#OscarsSoStupid: Why a best blockbuster Academy Award is a horrendous idea

The timing couldn’t be better for the release of “The Meg” this week since the Academy Awards is also apparently jumping the shark.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rolled out some backlash-worthy changes to the awards Wednesday, including a new category “designed around achievement in popular film,” which could equate to some kind of Oscar for best blockbuster. Details are still forthcoming about what the eligibility requirements are for said "popular" films – perhaps an appearance by Thanos is a prerequisite, or at least one masked individual with superpowers?

I’m not mad about having the Oscars earlier in 2020 (stretching awards season to March seems excessive anyway) or limiting the telecast to three hours (good luck with that). But having an award specifically for blockbusters is an absolutely horrendous idea.

Even with all the snubs and controversies the show has wrestled with for nearly 90 years, the Academy Awards have long been the one night that celebrates the best cinema has to offer. If this new category comes to pass, the Oscars will essentially have its own participation trophy. This is the sort of thing that belongs on the MTV Movie & TV Awards – at this rate, we should expect an "LOL" Oscar next.

The Oscars have taken a PR hit in the past few years with #OscarsSoWhite, but the aftermath has been fairly positive. New Academy members include lots more women and people of color. After the success of last year’s best-picture nominee “Get Out,” 2018 has given us legit contenders such as “Black Panther,” “Blindspotting” and “BlacKkKlansman.”

This year’s Oscar ceremony hit an all-time low in ratings, which makes a best-blockbuster award look like a desperate attempt to attract viewers. At what cost, though?

The new category has been fast-tracked for this awards season. Is the Academy so concerned that box-office behemoth “Black Panther” won’t get a best-picture nomination that a whole other category is required for it to conquer? Perhaps, but strap in for a whole heap of outrage.

Honestly, the furor would be well-deserved. In 2009, the show upped the number of best-picture nominees – expanding the field from five films to a possible 10 – so critical powerhouses such as “The Dark Knight” wouldn’t be on the outside looking in and impressive achievements such as “Black Panther” might be celebrated as more than just popcorn fare. “Mad Max: Fury Road” got a nod and took home a few secondary trophies; so did "Get Out,” which snagged a writing Oscar for filmmaker Jordan Peele. The system isn't perfect, but it seemed to be doing OK.

The best-picture Oscar means just that: the very best picture, whether it's Wonder Woman trying to save the world or a woman falling in love with a fish man. “Black Panther” should totally be in the running, the same as a whole slew of Oscar-bait films coming out through the end of the year. Even though "Panther" will be eligible for both "best popular film" and best picture, give it a chance at the big prize, just like anything else.

Taking a superhero epic, or any great popular film, out of a category it deserves to be in – and could win – to be seated at a black-tie kiddie table is jaw-droppingly absurd.

You can do better than that, Academy. Don’t be #OscarsSoStupid.