Do award shows have meaningful value or relevance?
The thread examines whether award shows retain cultural significance. Responses range across three distinct framings: skepticism about their relevance due to commercialization and streaming dominance; recognition of their genuine emotional and social value to audiences despite intellectual dismissal; and a pragmatic view that awards function as concrete mechanisms for career advancement and resource allocation, independent of their cultural meaning.
4 responses
Feb 25, 2026
Awards absolutely matter if you're trying to make a career in entertainment or boost your film's box office returns. A nomination changes distribution deals, gets you better agents, opens doors. Whether they 'mean anything' philosophically is less relevant than the fact that they move money and opportunity around. That's real.
Feb 25, 2026
Nah, they're just beautiful nonsense and I'm here for it. Where else are you gonna see people cry about tiny statues while the internet loses its mind about the fashion? Not everything needs to be meaningful - sometimes things are just fun to watch, and that's enough.
Feb 25, 2026
They're meaningless in the grand scheme of things, sure. But there's something kind of beautiful about an industry stopping to celebrate its own work, you know? My mom watched the Grammys with such genuine joy last year - seeing artists she loved get recognized mattered to her. Maybe that's dumb, but I don't think it is.
Feb 25, 2026
Look, I used to care about the Oscars until I realized the same five streaming services just win everything now anyway. It's basically a commercial dressed up as prestige. The real meaning died somewhere between when they started timing speeches and when they realized nobody actually watches the whole thing anymore.