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# Elitism vs. Populism: My Thoughts on the Oscars and Grammys
- URL: https://www.drewshannon.net/elitism-vs-populism-my-thoughts-on-the-oscars-and-grammys/
- Published: 2010-03-07T21:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2010-03-07T21:00:00.000Z
- Author: Drew Shannon
- Tags: music, movies, music industry, #import-tumblr-2026-08-27, writing

Despite all their self-congratulatory pageantry, I generally enjoy watching award shows, and while my tastes don’t always align with the nominees and winners, I can appreciate any event that takes the time to celebrate the movies, music, or TV shows that have elevated their field in the past year. While my girlfriend and I watched the end of [The Oscars](http://oscar.go.com/?ref=drewshannon.net) last night (we had spent most of the evening at the fantastic New York stop of [Copeland’s](http://www.myspace.com/copeland?ref=drewshannon.net) farewell tour), it struck me how so dissimilar it is to [Music’s Biggest Night](http://www.grammy.com/?ref=drewshannon.net). I don’t necessarily think that one event is “better” than the other, but the main difference can be summed up in two words: Elitism and Populism.

Both the Oscars and Grammys display a disconnect – albeit opposing ones – and part of me wonders if each show could be improved by trying to bridge such gaps. Some detractors of the Oscars claim that it represents elitist Hollywood tastes, and I agree. Winners tend to be picked from the same genres every year (The Best Picture prize has never been given to a film noir, science fiction or an animated film), and nominees are often those of a high-brow variety. In other words, there seems to be a fairly large disconnect from what is nominated and what the average Joe sees at his local theater on Friday night, Avatar being the obvious exception. Last night’s Best Picture Winner, The Hurt Locker, wasn’t even among the [Top 100 Grossing Movies of 2009](http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2009&ref=drewshannon.net).

The Grammys, on the other hand, are a largely egalitarian affair. Most nominees have ascended to A-list celebrity status and sell out tours around the world. Taylor Swift’s *Fearless,* which won Album of the Year at this year’s Grammy Awards, was also the [#1 selling album of 2009](http://www.billboard.com/news/taylor-swift-edges-susan-boyle-for-2009-1004057203.story?ref=drewshannon.net#/news/taylor-swift-edges-susan-boyle-for-2009-1004057203.story). The other nominees (Black Eyed Peas, Dave Matthews Band, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga) have also sold large numbers as well.

All-in-all, I think the Grammys represent the tastes of the majority, and other than the awards given out in the non-televised ceremony, most of the major nominees are household names. All that’s not to say that The Grammys are better because they have a populist sensibility. In fact, [this year’s Oscars drew in 15 million more viewers than the Grammys](http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118016200.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&ref=bd%5Ftv), and there’s nothing that says that the “best” things are also supposed to be the most popular (or vice versa). Critical darlings often take the top spots, voted on by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, who presumably know that they’re talking about when it comes to film.

Isn’t that supposed to happen, that the highest regarded films are also the best?

The Grammys are also voted on by an academy, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, but their tastes are noticeably different than most music critics and hardcore music fans. None of the year-end Top 10 lists from Rolling Stone, Billboard, Amazon.com, Filter, Entertainment Weekly, Paste Magazine, Pitchfork, or Spin included a single Album of the Year nominee. After thinking about this for awhile, I haven’t come to any conclusions that I’m happy with. I’m curious which award show people prefer (an informal poll on Twitter says Oscars), or which is more effective in celebrating and awarding the medium. Personally, I’m much more likely to check out an Oscar winner, if only because it seems to be a bit more objective in gauging quality, but maybe at the end of the day, this just shows what’s so interesting about the concept of preference. Often times, popularity or objective “quality” (if there is such a thing in music or movies) has absolute no bearing on whether someone will enjoy something.

*Why do you think this is and/or do these differences matter do you? Are you more likely to check an Oscar winner as opposed to a Grammy winner? Let me know in the comments.*