On Monday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a new category for the Oscars, and the ladies of The View are not feeling it. The category will allow Twitter fans to vote for their favorite film through the #OscarsFanFavorite hashtag, which did not go over well on Tuesday’s episode of the daytime talk show. While co-host Joy Behar quipped that we already have a People’s Choice Awards, all eyes were on Whoopi Goldberg, who brought her expertise as an Academy member to the table.
OSCARS ENCOURAGE FAN VOTING VIA TWITTER: The Academy announced that they are including Twitter users in the voting process this year by letting them vote for their favorite film to be recognized during the #Oscars awards broadcast – #TheView weighs in on the #OscarsFanFavorite. pic.twitter.com/WQib0Af7dG
— The View (@TheView) February 15, 2022
“Moviegoers go to the movies for a different reason than Oscar voters do,” Whoopi explained. “We are voting on our particular knowledge. So, best actor comes from the group of actors who are voting. Best cinematographer is coming from the cinematographers.”
Whoopi took things even further by tackling the criticism that the Oscars are “snooty,” and why the average moviegoers shouldn’t be tasked with voting on films. Via The Wrap:
“People also believe that we are snooty, because we pick movies, sometimes, that people don’t know about,” Whoopi continued. “It’s because of their excellence — their excellence in any given category. That’s what it is, that’s why we do that. We don’t ask the audience to do that because who’s got the attention span?”
Speaking of “snooty,” co-hosts Sara Haines and Ana Navarro both argued that they actually like the elitist quality of the Oscars. Haines likes the “snobbery of knowing what makes a great, artistic film,” while Navarro says the awards show helps her find movies to watch.
“Well, you know, I have the pop culture knowledge of a radish,” Navarro said. “But there’s a bunch of movies that I watch because they won Oscars.”
(Via The Wrap)