Why I Stopped Having Oscar Parties

This could be the shortest post in the world, or the longest, but for your sake, I’ll make it as succinct as possible.

I stopped having Oscar parties because I stopped caring about Hollywood. That’s it. That’s the truth. I no longer cared, after being that person who cared a lot and was a film lover. Other things took over my life, namely my family, my job, my writing, and the occasional bit of travel we could fit into the mix.

Don’t get me wrong, I still watch movies, I just don’t care to “hear” too much from celebs. Sometimes when I know too much about a celebrity or their opinions, I get turned off, and then I refuse to watch their movies. It’s better for me to not know too much about them. When they get too full of themselves or become overly preachy, I’m out. I don’t always want to hear their opinions. I know they have their passions, and that’s cool. Let other people who love them hear about them. I just wasn’t going to be one of them.

Plus, to be honest, I started missing the feeling of old Hollywood—of when it was classy and electric. There used to be glamour and glitz and decorum associated with the Academy Awards, and as we learned from this year’s Oscars, that came to a shocking halt and had the internet churning. When I saw the clip from the “slap heard around the world” (that sounded more like a punch), I was appalled, as many were. I was glad I wasn’t watching it live and only saw the clips because you couldn’t avoid it on Twitter.

To put into perspective what a big deal it is that I no longer have extravagant Oscar parties would be to equate it to my husband giving up watching The Masters or the World Series or the Super Bowl.

Hollywood isn’t what it was, in my humble opinion. In fact, with streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime among others, people aren’t revering cinema as it once was. We don’t have to go to the theatre to watch a movie. We can stream them right into the comfort of our own living rooms. Additionally, I think we can all probably agree that some of the best entertainment we are finding today are on these platforms. Shows like Game of Thrones, Broadchurch, Call the Midwife, After Life, All Creatures Great and Small, and The Chosen have captured my heart.

Furthermore, here’s the best part: I have actually survived not watching the Oscars for the last four years. Nothing tragic has happened to me because I decided not to watch. I have just decided to put my energy elsewhere. For those of you who still enjoy the awards show, more power to you.

You see, that’s the beauty of freedom of choice: we can watch or not watch. The decision is entirely up to you.