On Sunday, Los Angeles will host the 94th Academy Awards, the most glamorous event in HollywoodA district of Los Angeles historically home to numerous film studios. It is often used to stand for the American film industry as a whole..

This year the AcademyThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional organisation of film workers. It has run the Oscars since 1929. has invited stars like Nicole Kidman and Will Smith, Beyonce and Billie Eilish will perform live. A new fan favourite prize will allow the public to vote on an award.

On the surface, the Oscars seem glitzier than ever. But there are cracks. The ceremony was once one of the most coveted spots on TV.

Recently, the public seems to have fallen out of love. The 2021 awards were watched by 10.4 million people - a 56% drop from 23.6 million the year before. At its peak in 1998, the awards attracted 57.2 million viewers.

Some say the Oscars are out of date. Once, it was a novelty to see the stars out of character and to watch clips from their best films. Now, streaming allows us to see almost everything. And social media allows us to feel closer than ever to the stars and their lives. 

It does not help that the events are dull, even for those in the audience. Screenwriter Gareth Roberts says: "Award ceremonies are agonising... They drag on for hours and hours and hours."

Others wonder why we should care about Hollywood all. The #MeToo movementA campaign against sexual harassment and abuse often committed by people in positions of power. The movement took off after allegations of sexual abuse were made against American film producer Harvey Weinstein in 2017. sparked by Harvey WeinsteinA US film producer who is currently in prison after being found guilty of rape. Accusations against him sparked the global #MeToo movement in 2017, in which woman spoke out against sexual abuse and harassment. 's abusive behaviour has revealed the US film industry to be, in commentator Douglas Murray's words, "a cess-pit of sexual predation". Why should we celebrate a toxic culture?

For those who work in film, the awards remain important. As culture reporter Sonia Rao says: "If the stars align, a nomination alone can transform a career." Only a handful of the 23 awards celebrate the Hollywood elite. Many give recognition to less glamorous back-end crew members, such as special effects teams and make-up artists, or shine a light on short films and documentaries.

Cinema has extraordinary staying power. A year ago, movies seemed doomed. The pandemic had frozen production and closed cinemas. But the recently released Spiderman: No Way Home had the 3rd biggest opening ever, taking $600m. 

The percentage of time people spend streaming films has risen to 10.1% against TV. Cinema ticket sales have shot back up, from 221.8 million in 2020 to 492 million in 2021. If cinema can return from the brink, perhaps the Oscars can too. They might just need time to adapt.

Yes: Viewership figures only tell one part of the story. The ceremonies may be out of fashion. But the Academy Awards and their results still command newspaper space and drive up box office sales.

No: Cinema is thriving. But the sort of films favoured by the Oscars - biopics, Westerns and family dramas - are almost always in English and do not represent its true diversity. We will do fine without them.

Or... Every profession has its award ceremonies, important to those in the industry but irrelevant to those outside it. The Oscars should be seen in a similar light.