My awards season wishlist

Awards season is upon us. Much like political campaigning, awards season never truly ends, but every January the ramp up to the Oscars begins, and even serious news outlets can’t seem to prevent themselves from gushing about gowns (I’m looking at you, New York Times).

I have a confession. I love awards season. I love awkward red carpet chit chat and clearly rehearsed “this is so unexpected!” acceptance speeches and yes, I love looking at pictures of people in stunning dresses and dapper tuxes.

But this year, I have a few awards season wishes.

First, I would love to see a little less opulence and a little more awareness on the red carpet. Our country has been through a lot in the last year, and while Hollywood is where we often turn to escape from the grim reality of real life in America, it would be refreshing to see an acknowledgment that, outside of Tinseltown, millions of Americans are struggling to make ends meet.

I’d love to see a little less focus on what actresses are wearing, and a little more attention paid to the work they’ve done this year. Women like Catherine Bigelow, Gabourey Sidibe, Meryl Streep, Natalie Portman and Mo’Nique, to name just a few, have made some real contributions to acting and directing this year. And while awards seasons inherently carries with it some focus on how these women present themselves on the red carpet, wouldn’t it be nice to celebrate their talent and hard work, instead of focusing solely on their gowns, hair, make up and jewelry? Wouldn’t it be nice to hear red carpet hosts ask those actresses about how they prepared for their roles, rather than how they prepared for the awards ceremony?

Finally, if we must talk fashion, I’d love to see a ban on the body snark that so often comes along with it. It’s easy, when we talk about gowns and tuxes in a critical way, to talk about the bodies wearing them in the same tone. It’s difficult to draw the line between commenting on a woman’s style and commenting on her size or shape, but it can, and should, be done. For those of us who can’t get through awards season without talking about the fashion, the women at Go Fug Yourself set an excellent (and very funny) example for how to talk about red carpet fashion, without the body snark.

Oh, and my last awards season wish? I really want a woman to win Best Director. In the eighty-two years that the Academy has been handing out Oscars, they’ve never once given a Best Director statuette to a woman. My money’s on The Hurt Locker‘s Catherine Bigelow.

Do you have any wishes for awards season? Leave them in comments!