‘THEY WEREN’T DOING THAT BEFORE??’: Oscars just woke up with a new rule and gave ‘injustice’ a whole new meaning

The Oscars might be the biggest film awards in the world, and a matter of prestige for anyone who walks away with an honor, but it has courted more than their fair share of controversies. But looks like the Academy is not done getting bashed for its very existence, as its new rule, seemingly their step towards revolution, just left jaws hanging as it explained why Oscars never got it right for decades.

It has been announced that – wait for it – the Academy has implemented a new rule (focus is on the word “new”) that now makes it mandatory for voting members to watch all the nominated films in a given category before they’re allowed to vote.

Wait WHAT! Weren’t they already doing it? For 97 years, voters assigned to choose the best from a pool of deserving candidates just blindly picked their choice?

Apparently, this step was taken to combat the very backlash that has dogged the Oscars since its inception in 2025. Till now, in many, many instances, movies have been chosen on the basis of the buzz they created or how popular they went on to be while ignoring diverse stories or contenders who don’t have the same level of fame as their peers. But now, members will have to confirm they’ve watched all nominees, especially in categories like Best International Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best Animated Feature, and Shorts (Animated, Live Action, Documentary). The plan is to apply this rule eventually to every category.

But the delay in the implementation of this mandatory rule only underlines the valid complaints held by cinema lovers and those deserving of the very award they weren’t even considered for. Remember the 87th Academy Awards, which saw the beginning of #OscarsSoWhite? Selma, a powerful civil rights film about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., received only two nominations, and despite major acclaim, David Oyelowo (the lead actor) was not nominated for Best Actor, nor was director Ava DuVernay considered for nomination for Best Director. Also, The Lego Movie’s absence in the Best Animated Feature left many wondering if voters even watch the films before selecting the nominees.

Well, now you have your answer why Greta Gerwig was snubbed for Best Director, why Lupita Nyong’o’s widely celebrated performance in Us didn’t make a dent in the voters’ choices, or why the Oscars never seem to get it right.