Do we still care about award season?

The Golden Globes have officially kicked off the award season—a time filled with film awards, ceremonies, controversies, red carpets, dream outfits, and viral on-stage blunders. This highly anticipated period for cinephiles and pop culture enthusiasts will conclude on March 3, 2025, with the Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars. While each year this string of events—spanning from the Golden Globes to the Critics Choice Awards, Grammys, DGA and PGA Awards, BAFTAs, Spirit and SAG Awards—is a must-watch for fans, industry professionals, and Twitter users, one question remains: what does the rest of the world think?

The Controversies of Award Season Have Already Begun (and They're the Most Fascinating Part)

In everyday life, it seems few are genuinely invested in seeing their favorite film of the year crowned by prestigious juries. Meanwhile, social media is rife with debates about whether The Brutalist, Conclave, Wicked, or The Substance deserves a statuette—or whether Sebastian Stan or Timothée Chalamet should win accolades. The controversies, however, are what truly break through to the wider public. Currently, the hottest debate overseas revolves around the film Emilia Pérez and actor Adrian Brody. Directed by Jacques Audiard, the film has faced accusations of insensitivity toward both the Mexican people and the trans community. Meanwhile, Brody, celebrated for his role in The Brutalist, has been criticized for allegedly kissing co-star Halle Berry without consent and staunchly defending controversial figures Roman Polanski and Woody Allen.

The 2025 Oscars: Italy's Presence and What to Expect from the Nominations

In Italy, public interest in these events spikes only when local actors, directors, or films are contenders. After Paolo Sorrentino’s La grande bellezza, the next big hopeful is C'è ancora domani, directed by Paola Cortellesi. While some outlets have reported the film as a contender for Best Picture—the most prestigious category in a U.S.-centric world—this claim is false. Cortellesi’s directorial debut is among the 323 eligible titles, but not among the 207 shortlisted candidates for that category. The final nominations will be announced on January 17. If no Italian title or actor makes the cut, public interest will likely wane, resurfacing only for extraordinary moments, such as Will Smith’s slap at Chris Rock.

Social Media, Echo Chambers, and the Transformation of Award Shows

As seen with the Sanremo Festival—the only Italian event that remotely compares to the Oscars—social media has fundamentally transformed award shows, their focus, and the discourse surrounding them. Alongside the hunt for viral moments that dominate sharing and commentary, controversies engineered by users and memes about outfits have taken center stage. The films themselves are discussed sparingly, often as if they were football matches, with fiercely divided fan bases. While Academy judgments have always been politically and socially charged—often deemed unfair or industry-driven—the increasing social media-ization of criticism risks diluting complex conversations and nuanced analysis, to the detriment of both audiences and cinema.