Netflix and the Oscars: Spielberg Has a Point

The war of the awards between Netflix and Spielberg has raised clenched jaws and raucous commentary on whether Netflix should be eligible for future Academy Awards. While Netflix is forever changing the definition of cinema, it’s also redefining the rules, threatening theaters so it can have its film and stream it, too.

When you look at the surface of the argument, it is about one awards ceremony. It is about whether Netflix should receive awards at the Oscars. But that leads us to the much bigger question, and what this argument is ultimately about: Should Netflix movies be considered in the same category as cinematic movies?

In the true style of America, the Oscars must be clearly defined and all categories must be placed into boxes. Currently, Netflix has been stuffed it into the “film” box for the sake of the awards, allowing the streaming service to clean up at the 2019 Oscars with movies such as Roma.

But Netflix is more than the film box–it is the television box, the streaming box, and now its own hybrid box redefining what film and television mean. Because it doesn’t fit solidly into any category, it has been allowed to play by the rules of both categories, sometimes even its own rules. As a result, this past summer Netflix was also nominated for more Emmy Awards than any other network or streaming service. Netflix has enjoyed seasons of double dipping, picking up awards in every box it is squeezed into. The Emmys and the Oscars have more appropriately become the Flix Awards, but for many audiences, there’s no problem.

Those who are in favor of keeping Netflix a part of the Oscars argue that Netflix and similar streaming services have provided access to movies so that anyone–anywhere–can enjoy them, no theater required. They have given life to several indie films that otherwise may have never been created and completely changed the game of movie distribution. But with other streaming services such as Amazon Prime offer the same services, why is Netflix under attack?

Because Netflix is playing by its own rules and growing more powerful by the minute.

Theaters and film producers have long enjoyed a relationship of distribution that involves a 90-day window between a film’s theatrical release and availability on streaming sites. Amazon has generously played by these rules. Netflix, however, has stood firmly on making movies available for streaming the same day as their theatrical releases. Theaters now face the competition of at-home Netflix streaming for viewing of the movie, threatening the theater experience that Spielberg and many members of the Academy fiercely guard.

But to be considered by the Academy for an Oscar, a film must have a public premiere in a movie theater and must be played in an L.A. County theater for 7 consecutive days. Netflix has skirted this rule by paying for limited screenings in small independent theater chains and was even reported by Los Angeles Times in 2018 to have considered buying movie theaters to avoid this distribution dilemma in the ultimate loophole. Additionally, Netflix does not report box office earnings, setting itself .

With the skirting of the rules, Netflix has been under investigation by more than Spielberg. In France, the Cannes Film Festival changed its rules to prevent Netflix from competing until it opened a window between streaming and cinema. As a result, Netflix pulled out from the awards. Perhaps the Oscars needs to follow suit: to compete for the same awards, all films should abide by the same rules. 

Of course, this brings us back to our initial problem–Netflix does not fit the film box. Spielberg’s reported campaign starts a conversation that should be had sooner rather than later, especially with companies such as Disney beginning their own streaming services: when we’re so desperate to push everything into a box, where do we put the films that don’t fit any of them?

Streaming industries aren’t going anywhere any time soon, and either the awards or the streaming services are going to bend. While more definite rules for what constitutes a film are likely on the horizon, perhaps what American film awards really need is a new, Netflix-sized box.

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