The announcement of the Golden Globe nominations effectively kicks off meaningful award season. For those who still see the Globes as a “poor man’s Oscars”, shame on you. You’re not necessarily in the minority, but still, shame. Even the Oscar’s have a history of depraved self-aggrandizement and backroom sabotage against The Golden Globes, and quite frankly, it’s obtusely shallow thinking.

If you’re not 100% sure what I’m referring to, I’ll let you in on some recent dirty dealings between the two ceremonies. In case you missed it (and they were hoping you did), before the Globes last year the folks at The Oscars informed talent agents that if their clients accepted roles as presenters at the Globes, they wouldn’t be invited for the role at the Academy Awards. Read that again. That’s next level Mean Girls three-way-call sabotage if you ask me. But that’s what happens when networks get involved - if you recall, The Academy Awards are aired on ABC and The Globes are an NBC special event. In Trump’s America, everything is about ratings, people.

You probably didn’t miss the (ahem) subtlety of moving the Oscars “up” by a few weeks this year, now airing February 9th. The Globes used to own the first part of the year (at LEAST the first month and a half), and now there’s not much breathing room between the two ceremony siblings. The Oscars are taking back territory they felt was a birthright - and maybe it is.

But talk to the commissioner of ANY professional sports league and they will tell you, extending a season is always a favourable move. The NHL season now ends in June. For many (present company included) the Award Season is just as enthusiastically tailgated as any sport. Wouldn’t it seem then, that shrinking the window of enthusiasm or undermining the players in the game (Globes, SAGs, DGAs, BAFTAs, etc.) would have an adverse effect on the entire sport? Simply put, the hype machine kicked off by the Golden Globes only serves to amplify interest in The Academy Awards.

It starts the conversations that will be on the tip of everyone’s tongues until all of the glittery hardware has been doled out. Already storylines are emerging. #OscarSoMale

Seemingly racially or gender-driven snubs are always hot topics, right along with armchair critic predictions and passionate pleas for “mainstream cinema” to get a nod. This year, we see yet another Foreign underdog make waves; Parasite following directly in the footsteps of ROMA is an enormous triumph for the global art movement. I’d love for us to be talking about that for a few months, instead of rushing through the climax and leaving but a single breath for its denouement. We need time to read into what these themes mean to us collectively as consumers and cultural critics. But our window for discourse and appreciation has narrowed to less than half a season of Greys Anatomy.

To what end? Are the movers and shakers behind the Oscars really that short-sighted? Or perhaps, has self-admiration and the desire for spectacle displaced the original goal?

Let’s not fight. C’mon, if cinematic tropes of storytelling have taught us anything, it’s that the true masterpieces are immersive, unhurried and ignite discussion. That’s what I expect from Award seasons too.