Well …

It’s hard to believe over six years have passed since my journey through “Best Picture Land” began as a playful personal challenge. I wanted to see if I could pull it off. Mission accomplished! Game over. I’m all caught up (thus far) with my articulated impressions, and I’m happy to say my love of movies hasn’t diminished. My vacillating relationship with the Oscars also endures. I’m baffled at times, thrilled on occasion, but endlessly fascinated by what they tell us about film, filmmakers, trends, causes, and other transitory influences that add up to the Motion Picture Academy’s perception of “best” in any given year.

Big developments occurred along the way, such as the advent of “Talkies” right off the bat. Widescreen formats with surround-sound stereo in the 1950s waged war against that small box in everyone’s living room known as television. The Hays Code, which began in the 1930s by imposing morality and censoring all general-release films, was eliminated and replaced in 1968 by the Motion Picture Association of America’s ratings system: G, PG, R, X, and later PG-13 and NC-17. Movies could be made and distributed as artists saw fit, allowing audiences to decide for themselves what was “appropriate.” All of these changes greatly impacted storytelling on film.

Other advancements went beyond technology and fashion. Often, a choice for Best Picture indicated what moviegoers needed most right then, mirroring current feelings or sentiments, as with The Best Years of Our Lives or Nomadland. Sometimes, they served as precious antidotes to lift audiences out of the daily grind and sweep them away, as with The Sound of Music or The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Movies are evolving as I write, with perhaps the biggest development since ditching the Hays Code—how we view them. This past year, the pandemic forced the Academy to update its criteria for eligible films. The standing rule was that a picture had to be exhibited in a Los Angeles theatre during a given calendar year, and it had to run at least one week. That changed, due to COVID-19. Movies scheduled for release but unable to open because of theatre shutdowns were considered eligible even if they debuted solely on streaming services.

As we make our way toward the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, it remains to be seen if or how these changes will endure. What exactly constitutes a “movie” today? Is it format or where it’s shown? What’s the difference between a TV movie and a theatrical movie? An Emmy or an Oscar? The film industry was shifting long before this global virus showed up. Home entertainment initiated the transition with video tapes in the early 1980s, followed by laser discs, DVDs, Blu-ray, and online streaming. High-definition monitors and sound systems reached state-of-the-art levels as prices dropped. Average folks could have “cinemas” right at home. Epic IMAX and 3D presentations of larger-than-life superheroes have kept bodies in seats while ticket prices soared in recent decades. Movies run a month now and make a financial killing before they enter the home-theatre market just weeks or even days later. All of this happened before people were forced to stay home to watch films.

Changes are still in the air. We probably won’t return to the way things were before COVID-19, at least not entirely. People will always want entertainment, however. Since the dawn of our species, we’ve gathered around storytellers. They help us think and feel and dream, but how we receive our entertainment is an evolving process based on technology but also social evolution and shifting trends in behavior. Movies aren’t going away. Neither are the Oscars. But what we watch and how we watch it? That’s the moving piece to the puzzle.

So, onward and upward! I’ll be back, posting my thoughts on next year’s winner. And the year after that. And the year after that, as long as I’m able.

See you around, and until then, enjoy the journey!