James Rocchi: The Moviegoer: Six Ways of Watching the Oscars

1) As a Glimpse into the Mindset of an Academy Voter The dirty little secret of the Oscars is that while they're often derided and dismissed as the self-celebration of a liberal elite , they're actually more conservative than you might think. The average Academy voter is white, male, older and wealthy, and has been insulated in show business for years; the average Academy voter will almost always pick a period piece over a modern film, or pick a feel-good movie that speaks to Hollywood's past over a movie that asks questions about the here-and-now. For the past several years, I've made Oscar Predictions for Cinematical from the perspective of that average Academy voter, who I choose to personify as Ernest Borgnine; when making Oscar pics for what will win (not what should win) I simply ask "What Would Ernest Borgnine Do?" This is why, for example, Pulp Fiction loses Best Picture to Forrest Gump , or Traffic loses to Gladiator . I don't think anything can derail the No Country for Old ... (link)