The People’s Choice Awards has come and gone; like every other awards show these days, some controversy has come out of the annual event. This time, it’s the stunning fact that Rachel Zegler won The Action Movie Star Of The Year award. On one hand, this is great for Zegler’s image. Given how much heat the actress had over her comments about Snow White and the way she handled the backlash, it’s impressive that she still has a huge following that loves her.
Fans and critics are up in arms over the notion that Rachel Zegler beat out Keanu Reeves (John Wick: Chapter 4), Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning), and Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) for this trophy. However, the masses are overreacting to Zegler’s shocking win. It’s okay that The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes star emerged victorious in a meaningless category.
The People’s Choice Awards Is Ultimately Meaningless
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The People’s Choice Awards has been around since 1975. Despite the show being around for over 40 years, it was never meant to be on the same level as the Oscars or Golden Globes. Not every award show is meant to be as well. There are so many awards shows in a calendar year and each one has to stand out in its own way. These types of events tend to celebrate more commercial or mainstream content. After all, there’s not one indie project in the listing. Taylor Swift‘s concert movie was nominated for The best movie of the year!
When it comes to advertisements, how many times do you see a film highlight a Golden Globe or Oscar winner (or even a nominee)? It helps bring more prestige and value to a film if audiences know that a high-caliber talent is attached to a certain project. No film or television show highlights the winners or nominees of events like the People’s Choice Awards or the MTV Movie Awards. They’re not on the level of those grand events because it ultimately comes down to a popularity contest.
John Wick: Chapter 4, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Dead Reckoning made more than The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes at the box office. However, the audience for this awards show tends to skew more female. This isn’t particularly a shot at Rachel Zegler herself, but compared to the incredible action sequences in John Wick: Chapter 4, Dead Reckoning, and Guardians Vol. 3, Songbirds & Snakes doesn’t hold a candle to any of those films.
The People’s Choice Awards Voting Process Stops It From Being Taken Seriously
As I stated above, this is a popularity contest. Nothing less and nothing more. This pretty much goes for all fan-based events. This prevents the show from being taken seriously because it’s rare that quality is taken into consideration. If you look behind the scenes, it’s incredible what Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise put their bodies through. It’s still astounding that the Oscar doesn’t have a category for stunt work because their dedication to such a craft is amazing.
This isn’t to say that Rachel Zegler didn’t work hard, but the action and fight sequences in John Wick: Chapter 4 and Dead Reckoning are inventive and exciting. That Paris sequence in John Wick is some of the best fight choreography in a film ever. The train sequence in Dead Reckoning deserves its own recognition as well. But when quality isn’t the benefactor for decision making, then the award ultimately becomes meaningless. How do we even know that these fans watched Songbirds & Snakes? Some people voted for Rachel Zegler because of her popularity, not for the film itself.
There Shouldn’t Be A Controversy Over Something Worthless
There shouldn’t be any controversy over something that doesn’t have any merit behind it. The People’s Choice Awards demographic is skewed more towards women, so it’s not particularly surprising that Rachel Zegler won for The Action Movie Star of the Year. Even if was skewed towards men and Reeves, Pratt, or Cruise won, it would still be meaningless. It’s a nice ego boost to the actress who didn’t particularly have a great year, but it doesn’t harm Reeves, Pratt, or Tom Cruise in the slightest. Their respective films are a benchmark on the way action movies should be presented, and not winning the People’s Choice Awards doesn’t cloud that achievement.
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