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The Oscars’ Fight to Stay Relevant Amid Its Cultural Decline

The Academy’s pivot to YouTube in 2029 reflects a deeper reality: the Oscars no longer command the monoculture they once defined.

At its best, the Academy Awards function as a time capsule for the year’s national (and increasingly international) consciousness. Long before hashtags, nominated films reflected what was “trending” on our minds. Platoon (1986) and The Hurt Locker (2009) revealed the harsh realities and cultural considerations of very different wars. Wall Street (1987) and The Big Short (2015) explored two sides of the same greed-driven coin. When art and technology intersected alongside this cultural mirror, the Oscars became a microcosm for larger behavioral shifts. The ceremony expanded to not only externalize our collective cares, but make a direct comment on where our attention is heading. 

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Irony is not without a sense of humor. The Oscars, America’s most-watched awards show celebrating cinematic big screen storytelling, is heading to YouTube in 2029, a digital destination most commonly accessed on ever-shrinking screens for a couple of minutes at a time. Once a pillar of the monoculture that unified Hollywood and its consumer constituents, the awards show is losing........

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