Oscars 2014: 10 Things The Academy Can Learn From Sunday Night

2. Stop Nominating Kids I can already hear the boos, the hisses, and the cries of "BUT SHE WAS SO ADORABLE!" as I suggest the following, but I'm going to do it anyway: Quvenzhané Wallis shouldn't have been nominated, and neither should any child under the age of 18. First off, it doesn't happen that often, and considering the performances some kids may be giving in other, lesser known films, it's bull. (Though it does present the Academy another way to screw Leonardo DiCaprio out of nominations in the past, should we discover time travel. Both seem to be hobbies of Academy members.) I get it: you got a kid to stand in front of a camera and act like a kid that they aren't. Kids do this all the time, and when we put them in front of cameras to do so, we usually call it home movies. Snark aside, the media circus that surrounds a nominee (and any relevant tweets by The Onion) isn't exactly a kid friendly atmosphere. I mean, we talk all about child actors turning out screwed up, and we don't stop and think about the glitzy overload this sort of thing could have on them? It'd be better if we cap the Oscars to anyone 18 or older, as it would help with conducting the show in a more grown up manner. Also, this could help teach child actors that you've got plenty of time to earn your way up to an Oscar nomination, and it's not a horrible thing if you don't get one at 9.

Contributor
Contributor

Mike Reyes may or may not be a Time Lord, but he's definitely the Doctor Who editor here at What Culture. In addition to his work at What Culture, Mr. Reyes writes for Cocktails and Movies, as well as his own personal blogs Mr. Controversy and The Bookish Kind. On top of that, he's also got a couple Short Stories and Novels in various states of completion, like any good writer worth their salt. He resides in New Jersey, and compiles his work from all publications on his Facebook page.