero science fiction films have won Best Picture, and one horror film has won it (The Silence of The Lambs).
The Oscars also have a tendency to get Best Picture winners "wrong"; Annie Hall won over Star Wars, Jaws lost to One Flew Over The Cukoo's Nest, The English Patient beat both Fargo and Jerry Maguire, and Shakespeare in Love won over Saving Private Ryan. Even performances are subject to this; subtly loses a lot of the time, and not always for the right reasons. Why do you think performances about real people or those with diseases win so often? But despite this, it doesn't mean that the Academy is worthless, many of their decisions age well, like The Silence of The Lambs. Overall, the Acedemy isn't worthless, but needs to open its spectrum of what can be considered "award - worthy", and shake some of their bad habits.

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

Good post, Dex, but I would also ask, how much of it comes down to campaign dollars being thrown at them? Is this an urban myth or real?

I suppose that's still better than what happened with Jared Leto being cast as a trans woman in Dallas Buyers Club - not only did they not even try casting any actual trans actresses, but the character in question is fictional anyway so the controversy could have been avoided by just making the character a cis gay man. Casting a cis woman like Kidman in The Danish Girl would still have been a compromise, but at least it would be a slightly more acceptable one.

I didn't think that skit actually got any notoriety outside Australia, but both reflect a greater problem regarding blackface and the degrees to which people will consider it acceptable or unacceptable, whether for the sake of a novelty act or award-baiting grand-standing. Also, does one of the guys being a POC (which kind of POC exactly?) in whiteface really make the four white guys doing blackface acceptable? It comes across as a defensive measure, and unlike Tropic Thunder it doesn't even have some deliberately absurd satirical justification.

This just in, Citizen Rules thinks Channing Tatum should be allowed to play Barack Obama.

But seriously, when people play the "being PC kills creativity" card I contend that there is a flip-side where being un-PC can also kill creativity by encouraging low standards and thoughtless complacency. In the examples cited, it goes beyond whether or not the creators are failing to appease the narrow standards of some restrictive boogeyman and into actively questioning how much they really care about making something that is artistically worthwhile. Dallas Buyers Club becomes an example of mediocrity for the reasons I mentioned above - namely, that its creators' decisions and justifications indicate ignorance and insincerity regarding the very issues that their film is supposed to address. This naturally reflects poorly on the film itself and ends up being further indication of how it comes across as a cynical exercise in award-baiting instead of a sincere dramatisation of an important and still-relevant true story. This isn't about imposing a rigid set of arbitrary standards onto every single film regardless of context, it's about actually thinking critically about what the film is doing and whether or not it can genuinely justify any choices that immediately stand out for the wrong reasons. It's not so much about reflexively saying "this is bad!" so much as asking "but how exactly is this supposed to be good?"

Because brands sell, that's why.

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

Give me Roadhouse over a Oscar movie anyday.

Re: Why are Oscar movies so depressing
 

You have multiple Oscar-winning movies in your top 10 - but not Road House.

I remember seeing some american panels bash it.

Should that make a difference? That was his reaction - 'I am a man of colour'.

I don't understand the difference. People put on makeup to change their ethnicity and skin tone. How is that any different to a POC (and keep in mind australia does not have the same history as america with 'black face') or a person at the upcoming sydney mardi gras dressing up as Kylie Minogue? Reminds me of the stir caused over the two football fans dressing up as their favourite footballer. He loved it; the media went berserk. When I was acting in high school I had to play the role of an old black woman. Is it wrong that my pasty white skin and blonde hair were covered in makeup?