The Shape of Film

I'm a little late to the party on this one but let's talk about the Oscars. Sadly I was wrong about my pick for the Best Picture, but I think that's a good thing. In 2009 the Academy changed the number of nominees in the Best Picture race from five to ten. They did this with the hope of bringing in more diverse films which would result in more people watching the ceremony. While oddball films like District 9, Mad Max, and Get Out have been nominated, sadly they rarely stand a chance to take home the crown since they weren't "Oscar movies". Then along comes Guillermo Del Toro with The Shape of Water. I loved the movie when I saw it but I enjoyed others more so it wasn't even on my radar for the Best Picture winner. That being said, The Shape of Water winning that accolade just might change film as we know it. The movie's story, unorthodox. The movie's style, stunning. The movie's music, magical. Guillermo Del Toro takes an indie story and combines it with a blockbuster budget to give us a story like no other. What does this mean though? This means that original, ambitious, weird, different film making is now "prestige" worthy in the eyes of the Academy. Outside the box movies like these aren't condemned to the cult classic life cycle anymore. They can get the recognition they deserve and change the shape of film making as we know it.