Forty five High Point University students were selected at random to give their opinions on which films will win the coveted “Best Picture” title at the Academy Awards. Students were given a list of 18 acclaimed films eligible for nomination that included “O. J.: Made in America,” “20th Century Women,” “Sully,” “Jackie,” “Loving,” “Silence,” “Nocturnal Animals,” “Deadpool,” “Captain Fantastic,” “Hacksaw Ridge,” “Hell or High Water,” “Lion,” “Fences,” “Arrival,” “Hidden Figures,” “Manchester by the Sea,” “Moonlight,” and “La La Land.” Students were asked to name, from this list, which film they thought would win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
“‘La La Land’, but I hate that answer,” said senior Jose San Miguel. “‘Moonlight’ is unlike anything I have ever seen, and it should win, but it won’t. It was a frustration and celebration of the black experience. The Oscars is an institution that equates black excellence with white mediocrity,” Miguel said. The senior’s film count stood at 11 out of the 18 on the list, the most of any of the participants.
Freshman Carter Clasper picked “Hidden Figures” as the film he thought would take home the prize. “Typically, the award for best picture tackles big, controversial issues,” said Clasper on his choice of the film that tells the story of female African-American mathematicians that helped NASA reach the moon. Clasper had seen five of the 18 films on the list.
Of the 45 students who picked out films from the list, only 21 of them had actually seen the film they had chosen to win the prize. Fifty-three percent of the students surveyed selected films they had not seen, but judged based on what they had heard about the film. On average, students had seen 1.58 of the 18 acclaimed films on the list. Of those who had seen at least one of the films on the list, the average number of films viewed was 2.39 out of 18.
