Time to burn the razzies to the ground

In a world where there are so many easy ways to share movie opinions online, it's time to do away with the Golden Raspberry Award once and for all.

The Golden Razzies, also known as the "Golden Razzies," recently had to issue an apology to 12-year-old actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong. The Razzie Awards, an award show that selects the "worst movie" of the year, honor Armstrong with a nomination in the Worst Actress category. After they were criticized online for singleting out a child star, the Razzies said they "wanted to say we regret any harm she has suffered as a result of our choice" and set a new one in their category age limit. This isn't the first time they've nominated a child actor, Macaulay Culkin and Phantom Menace actor Jack Lloyd have both been nominated before. The Razzies have yet to apologize to these actors, but they're not the only ones who deserve it.

Since 1981, the Razzies have used the opposite category to the Academy Awards, including Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actor, and Worst Actress; they also have special categories, such as Worst Screen Couple Group, Worst Prequel, Sequel, Remake or Bootleg, and some other special awards for certain years. Nominations and winners are announced the day before the Oscars When nominated, the Razzies attempted to satirize the very nature of award shows, but they were never an effective form of criticism.

It has reached the point where the Razzies are no longer humorous in any way. Effective film criticism is important, and it doesn't have to always be constructive. Making fun of bad movies can be a lot of fun, but the Razzies are just a lazy collection of simple jokes that are often disrespectful or just plain wrong. In a world where there are so many easy ways to share movie opinions online, it's time to blow up the Razzies for good.

The Razzies Rely on a Corrupt Process

Given how the Razzies are voted, any joke at the expense of the Oscars would be odd. Rather than discussing or critiquing establishments to determine their nominations, the razzie "committee" creates a shortlist of seven to 11 contenders in each category, with slots for writing ads. Ballots are issued to members, or basically anyone who is willing to pay for it. All you have to do to become a Razzie member is pay a $40 annual fee or get a lifetime membership $500. It's no less valuable than a Twitter poll, as members may vote based on recent trends, controversies, or prejudices.

This decision by public consensus is why the nominees are usually a list of well-known titles that a broad constituency may have heard of; fabled horror films such as The Room or Daniel the Wizard do not receive any recognition because they may not known to voters. Likewise, there's no guarantee that voters have seen what they've nominated, and may simply jump on any film of the year that could be a punching bag.

The Razzies' Nominations Are Often Baffling

This is reflected in the nominations, which tend to focus on easy targets such as studio comedies, failed blockbusters or sequels, and box office disappointments. The Razzies also have special targets who are nominated for nearly every performance, such as Adam Sandler and Sylvester Stallone. Sandler was even nominated for the comedy classic "Happy Gilmore," while Stallone was recognized for films like "Rocky IV" and "The Cliffs." Since it is stipulated that actors can nominate any number of performances per year, there are nominations like Ben Affleck Won Worst Actor in 2004 for Gigli, Daredevil and Paycheck.

Due to the low cost of membership, Golden Raspberry Award nominations are in many cases outright wrong. Past Worst Picture nominees have included now-beloved films like Armageddon, Highway Home, Last Action Hero, Cruise, The Blair Witch Project, Rambo: First Blood Part 2, and others that were originally frowned upon. Criticized videos. That's only in the worst picture category; other terribly wrong winners include Stanley Kubrick (worst director for The Shining) and Ennio Morricone (worst director for The Thing). soundtrack). In fact, Razzie sometimes nominates actors and artists who will be nominated for Oscars the next day; such as Aerosmith's original song "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing" and Glenn Close's performance in Hillbilly Elegy.

The Razzies' History of Strange (and Offensive) Lineups

Occasionally, the Golden Acid Awards single out a low-budget film that the Golden Acid Committee chooses to highlight, and the number of conservative documentaries has increased in recent years. This leads to a weird lineup; weird to see fascist propaganda like Hillary's "America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party" being nominated at the same time as the nomination Poorly reviewed blockbusters like Zoolander 2, Gods of Egypt, Independence Day: Resurgence, and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Razzies are also guilty of singling out individuals in a purely offensive manner. Nominations are typically women and people of color. They are often miscategorized on purpose, such as Tyler Perry's worst actress nominations for multiple Madea sequels, and George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell's worst screen for Batman & Robin Couple nomination (a clear insult to openly gay director Joel Schumacher). There are only a handful of outliers each year, and most films tend to be nominated in nearly every eligible category. You'll see examples of this, like Ben Affleck's Worst Actor award for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; of all the film's problems, almost everyone thinks Affleck The acting is the best part of the film.

This Isn't the First Time The Razzies Had to Apologize

The Firestarter controversy is not the first time the Razzies have had to publicly apologize for their cruelty. While they created a category earlier this year for the eight direct-to-demand movies Bruce Willis has appeared in in 2021 Razzie was forced to withdraw the award that same year after Willis' health struggles with aphasia were made public by his family. Interestingly, the Razzies have stated that they have no intention of ruining anyone's career, as they have previously been nominated for Worst Rising Star.

In a world where social media and review sites (such as Rotten Tomatoes and Letterboxd) exist for fans to express their opinions, the Razzies simply do not have to single out easy targets. There's nothing wrong with disliking, badly criticizing, or making fun of a bad movie, but the Razzies are just a frivolous, outdated tradition that no longer holds any value.