This year’s Golden Globes aired on Sunday, January 8th and was hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. It kicked off the 2017 award show season for upcoming events, most notably the 89th annual Oscars that will air on February 26th.  These shows preempt excitement among avid moviegoers while also commemorating artists and outstanding works of film. Those involved in the process of movie-making such as actors and actresses, directors, writers, and producers, are honored at these award shows for their contributions in recent entertainment works.

In regards to the illustrious Oscars, there has already been a buzz about potential winners for this year’s show. There has particularly been much speculation about which movies will win in the category of Best Picture of the year. Before official nominations were announced, Junior and acting student Joseph Salomone,  expected that movies he has watched including La La Land, Manchester by the Sea, Hell or High Water, and Moonlight would be among the top nominated films.  According to the recently released Oscar nomination list, Salomone’s predictions were an accurate indication.  The 2017 nominations for Best Picture include Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, La La Land, Lion, Manchester by the Sea, and Moonlight.

“La La Land will more than likely ‘sweep.’ It is the greatest film ever made in my opinion, it’s technical aspects are all practically flawless, and it’s the type of movie the Academy would like because it’s a throwback to classic, older movies” said Salomone.

Award shows serve a bigger purpose than simply providing entertainment and recognizing talented artists. These shows may also give unrecognized movies more publicity and credibility to audiences.

“For smaller movies, they’re good because they get their name out there. For La La Land it’s been rising in the box office as the award season gets closer because more people are seeing them. This year it’s nice because there’s always been kind of a disconnect between the Academy and regular audiences where movies that people think should get nominated don’t get nominated, and movies win that people don’t think should win, […] but this year the front-runners are all very great movies. It’s either going to go to Moonlight or La La Land“ predicts Salomone.

He also predicts that Casey Affleck will win for Best Actor in a Lead Role for Manchester by the Sea and Jackie will win for Best Costuming. In addition, he contends that for the category of Best Original Music Score, Arrival, Nocturnal Animals, La La Land, and Jackie are all top choices for the win.  Movie watchers will have to wait until after February 26th to see whether Salomone’s predictions are correct.

Senior Andrea Garcia-D’Angeli has recently watched Hidden Figures, another contender for Best Picture at the Oscars.

“Hidden Figures was an excellent movie that I would recommend to everyone. I found it to be really strong, interesting, and inspirational. […]It was about three very smart black women that worked for NASA during a time of great racial and gender inequality. It’s really cool because it’s based on a true story that nobody knew about and it’s especially inspirational to me as a woman who wants to work in the science field. It shows that the movie industry does a great job at relaying these untold stories.”

Award shows serve to enlighten audiences of how much combined effort and attention to detail is put forth in the movie-making process.  They credit not only the actors and actresses, but especially many unrecognized directors, composers, designers, writers, and more. Despite the role they play in honoring these artists, those involved in the industry can ultimately agree that the objective of movie-making is not to claim an award. Movies often serve as platforms to voice advocacy and awareness of important issues. In actress Emma Stone’s Golden Globe acceptance speech she highlighted the message of the movie she received her Best Actress in a Leading Role award for, La La Land.

“This is a film for dreamers, and I think that hope and creativity are two of the most important things in the world, and that’s what this movie is about” said Stone.

Similarly, actor Leonardo Dicaprio took the opportunity to bring awareness to a pressing issue that The Revenant brought to light. In his 2016 Oscar acceptance speech for winning Best Actor in a Leading Role, he mentions the topic of climate change.

“Making The Revenant was about man’s relationship to the natural world […] climate change is real, it is happening right now,” said Dicaprio.

These award shows hold more depth than simply honoring and celebrating achievements in cinematic arts. They reveal the role of the film industry in impacting audiences with movies that fuel creative passion (La La Land), feature the misrepresented (Hidden Figures), and recount inspiring stories (Lion, Moonlight). They play an integral role in inspiring change and action among the population, and ultimately involve both artist and audience alike in the role they share as citizens.