The 2026 Oscars will kick off Sunday evening. Finally. But there’s a whole world out there that doesn’t know or care about them. Zero. Donut. Blank slate.
On Saturday afternoon I spoke with two employees of Wilton’s Village Market — Linda, a friendly, somewhat older checkout person with big glasses and long brown hair, and Andrew, a blond-haired trainee who seemed about 19 or 20.
As of 3:20 pm, Linda didn’t know the Oscar telecast was a day away. Nor had she seen or even heard about any of the Best Picture nominees. Linda: “You’re talking to the wrong people.”
HE: “How about last year’s Best Picture winner, Anora?” Linda: “No, but thanks for telling me about it. Maybe I’ll stream it.”
I asked Andrew if he’s seen Anora. He looked at me with a flat, emotion-less expression. Eyes as dead as a shark’s.
I asked Linda if she’s ever watched the Oscars, and if they’ve ever made any kind of impression if she has. Yes, she said, but she mainly likes watching the red-carpet fashion parade. “Cool”, I said. “Nothing wrong with that.” And that was it.
This isn’t Linda and Andrew’s fault — it’s the film industry’s. I blame wokeism. We all know the alleged causes and the drainage factors, but for the last nine or ten years Hollywood has been camped out inside its own social-political rectum. All I know is that 15 years ago there was a monoculture out there, and supermarket checkout folks were at least passively aware of the Oscars and had maybe seen one or two Best Picture contenders, or at least had heard about them.
Things have changed…something’s missing. Linda and Andrew don’t care for a reason.
