Let’s all be real here for a minute. The only entertainment found from last year’s three-hour-long Oscars award show was watching Will Smith slap Chris Rock. I didn’t even remember the Oscars existed until I saw the memes.

The public agrees that the Oscars have become completely irrelevant and unnecessary.

Once having over 40 million viewers, the Oscars’ viewership has plummeted to only 9.85 million in 2021, according to Statista.

No one is concerned with who won what for which film anymore, especially when the public has no say in determining the winner.

Only inducted members of the exclusive Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, also known as the AMPAS, vote for the coveted Academy Awards. And I wouldn’t call their voting inclusive or unbiased.

According to The New York Times, in 2015, 75% of AMPAS’s members were male, and 92% were white. Since then, the academy has attempted to induct more women and minorities into the group but has only increased the percentages by a minuscule amount.

The biggest issue, though, lies with the show’s purpose. The Oscars put each artist against one another in a battle for the useless title of “academy-award winning.”

This award show’s pointless and unfair competitive nature doesn’t showcase the art but instead devalues it. The Oscars need to focus on showcasing the great talent these artists have instead of showcasing who is the greatest.

Plus hosting a biased award show isn’t going to sway viewers’ opinions on what they want to watch. If award shows instead displayed a celebration of talent rather than a competition, viewers might show more interest in watching the nominees.

But if you feel nosy and still want to see what kind of awards your favorite stars are winning, at least watch an award show where your opinion will be taken into account. The Kennedy Center Honors’ honoree recommendations are accepted from the general public.