What Happened To Award Shows?

With the VMAs and Emmys coming up, we can’t help but wonder: how did all of theses once-exciting award shows become so obsolete? There are many aspects that can play into this, but it definitely comes down to the presence of celebrities in our everyday lives. Ten years ago, social media platforms were much more sparse. The promotion of these award ceremonies has improved greatly, but at the same time it also is shoving it down our throats. I used to look forward to the MTV Movie Awards or the VMAs because it was a time where I could see my favorite artists or actors. Now, I can see them on E! being interviewed, on the cover of many magazines, or even on Instagram. The faces of our favorite famous individuals seem to be everywhere, which definitely takes away the excitement of their general presence. If One Direction had been around back then, I almost feel like it would have been more exciting because I wouldn’t see them all of the time being mentioned on Facebook or tagged on Twitter. Another use of these platforms include actual awards being judged off of tweets. It’s interesting, because sometimes fans can’t tune in immediately for the performances, so there is an advantage that is taken away. With the presence of DVR, people can watch award shows later, which cancels out all chances of fan interaction over social media. Another fond memory from my teenage years included the hours leading up to the show when my friends and I would get together and count down until our favorites were on TV. Due to recording and later viewing, this is another situation that gets subtracted.

Another thing that I’ve noticed as well is the excessive amount of awards shows that are being created. For example, country music is great and all, but they have too many awards shows to make fans excited. It seems like they have one per season, which takes away any originality behind it. The same performers and awards are at each show, so why should I waste my time watching it? This was supposed to be a time for these people to be rewarded for their work in a fun manner, but instead it seems as though it’s become a bit run down. It seems that nowadays, producers are trying to use any form of performance as an excuse to create an award show.

On the bright side, the bonus to watching these shows are the live perfomances that have not been done yet, or the songs being released for the first time, or even movie clips of upcoming blockbusters. I try to remember those things as I sit my butt on the couch for torture of lame jokes about pop culture or jabs at audience members. Although it may be boring after an hour and a half, I do admit they know how to perfectly place something to grasp our attention, which I guess is why they keep coming back each time. Even with this though, it’s rather sad to see the decline in originality behind what used to be a fun time for pop culture fanatics.