February 28, 2005
Hangin' with the 87.5%
I like movies, but there's no way I could sit through more than 20 minutes of the Oscars. Music is my life and I can take far less of the Grammies.
I watched zero of last night's show. I'm glad Jamie Foxx won; he was born to play Ray Charles.
And I have always been a Chris Rock fan. That'll get me kicked out of the conservative club. But, Zogby International says most of my GOP buddies were not tuned in last night either.
The survey finds that 25% of American adults plan to watch the annual awards show, while nearly two-thirds (63%) say they do not plan to. Another one-in-eight (12%) have not decided whether they will watch the Oscars or not.Oscar-viewing habits do have a lot to do with where a respondent lives, and where they line up politically. While four-in-ten (39%) Democrats say they will watch the Oscars, this drops to one-in-eight (13%) among Republicans. Unsurprisingly, political independents split the difference, with 22% planning to view the awards show.
"The Republican/Democrat split really isn't shocking," pollster John Zogby said. "This is the time when Hollywood liberals shine—the awards are dominated by them, and they are their most glamorous."
A racial divide has appeared in this year's awards viewership as well, with 39% of African Americans saying they will watch the program and 23% of whites saying the same—at a time when African American Rock is poised to host, and only three years after Halle Berry and Denzel Washington made history as the first African Americans to win Oscars for best actor and actress. There is also an urban-rural divide, with nearly one-third (31%) of residents of large cities planning to watch Sunday night's program, while half as many rural residents (15%) say the same.
Watched Buffy Season Two, Episodes six and seven, "Halloween" and "Lie To Me." I'd make that same choice any night of the year.
Posted by jk at February 28, 2005 12:14 PM
OK, I ended up watching most of the Oscar's due to family members who were keen to watch. You would not have liked Chris Rock's opening monologue, lots of Bush bashing, pandering to the liberal crowd? The other part I found a bit annoying was his very "black" slant on humor. He did a taped "man on the spot" type segment where he asked black folks at a local theater if they had seen the nominated films. Most had not. Funny, but I bet you would get the same answer at any local theater, regardless of its location or the racial makeup of the neighborhood. Now the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, there is a liberal elite institution if there ever was one. A movie's nomination and its popularity are far from one and the same. The real divide here is between those few people who truly appreciate a film for its acting, music, or set design, and the rest of us who just want to be entertained.
Posted by: Silence Dogood at February 28, 2005 2:41 PMI would say that your analysis of the difference between AMPAS and the viewing public is insightful but inverted. The typical viewer truly appreciates the technical aspects of film BECAUSE it is entertaining, while AMPAS is entertained by the fact they can push the envelope of "acceptable" further every year.
Posted by: johngalt at February 28, 2005 2:57 PM | What do you think? [2]