By Ryan Gajarawala ’18, Staff Writer

It’s a new year and Hollywood has once again embarked on a major awards show season. Every year, it seems that there are more and more events to keep track of and shows to add to your DVR. The 2014 awards season was slightly altered this year to make room for the Winter Olympics, featuring many evenings honoring the best (and sometimes worst) in film, TV, and music. At these award shows, live performances are showcased and others are awarded for their excellence throughout the year. Many students in our Middle School have watched these events. Some of these include Peoples Choice Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Grammys, and the Oscars. Everyone in the country watches these but in the Newark Academy Middle School, students have different perspectives about how effective these shows are.

    Cosimo Fabrizio, Class of 2018, believes that the Oscars and Grammys have an effect on pop culture. He said that “certain categories mean a lot to the country and to certain people. Also, to see certain movies or songs win awards or be nominated helps show the progress America is making in pop culture.” At the Oscars and Grammys, actors, actresses, and musicians won awards for different categories that reflected their progress and America’s progress in what they do. For example, the movie Gravity revolutionized visual effects and elevated the bar so high. It moved America forward in visual effects and helped build the future of movies. Sarah Chang, Class of 2018, believes that the award shows are “really important because they contribute to pop culture by defining what movies and songs are in, new, and ‘hip.’ The award shows not only focus on the music and movies of the past year but hairstyles and fashion.” She finds that these award shows define America’s culture. We have created a culture where the arts are highly valued and award shows are the best way to show the arts.

    Another major part of these shows is fashion. In the arts, fashion is also a widely talked about topic. People have different opinions about what people are wearing. Fashion is a common ground that everyone can have their input in. Every year, people create an Oscar Fashion ‘Report Card’ where experts evaluate how the stars looked. Class of 2018 student Brahm Wieseneck believes that these award shows are “important for girls, not for guys.” This idea could have been originated from the idea that fashion is only important to girls. Fashion is a universal display of culture and art. Students in the Middle School incorporate fashion as a part of their daily lives. These events are one of the greatest places for social media like Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Host of the Oscars, Ellen DeGeneres took selfies with the stars and tweeted them to Twitter. She incorporated social media in her role as a host and broke a record of the most retweets.

    Mila Nazarali, Class of 2018, predicted that Ellen DeGeneres as a host would be very funny because of her lively attitude and enthusiasm as a host. DeGeneres hosted the Oscars in 2007 and she did a fabulous job. The producers wanted to bring her back and she made every person across America laugh at her jokes. Cosimo Fabirizio, Class of 2018, thinks that Ellen “kept the life of the show up because she is more enthusiastic than many other hosts. It was funny how she messed with everybody.” Millions of people found it funny when she pointed out Jennifer Lawrence’s fall last year at the Oscars. Also, when she took the most retweeted selfie in the world with the stars. She took everyone by surprise when she ordered PIZZA! She went all out. Sarah Chang, Class of 2018, clearly enjoyed her jokes. She said that she enjoyed when “Ellen ordered pizza and when she dressed up as a princess. Overall it was a fun experience.”

    The award shows next year have to live up to the fashion, hosting, and culture of this years season. Ellen DeGeneres did a great job hosting the Academy Awards. She was great at hosting because she incorporated the audience. She did way better than many of the past hosts like Seth MacFarlane and Anne Hathaway and James Franco. The fashion on this year’s red carpet was phenomenal. People dressed in different dresses and others wore different colored blazers. This year is a year to top in the movie and music business. Certain movies were must sees including this year’s best picture, 12 Years A Slave. Also, certain songs were must listen tos including this year’s record of the year, Get Lucky by Daft Punk. People really outdid themselves this year to pull it all together. I just can’t wait for what the media industry has in store for us next.