The Oscars’ Fight to Stay Relevant Amid Its Cultural Decline

At its best, the Academy Awards function as a time capsule for the year’s national (and increasingly international) consciousness. Long before hashtags, nominated films reflected what was “trending” on our minds. Platoon (1986) and The Hurt Locker (2009) revealed the harsh realities and cultural considerations of very different wars. Wall Street (1987) and The Big Short (2015) explored two sides of the same greed-driven coin. When art and technology intersected alongside this cultural mirror,...