Why the Buzzword “Oscar bait” is Harmful to Cinema
As exhausted as I am with the feud between Hollywood directors and Marvel, there is a point to be made in that it demonstrates how much cultural capital the latter has. Fans of Marvel, both within and outside the blogosphere and fandom corners, are ostensibly unaware of how much power their properties yield over other original and prestigious films that continue to be released yet aren't being seen. Not only that, but new releases Till and She Said have flopped on their opening weekends, respectively.
People are free to enjoy whatever films and franchises they please. Still, buyers beware, plenty of captivating and diverse films are willingly not given their time in the sun (at least by the moviegoing public). The buzzword "Oscar bait" — which ironically originated in a 1948 review of John Ford's acclaimed western Fort Apache by the New Republic — has been misappropriated over the past few years as a blanket dismissal of any dramatic cinematic effort or film that dares not to exist purely for Marvel-sized thrills. One key reason why film critics matter is that they pick up the slack in reviewing movies that most common moviegoers could care less about (willfully or not), including original films that are still believed not to exist.
A notable victim of this trend was last year's Ridley Scott epic The Last Duel, a bold studio film that was as historically potent as it is relevant to our modern times. Steven Spielberg's rendition of West Side Story and Joel Coen's The Tragedy of Macbeth followed suit. Despite West Side Story's rapturously positive reviews, its underwhelming box office performance was stinging, including the fact that such a treasured musical (albeit contested by certain critics since the original 1961 adaptation) in the era of Hamilton would not connect with moviegoers as much as it should've (allegations of misconduct against Ansel Elgort notwithstanding, which was out of control of the filmmakers).
Instead of supporting thought-provoking films that deserve to be seen in theaters and on small screens, most fans embraced Spider-Man: No Way Home, much so that Kevin Smith and Jimmy Kimmel encouraged the prospect of a Best Picture nomination. While a superb blockbuster in its own right, Spider-Man: No Way Home is not as refreshing as Spencer (Kristen Stewart's graceful turn as Princess Diana), Licorice Pizza, tick, tick… BOOM!, Nightmare Alley, and many others.
People who willingly use Oscar bait as a pejorative or cheeky buzzword seem voluntarily dismissive of the fact that many of the most beloved films of all time are dramas. Drama — the genre with films most often labeled as Oscar bait — is perhaps ground zero for advancing cinema as an art form more than any other genre that side of comedy.
It's amusing to imagine classics such as Sunset Boulevard, The Godfather, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Schindler's List, The Shawshank Redemption, and maybe even Brokeback Mountain being released today but being brushed off by that dreaded buzzword on social media. (It’d be incredibly detrimental to Schindler’s List because it not only impacted millions of moviegoers worldwide but increased public awareness of the Holocaust and inspired director Steven Spielberg to establish the USC Shoah Foundation to preserve its history.)
For all the leaps and bounds that Marvel has made in ushering in a new era of representation in front of and behind the camera, superhero films aren't nearly as diverse as dramatic films. Would Spike Lee have become one of the most potent voices in cinema had he just stayed with audience-friendly blockbusters? No. It is also unjust to say that some of the most influential films of the past decade in representing marginalized voices — Moonlight, Lady Bird, Little Women, etc. — were made for financial incentives and prestige without merit.
If we as a moviegoing public want to expand our imaginations and see what potential future classics lie in store, we should take our chances in theaters and at home with non-blockbuster films, both small and big-budget. It remains a fact that films from original screenplays outnumber sequels and IP films every year. Still, the minority of adapted blockbusters — predominantly Marvel, which sees three to four releases annually — overrule in popularity. By supporting original and prestigious films, you can help shift the balance.
