Everybody wants to win awards for their work. If you make a movie that you love, of course you want that movie to be graced with Oscars and Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globes and SAG Awards. It’s too bad that that’s not always the case—the various judging panels aren’t just looking for spectacular films to give awards to, but also spectacular films of a certain pedigree. It’s not just that your movie has to be decent, but it also has to fit in a specific box to be recognized. That’s why movies like The Avengers never get recognized at award shows, and that’s why Star Wars: The Force Awakens was snubbed at the Critics’ Choice Awards.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is on its way to becoming the most successful film of all time. Everyone has seen it, everyone knows what Star Wars is, and it’s a cultural zeitgeist that was, is, and ever shall be, world without end, know what I’m saying? But that doesn’t mean that critics and various award-giving academies recognize that as greatness enough to win little gold statues. The films that win things aren’t blockbusting sci-fi thrillers like Star Wars —instead, they’re small, arty films like The Danish Girl and cerebral stories that take place in newspaper offices like The Spotlight. In award land, there’s no room in the Best Picture category for big movies. They do take home awards for special effects, but it's totally not enough.
I think it’s pretty unfair. Action movies have a reputation for being stupid and for the talentless, but I have to imagine that it’s quite hard to act and do a convincing job when you’re speaking to a green screen or hanging 30 feet up in the air. So much of what we see in action movies is created after the actors have done their job, so they have to try that much hard to make it all believable. Don’t those actors also deserve their due? Sure, there’s room for Steve Jobs and Carol at the podium, but why not make some space for Star Wars, too?
