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in the film-making industry of the time, for their works during the 192728 period. the ceremony ran for 15minutes.
winners were announced to the media three months earlier. that was changed for the second ceremony in 1930. since then, for the rest of the first decade, the results were given to newspapers for publication at 11:00pm on the night of the awards. this method was used until 1940 when the los angeles times announced the winners before the ceremony began; as a result, the academy has, since 1941, used a sealed envelope to reveal the names of the winners.
milestones
the first best actor awarded was emil jannings, for his performances in the last command and the way of all flesh. he had to return to europe before the ceremony, so the academy agreed to give him the prize earlier; this made him the first |
academy award winner in history. at that time, winners were recognized for the entirety of their work done in a certain category during the qualifying period; for example, jannings received the award for two movies in which he starred during that period, and janet gaynor later won a single oscar for performances in three films. with the fourth ceremony, however, the system changed, and professionals were honored for a specific performance in a single film. for the first six ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned two calendar years.
at the 29th ceremony, held in 1957, the best foreign language film category, now known as best international feature film, was introduced. until then, foreign-language films had been honored with the special achievement award.
perhaps the most widely seen streaker in history |
was 34-year-old robert opel, who streaked across the stage of the dorothy chandler pavilion in los angeles flashing a peace sign on national us television at the 46th academy awards in 1974. bemused host david niven quipped, "isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?" later, evidence arose suggesting that opel's appearance was facilitated as a publicity stunt by the show's producer jack haley jr. robert metzler, the show's business manager, believed that the incident had been planned in some way; during the dress rehearsal niven had asked metzler's wife to borrow a pen so he could write down the famous line, which was thus not the ad-lib it appeared to be.
the 74th academy awards, held in 2002, presented the |
first academy award for best animated feature.
from 1973 to 2020, all academy awards ceremonies have ended with the academy award for best picture. for 2021, this tradition was broken as the ceremony ended with the academy award for best actor.
traditionally, the previous year's winner for best actor and best supporting actor present the awards for best actress and best supporting actress, while the previous year's winner for best actress and best supporting actress present the awards for best actor and best supporting actor.
parasite became the first foreign-language film to win best picture at the february 9, 2020, award ceremony.
tom hanks announced at the 2020 oscar ceremony, the opening of the academy museum of motion pictures on december 14, 2020.<ref>barnes, brooks (february 19, 2020). "motion picture |
academy museum will open in december." the new york times. retrieved march 15, 2020.</ref> the museum development started in 2017 under kerry brougher, but is now led by bill kramer. the industry curated exhibits will be geared toward the history of motion picture, the art & science of film making, exhibiting trailblazing directors, actors, film-makers, sound editors and more, and will house famous artifacts from acclaimed movies like dorothy's ruby red slippers.
because of covid-19, academy president david rubin and ceo dawn hudson announced that for the 2021 oscar ceremony, streaming movies not shown in theaters would be eligible, though at some point the requirement that movies be shown in theaters would return.
oscar statuette
academy award of merit (oscar statuette)
the best known award is the academy |
award of merit, more popularly known as the oscar statuette. made of gold-plated bronze on a black metal base, it is 13.5in (34.3cm) tall, weighs 8.5lb (3.856kg), and depicts a knight rendered in art deco style holding a sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes. the five spokes represent the original branches of the academy: actors, writers, directors, producers, and technicians.
sculptor george stanley (who also did the muse fountain at the hollywood bowl) sculpted cedric gibbons' design. the statuettes presented at the initial ceremonies were gold-plated solid bronze. within a few years, the bronze was abandoned in favor of britannia metal, a pewter-like alloy which is then plated in copper, nickel silver, and finally, 24-karat gold. due to a metal shortage during world war ii, oscars were made of |
painted plaster for three years. following the war, the academy invited recipients to redeem the plaster figures for gold-plated metal ones. the only addition to the oscar since it was created is a minor streamlining of the base. the original oscar mold was cast in 1928 at the c.w. shumway & sons foundry in batavia, illinois, which also contributed to casting the molds for the vince lombardi trophy and emmy award's statuettes. from 1983 to 2015, approximately 50 oscars in a tin alloy with gold plating were made each year in chicago by illinois manufacturer r.s. owens & company. it would take between three and four weeks to manufacture 50 statuettes. in 2016, the academy returned to bronze as the core metal of the statuettes, handing manufacturing duties to walden, new york-based polich tallix fine art foundry. |
while based on a digital scan of an original 1929 oscar, the statuettes retain their modern-era dimensions and black pedestal. cast in liquid bronze from 3d-printed ceramic molds and polished, they are then electroplated in 24-karat gold by brooklyn, new yorkbased epner technology. the time required to produce 50 such statuettes is roughly three months. r.s. owens is expected to continue producing other awards for the academy and service existing oscars that need replating.
naming
the academy officially adopted the name "oscar" for the trophies in 1939. however, the origin of the nickname is disputed.
one biography of bette davis, who was a president of the academy in 1941, claims she named the award after her first husband, band leader harmon oscar nelson. a frequently mentioned originator is margaret herrick, |
the academy executive secretary, who, when she first saw the award in 1931, said the statuette reminded her of "uncle oscar", a nickname for her cousin oscar pierce.
columnist sidney skolsky, who was present during herrick's naming in 1931, wrote that "employees have affectionately dubbed their famous statuette 'oscar.'" the academy credits skolsky with "the first confirmed newspaper reference" to oscar in his column on march 16, 1934, which was written about that year's 6th academy awards. the 1934 awards appeared again in another early media mention of oscar: a time magazine story. in the ceremonies that year, walt disney was the first to thank the academy for his "oscar" during his acceptance speech.
engraving
to prevent information identifying the oscar winners from leaking ahead of the ceremony, oscar |
statuettes presented at the ceremony have blank baseplates. until 2010, winners returned their statuettes to the academy and had to wait several weeks to have their names inscribed on their respective oscars. since 2010, winners have had the option of having engraved nameplates applied to their statuettes at an inscription-processing station at the governor's ball, a party held immediately after the oscar ceremony. the r.s. owens company has engraved nameplates made before the ceremony, bearing the name of every potential winner. the nameplates for the non-winning nominees are later recycled.
ownership of oscar statuettes
prior to 1950, oscar statuettes were (and remain) the property of the recipient. since then the statuettes have been legally encumbered by the requirement that the statuette be first offered |
for sale back to the academy for us$1. if a winner refuses to agree to this stipulation, then the academy keeps the statuette. academy awards predating this agreement have been sold in public auctions and private deals for six-figure sums.
in 1989, michael todd's grandson tried to sell todd's best picture oscar for his 1956 production of around the world in 80 days to a movie prop collector. the academy earned enforcement of its statuette contract by gaining a permanent injunction against the sale.
in 1992, harold russell consigned his 1946 oscar for best supporting actor for the best years of our lives to auction to raise money for his wife's medical expenses. though his decision caused controversy, the first-ever oscar to be sold passed to a private collector on august 6, 1992 for $60,500 ($ today). russell |
defended his action, saying, "i don't know why anybody would be critical. my wife's health is much more important than sentimental reasons. the movie will be here, even if oscar isn't."
in december 2011, orson welles' 1941 oscar for citizen kane (academy award for best original screenplay) was put up for auction, after his heirs won a 2004 court decision contending that welles did not sign any agreement to return the statue to the academy. on december 20, 2011, it sold in an online auction for us$861,542 ($ today).
some buyers have subsequently returned the statuettes to the academy, which keeps them in its treasury.
other awards presented by the academy
in addition to the academy award of merit (oscar award), there are nine honorary (non-competitive) awards presented by the academy from time to time (except |
for the academy honorary award, the technical achievement award, and the student academy awards, which are presented annually):
governors awards:
the academy honorary award (annual) (which may or may not be in the form of an oscar statuette);
the irving g. thalberg memorial award (since 1938) (in the form of a bust of thalberg);
the jean hersholt humanitarian award (since 1957) (in the form of an oscar statuette);
the academy scientific and technical awards:
academy award of merit (non-competitive) (in the form of an oscar statuette);
scientific and engineering award (in the form of a bronze tablet);
technical achievement award (annual) (in the form of a certificate);
the john a. bonner medal of commendation (since 1978) (in the form of a medal);
the gordon e. sawyer award (since 1982); and
the academy |
student academy awards (annual).
the academy also awards nicholl fellowships in screenwriting.
nomination
since 2004, academy award nomination results have been announced to the public in mid-january. prior to that, the results were announced in early february. in 2021, the nominees are announced in march.
voters
the academy of motion picture arts and sciences (ampas), a professional honorary organization, maintains a voting membership of over 7,000 .
academy membership is divided into different branches, with each representing a different discipline in film production. actors constitute the largest voting bloc, numbering 1,311 members (22 percent) of the academy's composition. votes have been certified by the auditing firm pricewaterhousecoopers (and its predecessor price waterhouse) since the 7th academy |
awards in 1935. the firm mails the ballots of eligible nominees to members of the academy in december to reflect the previous eligible year with a due date sometime in january of the next year, then tabulates the votes in a process that takes thousands of hours.
all ampas members must be invited to join by the board of governors, on behalf of academy branch executive committees. membership eligibility may be achieved by a competitive nomination or a member may submit a name based on other significant contributions to the field of motion pictures.
new membership proposals are considered annually. the academy does not publicly disclose its membership, although as recently as 2007 press releases have announced the names of those who have been invited to join. the 2007 release also stated that it has just under |
6,000 voting members. while the membership had been growing, stricter policies have kept its size steady since then.
in 2012, the results of a study conducted by the los angeles times were published describing the demographic breakdown of approximately 88% of ampas' voting membership. of the 5,100+ active voters confirmed, 94% were caucasian, 77% were male, and 54% were found to be over the age of 60. 33% of voting members are former nominees (14%) and winners (19%).
in may 2011, the academy sent a letter advising its 6,000 or so voting members that an online system for oscar voting would be implemented in 2013.
rules
according to rules 2 and 3 of the official academy awards rules, a film must open in the previous calendar year, from midnight at the start of january 1 to midnight at the end of december 31, |
in los angeles county, california, and play for seven consecutive days, to qualify (except for the best international feature film, best documentary feature, and awards in short film categories). additionally, the film must be shown at least three times on each day of its qualifying run, with at least one of the daily showings starting between 6pm and 10pm local time.
for example, the 2009 best picture winner, the hurt locker, was originally first released in 2008, but did not qualify for the 2008 awards, as it did not play its oscar-qualifying run in los angeles until mid-2009, thus qualifying for the 2009 awards. foreign films must include english subtitles, and each country can submit only one film for consideration in the international feature film category per year.
rule 2 states that a film must be feature-length, |
defined as a minimum of 40minutes, except for short-subject awards, and it must exist either on a 35 mm or 70 mm film print or in 24frame/s or 48frame/s progressive scan digital cinema format with a minimum projector resolution of 2048 by 1080 pixels. since the 90th academy awards, presented in 2018, multi-part and limited series have been ineligible for the best documentary feature award. this followed the win of o.j.: made in america, an eight-hour presentation that was screened in a limited release before being broadcast in five parts on abc and espn, in that category in 2017. the academy's announcement of the new rule made no direct mention of that film.
the best international feature film award does not require a u.s. release. it requires the film to be submitted as its country's official selection.
the |
best documentary feature award requires either week-long releases in both los angeles county and new york city during the previous calendar year, or a qualifying award at a competitive film festival from the documentary feature qualifying festival list (regardless of any public exhibition or distribution), or submission in the international feature film category as its country's official selection. the qualifying theatrical runs must meet the same requirements as those for non-documentary films regarding numbers and times of screenings. additionally, a film must have been reviewed by a critic from the new york times, time out new york, the los angeles times, or la weekly.
producers must submit an official screen credits online form before the deadline; in case it is not submitted by the defined deadline, the |
film will be ineligible for academy awards in any year. the form includes the production credits for all related categories. then, each form is checked and put in a reminder list of eligible releases.
awards in short film categories (best documentary short subject, best animated short film, and best live action short film) have noticeably different eligibility rules from most other competitive awards. first, the qualifying period for release does not coincide with a calendar year, instead of covering one year starting on october 1 and ending on september 30 of the calendar year before the ceremony. second, there are multiple methods of qualification. the main method is a week-long theatrical release in either los angeles county or new york city during the eligibility period. films also can qualify by winning |
specified awards at one of several competitive film festivals designated by the academy, also without regard to prior public distribution. finally, a film that is selected as a gold, silver, or bronze medal winner in an appropriate category of the immediately previous student academy awards is also eligible (documentary category for that award, and animation, narrative, alternative, or international for the other awards). the requirements for the qualifying theatrical run are also different from those for other awards. only one screening per day is required. for the documentary award, the screening must start between noon and 10pm local time; for other awards, no specific start time is required, but the film must appear in regular theater listings with dates and screening times.
in late december, ballots, and |
copies of the reminder list of eligible releases are mailed to around 6,000 active members. for most categories, members from each of the branches vote to determine the nominees only in their respective categories (i.e. only directors vote for directors, writers for writers, actors for actors, etc.). in the special case of best picture, all voting members are eligible to select the nominees. in all major categories, a variant of the single transferable vote is used, with each member casting a ballot with up to five nominees (ten for best picture) ranked preferentially. in certain categories, including international feature film, documentary and animated feature, nominees are selected by special screening committees made up of members from all branches.
in most categories, the winner is selected from among the |
nominees by plurality voting of all members. since 2009, the best picture winner has been chosen by instant runoff voting. since 2013, re-weighted range voting has been used to select the nominees for the best visual effects.
film companies will spend as much as several million dollars on marketing to awards voters for a movie in the running for best picture, in attempts to improve chances of receiving oscars and other movie awards conferred in oscar season. the academy enforces rules to limit overt campaigning by its members to try to eliminate excesses and prevent the process from becoming undignified. it has an awards czar on staff who advises members on allowed practices and levies penalties on offenders. for example, a producer of the 2009 best picture nominee the hurt locker was disqualified as a producer |
in the category when he contacted associates urging them to vote for his film and not another that was seen as the front-runner (the hurt locker eventually won).
academy screening room
the academy screening room or academy digital screening room is a secure streaming platform which allows voting members of the academy to view all eligible films (except, initially, those in the international category) in one place. it was introduced in 2019, for the 2020 oscars, though dvd screeners and academy in-person screenings were still provided. for films to be included on the platform, the north american distributor must pay $12,500, including a watermarking fee, and a digital copy of the film to be prepared for streaming by the academy. the platform can be accessed through an app on apple tv. the watermarking process |
involved several video security firms, creating a forensic watermark and restricting the ability to take screenshots or screen recordings.
in 2021, for the 2022 oscars, the academy banned all physical screeners and in-person screenings, restricting official membership viewing to the academy screening room. films eligible in the documentary and international categories were made available in different sections of the platform. distributors can also pay an extra fee to add video featurettes to promote their films on the platform. the in-person screenings were said to be cancelled because of the covid-19 pandemic. eligible films do not have to be added to the platform, but the academy advertises them to voting members when they are.
awards ceremonies
telecast
the major awards are presented at a live televised |
ceremony, commonly in late february or early march following the relevant calendar year, and six weeks after the announcement of the nominees. it is the culmination of the film awards season, which usually begins during november or december of the previous year. this is an elaborate extravaganza, with the invited guests walking up the red carpet in the creations of the most prominent fashion designers of the day. black tie dress is the most common outfit for men, although fashion may dictate not wearing a bow-tie, and musical performers sometimes do not adhere to this. (the artists who recorded the nominees for best original song quite often perform those songs live at the awards ceremony, and the fact that they are performing is often used to promote the television broadcast.)
the academy awards is the world's |
longest-running awards show televised live from the u.s. to all-time zones in north america and worldwide, and gathers billions of viewers elsewhere throughout the world. the oscars were first televised in 1953 by nbc, which continued to broadcast the event until 1960, when abc took over, televising the festivities (including the first color broadcast of the event in 1966) through 1970. nbc regained the rights for five years then abc resumed broadcast duties in 1976 and its current contract with the academy runs through 2028. the academy has also produced condensed versions of the ceremony for broadcast in international markets (especially those outside of the americas) in more desirable local timeslots. the ceremony was broadcast live internationally for the first time via satellite since 1970, but only two |
south american countries, chile and brazil, purchased the rights to air the broadcast. by that time, the television rights to the academy awards had been sold in 50 countries. a decade later, the rights were already being sold to 60 countries, and by 1984, the tv rights to the awards were licensed in 76 countries.
the ceremonies were moved up from late march/early april to late february, since 2004, to help disrupt and shorten the intense lobbying and ad campaigns associated with oscar season in the film industry. another reason was because of the growing tv ratings success coinciding with the ncaa basketball tournament, which would cut into the academy awards audience. (in 1976 and 1977, abc's regained oscars were moved from tuesday to monday and went directly opposite nbc's ncaa title game.) the earlier date |
is also to the advantage of abc, as it now usually occurs during the highly profitable and important february sweeps period. some years, the ceremony is moved into the first sunday of march to avoid a clash with the winter olympic games. another reason for the move to late february and early march is also to avoid the awards ceremony occurring so close to the religious holidays of passover and easter, which for decades had been a grievance from members and the general public. advertising is somewhat restricted, however, as traditionally no movie studios or competitors of official academy award sponsors may advertise during the telecast. the production of the academy awards telecast currently holds the distinction of winning the most emmys in history, with 47 wins and 195 nominations overall since that award's |
own launch in 1949.
after many years of being held on mondays at 9:00pm eastern/6:00 p.m pacific, since the 1999 ceremonies, it was moved to sundays at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. the reasons given for the move were that more viewers would tune in on sundays, that los angeles rush-hour traffic jams could be avoided, and an earlier start time would allow viewers on the east coast to go to bed earlier. for many years the film industry opposed a sunday broadcast because it would cut into the weekend box office. in 2010, the academy contemplated moving the ceremony even further back into january, citing tv viewers' fatigue with the film industry's long awards season. however, such an accelerated schedule would dramatically decrease the voting period for its members, to the point where some voters would only have time to |
view the contending films streamed on their computers (as opposed to traditionally receiving the films and ballots in the mail). furthermore, a january ceremony on sunday would clash with national football league playoff games. in 2018, the academy announced that the ceremony would be moved from late february to mid february beginning with the 92nd academy awards in 2020.
originally scheduled for april 8, 1968, the 40th academy awards ceremony was postponed for two days, because of the assassination of dr. martin luther king, jr. on march 30, 1981, the 53rd academy awards was postponed for one day, after the shooting of president ronald reagan and others in washington, d.c.
in 1993, an in memoriam segment was introduced, honoring those who had made a significant contribution to cinema who had died in the preceding |
12 months, a selection compiled by a small committee of academy members. this segment has drawn criticism over the years for the omission of some names. criticism was also levied for many years regarding another aspect, with the segment having a "popularity contest" feel as the audience varied their applause to those who had died by the subject's cultural impact; the applause has since been muted during the telecast, and the audience is discouraged from clapping during the segment and giving silent reflection instead. this segment was later followed by a commercial break.
in terms of broadcast length, the ceremony generally averages three and a half hours. the first oscars, in 1929, lasted 15minutes. at the other end of the spectrum, the 2002 ceremony lasted four hours and twenty-three minutes. in 2010, the |
organizers of the academy awards announced winners' acceptance speeches must not run past 45seconds. this, according to organizer bill mechanic, was to ensure the elimination of what he termed "the single most hated thing on the show" overly long and embarrassing displays of emotion. in 2016, in a further effort to streamline speeches, winners' dedications were displayed on an on-screen ticker. during the 2018 ceremony, host jimmy kimmel acknowledged how long the ceremony had become, by announcing that he would give a brand-new jet ski to whoever gave the shortest speech of the night (a reward won by mark bridges when accepting his best costume design award for phantom thread). the wall street journal analyzed the average minutes spent across the 20142018 telecasts as follows: 14 on song performances; 25 on |
the hosts' speeches; 38 on prerecorded clips; and 78 on the awards themselves, broken into 24 on the introduction and announcement, 24 on winners walking to the stage, and 30 on their acceptance speeches.
although still dominant in ratings, the viewership of the academy awards has steadily dropped; the 88th academy awards were the lowest-rated in the past eight years (although with increases in male and 1849 viewership), while the show itself also faced mixed reception. following the show, variety reported that abc was, in negotiating an extension to its contract to broadcast the oscars, seeking to have more creative control over the broadcast itself. currently and nominally, ampas is responsible for most aspects of the telecast, including the choice of production staff and hosting, although abc is allowed to |
have some input on their decisions. in august 2016, ampas extended its contract with abc through 2028: the contract neither contains any notable changes nor gives abc any further creative control over the telecast.
tv ratings
historically, the telecast's viewership is higher when box-office hits are favored to win the best picture award. more than 57.25million viewers tuned to the telecast for the 70th academy awards in 1998, the year of titanic, which generated a box office haul during its initial 199798 run of us$600.8million in the us, a box office record that would remain unsurpassed for years. the 76th academy awards ceremony, in which the lord of the rings: the return of the king (pre-telecast box office earnings of us$368million) received 11 awards including best picture, drew 43.56million viewers. the |
most watched ceremony based on nielsen ratings to date, however, was the 42nd academy awards (best picture midnight cowboy) which drew a 43.4% household rating on april 7, 1970.
by contrast, ceremonies honoring films that have not performed well at the box office tend to show weaker ratings, despite how much critical acclaim those films have received. the 78th academy awards which awarded low-budget independent film crash (with a pre-oscar gross of us$53.4million) generated an audience of 38.64million with a household rating of 22.91%. in 2008, the 80th academy awards telecast was watched by 31.76million viewers on average with an 18.66% household rating, the lowest-rated and least-watched ceremony at the time, in spite of celebrating 80 years of the academy awards. the best picture winner of that particular |
ceremony was another independent film (no country for old men).
whereas the 92nd academy awards drew an average of 23.6million viewers, the 93rd academy awards drew an even lower viewership of 10.4million. that is the lowest viewership recorded by nielsen since it started recording audience totals in 1974.
archive
the academy film archive holds copies of every academy awards ceremony since the 1949 oscars and material on many prior ceremonies, along with ancillary material related to more recent shows. copies are held in a variety of film, video, and digital formats.
venues
in 1929, the first academy awards were presented at a banquet dinner at the hollywood roosevelt hotel. from 1930 to 1943, the ceremony alternated between two venues: the ambassador hotel on wilshire boulevard and the biltmore hotel in downtown |
los angeles.
grauman's chinese theatre in hollywood then hosted the awards from 1944 to 1946, followed by the shrine auditorium in los angeles from 1947 to 1948. the 21st academy awards in 1949 were held at the academy award theatre at what had been the academy's headquarters on melrose avenue in hollywood.
from 1950 to 1960, the awards were presented at hollywood's pantages theatre. with the advent of television, the awards from 1953 to 1957 took place simultaneously in hollywood and new york, first at the nbc international theatre (1953) and then at the nbc century theatre, after which the ceremony took place solely in los angeles. the oscars moved to the santa monica civic auditorium in santa monica, california, in 1961. by 1969, the academy decided to move the ceremonies back to downtown los angeles, this |
time to the dorothy chandler pavilion at the los angeles county music center. in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the ceremony returned to the shrine.
in 2002, hollywood's dolby theatre (previously known as the kodak theatre) became the presentation's current venue.
awards of merit categories
current categories
in the first year of the awards, the best directing award was split into two categories (drama and comedy). at times, the best original score award has also been split into separate categories (drama and comedy/musical). from the 1930s through the 1960s, the art direction (now production design), cinematography, and costume design awards were likewise split into two categories (black-and-white films and color films). prior to 2012, the production design award was called art direction, while the makeup |
and hairstyling award was called makeup.
in august 2018, the academy announced that several categories would not be televised live, but rather be recorded during commercial breaks and aired later in the ceremony.
following dissent from academy members, they announced that they would indeed air all 24 categories live. this followed several proposals (among them, the introduction of a popular film category) that the academy had announced but did not implement.
discontinued categories
proposed categories
the board of governors meets each year and considers new award categories. to date, the following categories have been proposed:
best casting: rejected in 1999
best popular film: proposed in 2018 for presentation at the 2019 ceremony; postponed until the 2020 ceremony at the earliest (yet to be implemented)
|
best stunt coordination: rejected every year from 1991 to 2012
best title design: rejected in 1999
special categories
the special academy awards are voted on by special committees, rather than by the academy membership as a whole. they are not always presented on an annual basis.
current special categories
academy honorary award: since 1929
academy scientific and technical award (three different awards): since 1931
gordon e. sawyer award: since 1981
jean hersholt humanitarian award: since 1957
irving g. thalberg memorial award: since 1938
academy special achievement award: from 1972 to 1995, and again for 2017
discontinued special categories
academy juvenile award: 1934 to 1960
criticism
accusations of commercialism
due to the positive exposure and prestige of the academy awards, many studios spend |
millions of dollars and hire publicists specifically to promote their films during what is typically called the "oscar season". this has generated accusations of the academy awards being influenced more by marketing than by quality. william friedkin, an academy award-winning film director and former producer of the ceremony, expressed this sentiment at a conference in new york in 2009, describing it as "the greatest promotion scheme that any industry ever devised for itself".
tim dirks, editor of amc's filmsite.org, has written of the academy awards:
a recent technique that has been claimed to be used during the oscar season is the whisper campaign. these campaigns are intended to spread negative perceptions of other movies nominated and are believed to be perpetrated by those that were involved in creating |
the movie. examples of whisper campaigns include the allegations against zero dark thirty suggesting that it justifies torture and the claim that lincoln distorts history.
accusations of bias
typical criticism of the academy awards for best picture is that among the winners and nominees there is an over-representation of romantic historical epics, biographical dramas, romantic dramedies and family melodramas, most of which are released in the u.s. in the last three months of the calendar year. the oscars have been infamously known for selecting specific genres of movies to be awarded. the term "oscar bait" was coined to describe such movies. this has led, at times, to more specific criticisms that the academy is disconnected from the audience, e.g., by favoring "oscar bait" over audience favorites or favoring |
historical melodramas over critically acclaimed movies that depict current life issues.
allegations of a lack of diversity
the academy awards have long received criticism over its lack of diversity among the nominees. this criticism is based on the statistics from every academy awards since 1929, which shows us that only 6.4% of academy award nominees have been non-white and since 1991, 11.2% of nominees have been non-white, with the rate of winners being even more polarizing. due to a variety of reasons, including marketability and historical bans on interracial couples, a number of high-profile oscars have been given to yellowface portrayals, as well as performances of asian characters rewritten for white characters. the 88th awards ceremony became the target of a boycott, popularized on social media with |
the hashtag #oscarssowhite, based on activists' perception that its all-white acting nominee list reflected bias. in response, the academy initiated "historic" changes in membership by the year 2020.
symbolism or sentimentalization
acting prizes in certain years have been criticized for not recognizing superior performances so much as being awarded for personal popularity, to make up for a "snub" for a work that proved in time to be more popular or renowned than the one awarded, or presented as a "career honor" to recognize a distinguished nominee's entire body of work.
recognition of streaming media film
following the 91st academy awards in february 2019 in which the netflix-broadcast film roma had been nominated for ten awards including the best picture category, steven spielberg and other members of the |
academy discussed changing the requirements through the board of governors for films as to exclude those from netflix and other media streaming services. spielberg had been concerned that netflix as a movie production and distribution studio could spend much more than typical oscar-winning films and have much wider and earlier distribution than other best picture-nominated films, while still being able to meet the minimal theatrical-run status to qualify for an oscar. the united states department of justice, having heard of this potential rule change, wrote a letter to the academy in march 2019, cautioning them that placing additional restrictions on films that originate from streaming media services without proper justification could raise anti-trust concerns against the academy. following its april 2019 board |
meeting, the academy board of governors agreed to retain the current rules that allow for streaming media films to be eligible for oscars as long as they enjoy limited theatrical runs.
refusals of the award
some winners critical of the academy awards have boycotted the ceremonies and refused to accept their oscars. the first to do so was screenwriter dudley nichols (best writing in 1935 for the informer). nichols boycotted the 8th academy awards ceremony because of conflicts between the academy and the writers' guild. nichols eventually accepted the 1935 award three years later, at the 1938 ceremony. nichols was nominated for three further academy awards during his career.
george c. scott became the second person to refuse his award (best actor in 1970 for patton) at the 43rd academy awards ceremony. scott |
described it as a "meat parade", saying, "i don't want any part of it."
the third person to refuse the award was marlon brando, who refused his award (best actor for 1972's the godfather), citing the film industry's discrimination and mistreatment of native americans. at the 45th academy awards ceremony, brando asked actress and civil rights activist sacheen littlefeather to read a 15-page speech in his place, detailing his criticisms, for which there was booing and cheering by the audience.
disqualifications
six films have had nominations revoked before the official award ceremony:
the circus (1928) the film was voluntarily removed by the academy from competitive categories, to award charlie chaplin a special award.
hondo (1953) removed from the best story ballot after letters from the producer and nominee |
questioned its inclusion in the category.
high society (1955) withdrawn from screenwriting ballot after being mistaken for the 1956 movie of the same title.
the godfather (1972) initially nominated for eleven awards, its nomination for best original score was revoked after it was discovered that its main theme was very similar to music that the score's composer had written for an earlier film. none of its other nominations were revoked, and it received three oscars, including best picture.
a place in the world (1992) removed from the best foreign language film ballot after it was discovered that the country which submitted the film exercised insufficient artistic control.
alone yet not alone (2014) the film's title song, "alone yet not alone", was removed from the best original song ballot after bruce |
broughton was found to have improperly contacted other members of the academy's musical branch; this was the first time that a film was removed from a ballot for ethical reasons.
one film was disqualified after winning the award, and had the winner return the oscar:
young americans (1969) initially won the award for best documentary feature, but was later revoked after it was revealed that it had opened theatrically prior to the eligibility period.
one film had its nomination revoked after the award ceremony when it had not won the oscar:tuba atlantic (2011) its nomination for best live action short film was revoked when it was discovered that the film had aired on television in 2010, before its theatrical release.
gender segregation
some advocates of gender equality and non-binary people have criticized |
the separation of male and female acting categories in the academy awards, emmy awards and tony awards. though some commentators worry that gender discrimination would cause men to dominate unsegregated categories, other categories are unsegregated. the grammy awards went gender-neutral in 2012, while the daytime emmy awards introduced a single outstanding younger performer in a drama series category in 2019 to replace their two gender-specific younger actor and actress categories.
associated events
the following events are closely associated with the annual academy awards:
bafta awards
cesar awards
david di donatello awards
nominees luncheon
governors awards
the 25th independent spirit awards (2010), usually held in santa monica, california the saturday before the oscars, marked the first time it was |
moved to a friday and a change of venue to l.a. live
the annual "night before", traditionally held at the beverly hills hotel, begun in 2002 and generally known as the party of the season, benefits the motion picture & television fund, which operates a retirement home for sag actors in the san fernando valley
elton john aids foundation academy award party airs the awards live at the nearby pacific design center
the governors ball is the academy's official after-party, including dinner (until 2011), and is adjacent to the awards-presentation venue
the vanity fair after-party, historically at the former morton's restaurant, has been at the sunset tower since 2009
ariel award in mexico
goya award in spain
presenter and performer gifts
it has become a tradition to give out gift bags to the presenters and performers |
at the oscars. in recent years, these gifts have also been extended to award nominees and winners. the value of each of these gift bags can reach into the tens of thousands of dollars. in 2014, the value was reported to be as high as us$80,000. the value has risen to the point where the u.s. internal revenue service issued a statement regarding the gifts and their taxable status.
oscar gift bags have included vacation packages to hawaii and mexico and japan, a private dinner party for the recipient and friends at a restaurant, videophones, a four-night stay at a hotel, watches, bracelets, spa treatments, bottles of vodka, maple salad dressing, weight-loss gummie candy and up to $25,000 worth of cosmetic treatments and rejuvenation procedures such as lip fillers and chemical peels from new york city facial plastic |
surgeon konstantin vasyukevich. some of the gifts have even had a "risque" element to them; in 2014, the adult products retailer adam & eve had a "secret room gifting suite". celebrities visiting the gifting suite included judith hoag, carolyn hennesy, kate linder, chris mulkey, jim o'heir, and john salley.
television ratings and advertisement prices
from 2006 onwards, results are live+sd; all previous years are live viewing.
trademark
the term "oscar" is a registered trademark of the ampas; however, in the italian language, it is used generically to refer to any award or award ceremony, regardless of which field.court: oscar may be generic term in italian | reuters
see also
list of film awards
list of academy award records
list of actors with academy award nominations
list of superlative academy award |
winners and nominees
footnotes
references
further reading
brokaw, lauren (2010). "wanna see an academy awards invite? we got it along with all the major annual events surrounding the oscars". los angeles: the daily truffle.
wright, jon (2007). the lunacy of oscar: the problems with hollywood's biggest night". thomas publishing, inc.
external links
of the academy of motion picture arts and sciences
official academy awards database (searchable)
1929 establishments in california
performing arts trophies
american annual television specials
american film awards
annual events in los angeles county, california
awards established in 1929
cinema of southern california
events in los angeles
hollywood history and culture
american live television shows |
actresses (catalan: actrius) is a 1997 catalan language spanish drama film produced and directed by ventura pons and based on the award-winning stage play e.r. by josep maria benet i jornet. the film has no male actors, with all roles played by females. the film was produced in 1996.
synopsis
in order to prepare herself to play a role commemorating the life of legendary actress empar ribera, young actress (merce pons) interviews three established actresses who had been the ribera's pupils: the international diva gloria marc (nuria espert), the television star assumpta roca (rosa maria sarda), and dubbing director maria caminal (anna lizaran).
cast
nuria espert as gloria marc
rosa maria sarda as assumpta roca
anna lizaran as maria caminal
merce pons as estudiant
recognition
screenings
actrius screened in |
2001 at the grauman's egyptian theatre in an american cinematheque retrospective of the works of its director. the film had first screened at the same location in 1998. it was also shown at the 1997 stockholm international film festival.
reception
in movie - film - review, christopher tookey wrote that though the actresses were "competent in roles that may have some reference to their own careers", the film "is visually unimaginative, never escapes its stage origins, and is almost totally lacking in revelation or surprising incident". noting that there were "occasional, refreshing moments of intergenerational bitchiness", they did not "justify comparisons to all about eve", and were "insufficiently different to deserve critical parallels with rashomon". he also wrote that the guardian called the film a "slow, |
stuffy chamber-piece", and that the evening standard stated the film's "best moments exhibit the bitchy tantrums seething beneath the threesome's composed veneers". mrqe wrote "this cinematic adaptation of a theatrical work is true to the original, but does not stray far from a theatrical rendering of the story."
awards and nominations
1997, won 'best catalan film' at butaca awards for ventura pons
1997, won 'best catalan film actress' at butaca awards, shared by nuria espert, rosa maria sarda, anna lizaran, and merce pons
1998, nominated for 'best screenplay' at goya awards, shared by josep maria benet i jornet and ventura pons
references
external links
as archived 17 february 2009 (spanish)
1997 films
1997 drama films
spanish films
catalan-language films
films set in barcelona
films directed by ventura |
animalia is an illustrated children's book by graeme base. it was originally published in 1986, followed by a tenth anniversary edition in 1996, and a 25th anniversary edition in 2012. over four million copies have been sold worldwide. a special numbered and signed anniversary edition was also published in 1996, with an embossed gold jacket.
synopsis
animalia is an alliterative alphabet book and contains twenty-six illustrations, one for each letter of the alphabet. each illustration features an animal from the animal kingdom (a is for alligator and armadillo, b is for butterfly, etc.) along with a short poem utilizing the letter of the page for many of the words. the illustrations contain many other objects beginning with that letter that the reader can try to identify (however, there are not necessarily "a |
thousand things, or maybe more", as the author states). as an additional challenge, the author has hidden a picture of himself as a child in every picture.
here are some of the things in each picture that are truly different (the alligator in the a section is wearing an apron featuring the alphabet, which the book is about, and this section also features the author's home country, australia):
note: this list is incomplete.
a
1. astronaut
2. album
3. admiral
4. archdiocese
5. actor
6. actress
7. aborigine
8. athlete
9. acrobat
10. apple
11. acorn
12. apricot
13. avocado
14. adder
15. albatross
16. antelope (this is actually a pronghorn, which is not a true antelope, so it belongs in the p section)
17. anteater
18. aardvark
19. anvil
20. afghan hound
21. affenpinscher
22. airedale terrier
23. |
aqueduct
24. ant
25. abacus
26. asparagus
27. artichoke
28. accordion
29. anchor
30. anemone
31. axe
32. angel
33. algebra
34. atlas
35. apron
36. alien
37. ambulance
38. antenna
b
36. bumblebee
37. bobolink
38. bear
39. bonnet
40. barbed wire
41. brambles
42. bulrushes
43. baboon
44. bassoon
45. brontosaurus
46. budgerigar
47. bomb
48. brain
49. brick
50. basket
51. basketball
52. basketball hoop
53. baseball
54. baseball bat
55. backgammon
56. ballpoint pen
57. bagpipes
58. bicycle
59. barrel
60. bell
61. boot
62. button
63. blueberries
64. belt
65. bugle
66. bull
67. bucket
68. bellows
69. boomerang
70. bathtub
71. bone
72. brush
73. bottle
74. banana
75. brush
76. binoculars
77. barracuda
78. buddha
79. battery
80. broom
81. bat (animal)
82. |
boy
83. bungalow
c
82. crab
83. chair
84. crane
85. caterpillar
86. canoe
87. computer
88. collar
89. camera
90. concertina
91. cap
92. cheetah
93. chain
94. cassette
95. crocodile
96. cone
97. cube
98. cylinder
99. cymbal
100. cucumber
101. celery
102. cabbage
103. cheese
104. corn
105. carrot
106. cards
107. calculator
108. candle
109. cherry
110. cake
111. coconut
112. cup
113. cocoa
114. can
115. calendar
116. chef
117. castle
118. church
119. cemetery
120. cross of christ
121. caravan
122. circus
123. clown
124. cricket (game)
125. convict
126. cannon
127. cow
128. chimpanzee
129. cobra
130. cage
131. canary
132. check
133. crossword puzzle
134. crutch
135. cord
136. crown
137. crate
138. cork
139. cog
140. comb
141. clarinet
142. clam
143. |
chieftain
144. cactus
145. cliff
146. chateau
147. concorde
148. chandelier
149. cottage
150. cigar
151. candy cane
152. cauldron
153. centipede
d
154. dustpan
155. duster
156. dynamite
157. drill
158. drawers
159. draughts
160. doughnut
161. diamond
162. dice
163. dutch doll
164. dentures
165. date (fruit)
166. date (time)
167. doily
168. dish
169. dollar
170. dolphin
171. decagon
172. devil
173. dormouse
174. diagonal
175. decade
176. doctrine
177. dumbbell
178. dragonfly
179. dwarf
180. dachshund
181. doberman pinscher
182. dalmatian
183. dodo
184. diplodocus
185. dimetrodon
186. dove
187. desperado
188. donkey
189. dam
190. drain
191. dinghy
192. drowning
193. drawbridge
194. deer
195. destroyer
196. dromedary
197. double-decker bus
198. daffodil
199. |
daisy
200. dirigible
201. dominos
202. dagger
203. dart
204. duck
205. dingo
206. dolly
207. deputy
208. dog
e
208. eclipse
209. eclair
210. elderberries
211. envelope
212. emu
213. eleven
214. edison
215. einstein
216. embryo
217. earwig
218. echidna
219. elf
220. eskimo
221. eagle
222. edelweiss
223. earring
224. emerald
225. exclamation point
226. eyeglasses
f
226. flounder
227. film
228. fly
229. foxglove
230. fern
231. fairy
232. fire
233. firewood
234. frankenstein
235. fork
236. forest
237. falcon
238. fungus
239. flier
240. flute
241. fan
242. foghorn
g
243. graph
244. glockenspiel
245. gerbil
246. geranium
247. gladiolus
248. gladiator
249. gremlin
250. golf club
251. golf ball
252. gibbon
253. guitar
254. galoshes
255. grail
256. greyhound
257. |
gong
258. gazelle
259. griffin
260. gargoyle
261. graffiti
262. grasshopper
263. globe
264. galleon
265. gorgon
266. gnome
267. gramophone
268. goat
269. goggles
270. goose
271. giraffe
272. gazebo
273. guard
274. gift
275. garage
276. garbage
277. garbage can
278. gallows
279. guillotine
280. ghost
281. giant
282. goal
283. glider
284. gage
285. garter
h
285. hexagon
286. hose
287. hare
288. hyena
289. hawk
290. hammock
291. hook
292. hippo
293. hunter
294. hill
295. hang glider
296. herald
297. helicopter
298. hamburger
299. hydrant
300. hourglass
301. hamster
302. hedgehog
303. horn
304. heart
305. hen
306. hand grenade
307. humpty-dumpty
308. holly
309. holy bible
310. hatch
311. haddock
312. hammer
313. hieroglyphics
314. handkerchief
315. handcuffs
316. |
hatchet
317. hornet
318. halberd
i
318. island
319. icicle
320. ice cream
321. iron
322. iceberg
323. icarus
324. imprisoned
325. ingot
326. ink
j
324. judge
325. javelin
326. jester
327. jack-in-the-box
328. jack-in-the-pulpit
329. japan
330. jet
331. jasmine
332. jaguar
333. jeans
k
333. kite
334. knapsack
335. knitting
336. kiwi
337. kilt
338. kitten
339. knight
340. kipper
341. knife
342. keys
343. keychain
344. kitchen
345. kettle
346. kayak
347. knocker
348. ketch
349. keel
350. keypad
351. kerb
l
350. ladder
351. lyre
352. lantern
353. lobster
354. llama
355. lettuce
356. leprechaun
357. lockbox
358. ladle
359. lemon
360. lute
361. lollipop
362. lamp
363. lily
364. lasso
m
365. map
366. mammoth
367. mermaid
368. moose
369. magpie
370. mosque
371. |
mandolin
372. monkey marionette
373. marble
374. metronome
375. moth
376. million
377. millimeter
378. millipede
379. mushroom
380. match
381. matchbox
382. molecule
383. mug
384. milk
385. medal
386. monocle
387. magnet
388. maggot
389. mask
390. microphone
391. microscope
392. moon
393. mole
394. monster
395. monitor
396. moustache
n
394. noah
395. narwhal
396. neptune
397. newspaper
398. nightingale
399. nest
400. net
401. nun
402. nut
403. nutcracker
404. north
405. ninety-nine
406. napkin
407. nautilus
408. nurse
409. nonagon
o
410. orange
411. otter
412. orangutan
413. observatory
414. octagon
415. owl
416. obelisk
417. oak
418. oil drill
419. organ
420. oven
421. orchestra
p
421. purse
422. physician
423. poodle
424. parasol
425. pig
426. perambulator
427. |
periwinkle
428. politician
429. pin
430. philosopher
431. parchment
432. polka dot
433. pigtail
434. pit drum
435. pharaoh
436. pied piper
437. pyjamas
438. plume
439. police
440. prisoner
441. pygmy
442. punch & judy
443. pope
444. peace
445. pirate
446. patch
447. peg leg
448. prince
449. princess
450. pendant
451. palace
452. pagoda
453. parachute
454. pegasus
455. pisa (leaning tower)
456. parthenon
457. palm tree
458. pyramid
459. paris
460. peninsula
461. penguin
462. pool
463. pathway
464. procession
465. platypus
466. pan
467. pumpkin
468. pheasant
469. partridge
470. puffin
471. pelican
472. porcupine
473. panda
474. parcel
475. pliers
476. plow
477. pitchfork
478. pick
479. pine tree
480. pansy
481. poison ivy
482. periscope
483. porpoise
484. |
piano
485. popeye
486. phoenix
487. potato
488. plum
489. painter
490. palette
491. paint
492. paintbrush
493. peach
494. pear
495. pomegranate
496. pineapple
497. pussy-willows
498. pavilion
499. pulley
500. pump
501. plaque
502. prism
503. peas
504. pearl
q
505. quartz
506. quicksand
507. quarter
508. quoits
509. queen
510. quilt
511. queensland
512. queue
r
511. rust
512. radar
513. raspberry
514. raccoon
515. rhododendron
516. roman numerals
517. ruby
518. ring
519. razor
520. roller skate
521. reindeer
522. roulette
523. rake
524. rifle
525. revolver
526. refrigerator
527. rabbit
528. rolling pin
529. register
530. rose
531. raven
532. ram
533. rat
534. rowboat
535. rooster
536. rattlesnake
537. robin
538. rocking horse
539. rocking chair
540. |
radius
541. rip
542. racket
543. recorder
544. rocket
s
545. sapphire
546. soup
547. stump
548. scorpion
549. sieve
550. sandcastle
551. sloop
552. schooner
553. shark
554. scarf
555. spider
556. spur
557. sheriff
558. sling
559. scab
560. sickle
561. scythe
562. slippers
563. sandwich
564. sunflower
565. snowshoes
566. skis
567. stretcher
568. spy
569. stitch
570. screwdriver
571. screw
572. shifter (wrench)
573. shrug
574. spade
575. shovel
576. sledgehammer
577. scissors
578. shears
579. saw
580. scalpel
581. shack
582. scooter
583. satchel
584. sundae
585. straw
586. spaghetti
587. strawberry
588. spoon
589. saturn
590. seesaw
591. spring
592. sneeze
593. shepherd
594. staff
595. scarecrow
596. sloth
597. stork
598. spoonbill
599. safe
600. shrew
601. |
skipping rope
602. scroll
603. stamp
604. soccer
605. swimmer
606. snorkel
607. syringe
608. siphon
609. stethoscope
610. starfish
611. snail
612. slug
613. sphinx
614. sprocket
615. spinning wheel
616. spool
617. stool
618. space shuttle
619. satellite
620. sombrero
621. serape
622. saxophone
623. synthesizer
624. superman
625. shower
626. suitcase
627. shuttlecock
628. skittle (bowling pin)
629. stilts
630. stalactite
631. stalagmite
632. steamroller
633. swings
634. slide
635. sword
636. sheathe
637. stiletto
638. scimitar
639. saber
640. spear
641. sleigh
642. snow
643. santa claus
644. sack
645. sausage
646. stick figure
647. surfboard
648. surfer
649. seal
650. skull
651. spine
652. shamrock
653. spectacles
654. scapula
655. slingshot
656. snipe
657. |
swallow
658. sardines
659. swan
660. skunk
661. stepladder
662. sofa
663. scarab beetle
664. stereo
665. star of david
666. sparrow
667. squirrel
668. sextant
669. squid
670. seahorse
671. salute
672. sardines
673. semaphore
t
672. top hat
673. tulip
674. tricycle
675. toad
676. thermos
677. turtle
678. tear
679. trombone
680. trumpet
681. tuba
682. tractor
683. trailer
684. tunnel
685. tepee
686. totem pole
687. target
688. tuxedo
689. tunic
690. telescope
691. teapot
692. television
693. trophy
694. tap
695. teddy bear
696. tambourine
697. torch
698. toy tank
699. tomato
700. thermometer
701. tweezers
702. threader
703. typewriter
704. turntable
705. telephone
706. tapir
u
707. ufo
708. ursa major
709. ursa minor
710. united kingdom
711. uncle sam
712. |
ukulele
713. underwear
714. umiak
v
715. volkswagen
716. vase
717. van
718. vcr
719. violin
720. vacuum cleaner
721. voodoo doll
722. vane
723. valve
724. volcano
725. viaduct
726. vicar
727. viking
728. vampire
729. valley
730. vegetables
w
730. weevil
731. wristwatch
732. witch
733. wave
734. wizard
735. wand
736. wheat
737. wall
738. wreck
739. wharf
740. whale
741. walrus
742. whirlpool
743. werewolf
744. wolf
745. wishbone
746. well
747. washerwoman
748. washhouse
749. washing machine
750. wagon
751. whip
752. windmill
753. wombat
754. wallaby
755. weeping willow
756. waterfall
757. weapons
758. water
x
757. xylophone
758. xerophytes
759. xmas tree
760. x-ray
761. x (sign language)
y
762. yoke
763. yolk
764. yeti
765. yeoman
766. yo-yo
767. yard
768. |
year
z
769. zulu
770. zodiac
771. zipper
772. zinnia
773. zither
774. zebu
775. zorro
776. zero
777. zebra
related products
julia macrae books published an animalia colouring book in 2008. h. n. abrams also published a wall calendar colouring book version for children the same year.
h. n. abrams published the animalia wall frieze, a fold-out over 26 feet in length, in which the author created new riddles for each letter.
the great american puzzle factory created a 300-piece jigsaw puzzle based on the book's cover.
adaptations
a television series was also created, based on the book, which airs in the united states, australia, canada, the united kingdom, norway and venezuela. it also airs on minimax for the czech republic and slovakia. and recently in greece on the channel et1. the australian children's |
television foundation released a teaching resource dvd-rom in 2011 to accompany the tv series with teaching aids for classroom use.
in 2010, the base factory and appbooks released animalia as an application for ipad and iphone/ipod touch.
awards
animalia won the young australian's best book award in 1987 for best picture story book.
the children's book council of australia designated animalia a 1987 picture book of the year: honour book.
kid's own australian literature awards named animalia the 1988 picture book winner.
references
external links
graeme base's official website
a learning time activity guide for animalia created by the little big book club
alphabet books
1986 children's books
picture books by graeme base
puzzle books
australian children's books
puffin books books |
international atomic time (tai, from the french name ) is a high-precision atomic coordinate time standard based on the notional passage of proper time on earth's geoid. it is a continuous scale of time, without leap seconds. it is the principal realisation of terrestrial time (with a fixed offset of epoch). it is also the basis for coordinated universal time (utc), which is used for civil timekeeping all over the earth's surface. utc deviates from tai by a number of whole seconds. , when another leap second was put into effect, utc is currently exactly 37 seconds behind tai. the 37 seconds result from the initial difference of 10 seconds at the start of 1972, plus 27 leap seconds in utc since 1972.
tai may be reported using traditional means of specifying days, carried over from non-uniform time standards based |
on the rotation of the earth. specifically, both julian days and the gregorian calendar are used. tai in this form was synchronised with universal time at the beginning of 1958, and the two have drifted apart ever since, due to the changing motion of the earth.
operation
tai is a weighted average of the time kept by over 400 atomic clocks in over 50 national laboratories worldwide. the majority of the clocks involved are caesium clocks; the international system of units (si) definition of the second is based on caesium. the clocks are compared using gps signals and two-way satellite time and frequency transfer. due to the signal averaging tai is an order of magnitude more stable than its best constituent clock.
the participating institutions each broadcast, in real time, a frequency signal with timecodes, which |
is their estimate of tai. time codes are usually published in the form of utc, which differs from tai by a well-known integer number of seconds. these time scales are denoted in the form utc(npl) in the utc form, where npl identifies the national physical laboratory, uk. the tai form may be denoted tai(npl). the latter is not to be confused with ta(npl), which denotes an independent atomic time scale, not synchronised to tai or to anything else.
the clocks at different institutions are regularly compared against each other. the international bureau of weights and measures (bipm, france), combines these measurements to retrospectively calculate the weighted average that forms the most stable time scale possible. this combined time scale is published monthly in "circular t", and is the canonical tai. this time |
scale is expressed in the form of tables of differences utc utc(k) (equivalent to tai tai(k)) for each participating institution k. the same circular also gives tables of tai ta(k), for the various unsynchronised atomic time scales.
errors in publication may be corrected by issuing a revision of the faulty circular t or by errata in a subsequent circular t. aside from this, once published in circular t, the tai scale is not revised. in hindsight, it is possible to discover errors in tai and to make better estimates of the true proper time scale. since the published circulars are definitive, better estimates do not create another version of tai; it is instead considered to be creating a better realisation of terrestrial time (tt).
history
early atomic time scales consisted of quartz clocks with frequencies |
calibrated by a single atomic clock; the atomic clocks were not operated continuously. atomic timekeeping services started experimentally in 1955, using the first caesium atomic clock at the national physical laboratory, uk (npl). it was used as a basis for calibrating the quartz clocks at the royal greenwich observatory and to establish a time scale, called greenwich atomic (ga). the united states naval observatory began the a.1 scale on 13 september 1956, using an atomichron commercial atomic clock, followed by the nbs-a scale at the national bureau of standards, boulder, colorado on 9 october 1957.
the international time bureau (bih) began a time scale, tm or am, in july 1955, using both local caesium clocks and comparisons to distant clocks using the phase of vlf radio signals. the bih scale, a.1, and nbs-a |
were defined by an epoch at the beginning of 1958 the procedures used by the bih evolved, and the name for the time scale changed: "a3" in 1964 and "ta(bih)" in 1969.
the si second was defined in terms of the caesium atom in 1967. from 1971 to 1975 the general conference on weights and measures and the international committee for weights and measures made a series of decisions which designated the bipm time scale international atomic time (tai).
in the 1970s, it became clear that the clocks participating in tai were ticking at different rates due to gravitational time dilation, and the combined tai scale, therefore, corresponded to an average of the altitudes of the various clocks. starting from the julian date 2443144.5 (1 january 1977 00:00:00), corrections were applied to the output of all participating |
clocks, so that tai would correspond to proper time at the geoid (mean sea level). because the clocks were, on average, well above sea level, this meant that tai slowed by about one part in a trillion. the former uncorrected time scale continues to be published under the name eal (echelle atomique libre, meaning free atomic scale).
the instant that the gravitational correction started to be applied serves as the epoch for barycentric coordinate time (tcb), geocentric coordinate time (tcg), and terrestrial time (tt), which represent three fundamental time scales in the solar system. all three of these time scales were defined to read jd 2443144.5003725 (1 january 1977 00:00:32.184) exactly at that instant. tai was henceforth a realisation of tt, with the equation tt(tai) = tai + 32.184s.
the continued existence |
of tai was questioned in a 2007 letter from the bipm to the itu-r which stated, "in the case of a redefinition of utc without leap seconds, the cctf would consider discussing the possibility of suppressing tai, as it would remain parallel to the continuous utc."
relation to utc
utc is a discontinuous time scale. it is occasionally adjusted by leap seconds. between these adjustments, it is composed of segments that are mapped to atomic time. from its beginning in 1961 through december 1971, the adjustments were made regularly in fractional leap seconds so that utc approximated ut2. afterward, these adjustments were made only in whole seconds to approximate ut1. this was a compromise arrangement in order to enable a publicly broadcast time scale. the less frequent whole-second adjustments meant that the time scale |
would be more stable and easier to synchronize internationally. the fact that it continues to approximate ut1 means that tasks such as navigation which require a source of universal time continue to be well served by the public broadcast of utc.
see also
clock synchronization
network time protocol
precision time protocol
time and frequency transfer
notes
references
footnotes
bibliography
external links
bureau international des poids et mesures: tai
time and frequency section - national physical laboratory, uk
iers website
nist web clock faqs
history of time scales
nist-f1 cesium fountain atomic clock
japan standard time project, nict, japan
standard of time definition: utc, gps, loran and tai
time scales |
altruism is the principle and moral practice of concern for happiness of other human beings or other animals, resulting in a quality of life both material and spiritual. it is a traditional virtue in many cultures and a core aspect of various religious and secular worldviews. however, the object(s) of concern vary among cultures and religions. in an extreme case, altruism may become a synonym of selflessness, which is the opposite of selfishness.
the word "altruism" was popularized (and possibly coined) by the french philosopher auguste comte in french, as altruisme, for an antonym of egoism. he derived it from the italian altrui, which in turn was derived from latin alteri, meaning "other people" or "somebody else".
altruism in biological observations in field populations of the day organisms is an individual |
performing an action which is at a cost to themselves (e.g., pleasure and quality of life, time, probability of survival or reproduction), but benefits, either directly or indirectly, another individual, without the expectation of reciprocity or compensation for that action. steinberg suggests a definition for altruism in the clinical setting, that is "intentional and voluntary actions that aim to enhance the welfare of another person in the absence of any quid pro quo external rewards". in one sense, the opposite of altruism is spite; a spiteful action harms another with no self-benefit.
altruism can be distinguished from feelings of loyalty or concern for the common good. the latter are predicated upon social relationships, whilst altruism does not consider relationships. much debate exists as to whether "true" |
altruism is possible in human psychology. the theory of psychological egoism suggests that no act of sharing, helping or sacrificing can be described as truly altruistic, as the actor may receive an intrinsic reward in the form of personal gratification. the validity of this argument depends on whether intrinsic rewards qualify as "benefits".
the term altruism may also refer to an ethical doctrine that claims that individuals are morally obliged to benefit others. used in this sense, it is usually contrasted with egoism, which claims individuals are morally obligated to serve themselves first. effective altruism is the use of evidence and reason to determine the most effective ways to benefit others.
the notion of altruism
the concept has a long history in philosophical and ethical thought. the term was originally |
coined in the 19th century by the founding sociologist and philosopher of science, auguste comte, and has become a major topic for psychologists (especially evolutionary psychology researchers), evolutionary biologists, and ethologists. whilst ideas about altruism from one field can affect the other fields, the different methods and focuses of these fields always lead to different perspectives on altruism. in simple terms, altruism is caring about the welfare of other people and acting to help them.
scientific viewpoints
anthropology
marcel mauss's essay the gift contains a passage called "note on alms". this note describes the evolution of the notion of alms (and by extension of altruism) from the notion of sacrifice. in it, he writes:
alms are the fruits of a moral notion of the gift and of fortune on the |
one hand, and of a notion of sacrifice, on the other. generosity is an obligation, because nemesis avenges the poor and the gods for the superabundance of happiness and wealth of certain people who should rid themselves of it. this is the ancient morality of the gift, which has become a principle of justice. the gods and the spirits accept that the share of wealth and happiness that has been offered to them and had been hitherto destroyed in useless sacrifices should serve the poor and children.
evolutionary explanations
in the science of ethology (the study of animal behaviour), and more generally in the study of social evolution, altruism refers to behaviour by an individual that increases the fitness of another individual while decreasing the fitness of the actor. in evolutionary psychology this may be applied |
to a wide range of human behaviors such as charity, emergency aid, help to coalition partners, tipping, courtship gifts, production of public goods, and environmentalism.
theories of apparently altruistic behavior were accelerated by the need to produce theories compatible with evolutionary origins. two related strands of research on altruism have emerged from traditional evolutionary analyses and from evolutionary game theory a mathematical model and analysis of behavioural strategies.
some of the proposed mechanisms are:
kin selection. that animals and humans are more altruistic towards close kin than to distant kin and non-kin has been confirmed in numerous studies across many different cultures. even subtle cues indicating kinship may unconsciously increase altruistic behavior. one kinship cue is facial |
resemblance. one study found that slightly altering photographs so that they more closely resembled the faces of study participants increased the trust the participants expressed regarding depicted persons. another cue is having the same family name, especially if rare, and this has been found to increase helpful behavior. another study found more cooperative behavior the greater the number of perceived kin in a group. using kinship terms in political speeches increased audience agreement with the speaker in one study. this effect was especially strong for firstborns, who are typically close to their families.
vested interests. people are likely to suffer if their friends, allies, and similar social ingroups suffer or even disappear. helping such group members may therefore eventually benefit the altruist. making |
ingroup membership more noticeable increases cooperativeness. extreme self-sacrifice towards the ingroup may be adaptive if a hostile outgroup threatens to kill the entire ingroup.
reciprocal altruism. see also reciprocity (evolution).
direct reciprocity. research shows that it can be beneficial to help others if there is a chance that they can and will reciprocate the help. the effective tit for tat strategy is one game theoretic example. many people seem to be following a similar strategy by cooperating if and only if others cooperate in return.
one consequence is that people are more cooperative if it is more likely that individuals will interact again in the future. people tend to be less cooperative if they perceive that the frequency of helpers in the population is lower. they tend to help less if they |
see non-cooperativeness by others and this effect tend to be stronger than the opposite effect of seeing cooperative behaviors. simply changing the cooperative framing of a proposal may increase cooperativeness such as calling it a "community game" instead of a "wall street game".
a tendency towards reciprocity implies that people will feel obligated to respond if someone helps them. this has been used by charities that give small gifts to potential donors hoping thereby to induce reciprocity. another method is to announce publicly that someone has given a large donation. the tendency to reciprocate can even generalize so people become more helpful toward others in general after being helped. on the other hand, people will avoid or even retaliate against those perceived not to be cooperating. people sometimes |
mistakenly fail to help when they intended to, or their helping may not be noticed, which may cause unintended conflicts. as such, it may be an optimal strategy to be slightly forgiving of and have a slightly generous interpretation of non-cooperation.
people are more likely to cooperate on a task if they can communicate with one another first. this may be due to better assessments of cooperativeness or due to exchange of promises. they are more cooperative if they can gradually build trust, instead of being asked to give extensive help immediately. direct reciprocity and cooperation in a group can be increased by changing the focus and incentives from intra-group competition to larger scale competitions such as between groups or against the general population. thus, giving grades and promotions based only on |
an individual's performance relative to a small local group, as is common, may reduce cooperative behaviors in the group.
indirect reciprocity. the avoidance of poor reciprocators and cheaters causes a person's reputation to become very important. a person with a good reputation for reciprocity has a higher chance of receiving help even from persons they have had no direct interactions with previously.
strong reciprocity. a form of reciprocity where some individuals seem to spend more resources on cooperating and punishing than would be most beneficial as predicted by several established theories of altruism. a number of theories have been proposed as explanations as well as criticisms regarding its existence.
pseudo-reciprocity. an organism behaves altruistically and the recipient does not reciprocate but |
has an increased chance of acting in a way that is selfish but also as a byproduct benefits the altruist.
costly signaling and the handicap principle. since altruism takes away resources from the altruist it can be an "honest signal" of resource availability and the abilities needed to gather resources. this may signal to others that the altruist is a valuable potential partner. it may also be a signal of interactive and cooperative intentions since those not interacting further in the future gain nothing from the costly signaling. it is unclear if costly signaling can indicate a long-term cooperative personality but people have increased trust for those who help. costly signaling is pointless if everyone has the same traits, resources, and cooperative intentions but become a potentially more important signal |
if the population increasingly varies on these characteristics.
hunters widely sharing the meat has been seen as a costly signal of ability and research has found that good hunters have higher reproductive success and more adulterous relations even if they themselves receive no more of the hunted meat than anyone else. similarly, holding large feasts and giving large donations has been seen as ways of demonstrating one's resources. heroic risk-taking has also been interpreted as a costly signal of ability.
both indirect reciprocity and costly signaling depend on the value of reputation and tend to make similar predictions. one is that people will be more helping when they know that their helping behavior will be communicated to people they will interact with later, is publicly announced, is discussed, or is |
simply being observed by someone else. this have been documented in many studies. the effect is sensitive to subtle cues such as people being more helpful when there were stylized eyespots instead of a logo on a computer screen. weak reputational cues such as eyespots may become unimportant if there are stronger cues present and may lose their effect with continued exposure unless reinforced with real reputational effects. public displays such as public weeping for dead celebrities and participation in demonstrations may be influenced by a desire to be seen as altruistic. people who know that they are publicly monitored sometimes even wastefully donate money they know are not needed by recipient which may be because of reputational concerns.
women have been found to find altruistic men to be attractive partners. |
when looking for a long-term partner, altruism may be a preferred trait as it may indicate that he is also willing to share resources with her and her children. it has been shown that men perform altruistic acts in the early stages of a romantic relationship or simply when in the presence of an attractive woman. while both sexes state that kindness is the most preferable trait in a partner there is some evidence that men place less value on this than women and that women may not be more altruistic in presence of an attractive man. men may even avoid altruistic women in short-term relationships which may be because they expect less success.
people may compete for social benefit from a burnished reputation, which may cause competitive altruism. on the other hand, in some experiments a proportion of people do not |
seem to care about reputation and they do not help more even if this is conspicuous. this may possibly be due to reasons such as psychopathy or that they are so attractive that they need not be seen to be altruistic. the reputational benefits of altruism occur in the future as compared to the immediate costs of altruism in the present. while humans and other organisms generally place less value on future costs/benefits as compared to those in the present, some have shorter time horizons than others and these people tend to be less cooperative.
explicit extrinsic rewards and punishments have been found to sometimes actually have the opposite effect on behaviors compared to intrinsic rewards. this may be because such extrinsic, top-down incentives may replace (partially or in whole) intrinsic and reputational |