Oscar: The King Of Film Awards

In 1895, Frenchman Louis Lumiere invented the motion picture camera. His cinematograph soon took the world by storm due to its convenience. The motion picture industry hence was born. For the first twenty years the industry was made up of short silent films, most of them only a few minutes in length. From 1929, films were able to record sounds simultaneously with motion. As we move our eyes to America, we find that in cinema's earliest days, the film industry was based in the nation's theatrical center, New York, and most films were made in New York. Beginning in 1908, however, a growing number of filmmakers located in southern California, drawn by cheap land and labor, the ready accessibility of varied scenery, and a climate ideal for year-round outdoor filming. By the early 1920s, Hollywood had become the world's film capital.In the more than 80-year history of Hollywood, there has been a film award, dancing pretty well with its tune. That is the Academy Awards—Oscar Awards. The Awards have been presented annually by a non-profit professional organization—the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). The first Academy Awards were officially presented out on May 16, 1929. Today, Oscar fever hits the entertainment community and film fans. For instance, the 78th Annual Academy Awards (2006) telecast by ABC attracted an average audience of 38.8 million viewers in the United States. As such a popular film award, Oscar not only catches the eyes of Americans, but also the whole world. Few film awards can boast such an international dimension.In this paper, basic knowledge about Oscar will be introduced, the characteristics of Oscar will be discussed by comparing it with other film awards, and most importantly, the reasons why the Oscar has become the most popular award in the film industry as well as its basic cultural values will be examined. As an American domestic film award, the Oscar has kept developing for seventy-seven years. Now it goes beyond America, becoming the most desirable film award all around the world. There is no other film award so successful as the Oscar. There is no other film award more popular and prestigious than the Oscar. There is no other film award that can give the nominees and winners such unthinkable benefits and international prestige as the Oscar does. In this sense, it can be said that Oscar is the king of film awards.