The Golden Globes Go to the Dogs

Vox Pop vs. Not Pop
On a Golden Globes blog to which he, Kate Betts and I contributed last night, TIME TV critic James Poniewozik asked if the Globes wins will "enhance Slumdog Millionaire's chances for an Oscar nom? And in turn, does this decrease Oscar's chances to improve its ratings with nominees that the TV audience has actually seen?" I'd say that the Boyle film was already a dead cert for a Best Picture nomination on the other, ultimate awards show. And if the movie continues to gather box-office momentum, it could be among the top Oscar contenders, like The Dark Knight and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which are popular with the masses as well as critical hits.

More than once, I've rattled on about how the Academy should nominate the best popular films, not just the mini indie dramas that Hollywood hates to make but loves to give awards to, as if worthy films were crippled kids in front of an orphanage. (The Emmys and the TV side of the Globes do that too: Mad Men's audience, 2 million tops, makes it the Vicky Cristina or possibly the Synecdoche, New York of television shows.) I wish the Academy would nominate all-around solid entertainment like Iron Man for Best Picture and pass over the Rachel Getting Married's of this world. (See pictures of Oscar's youngest Best Actress nominees.)

But too much can be made of this vox pop prize-giving. First of all, the job of the Academy members is to honor the films they think are the best, not to ratify popular prejudices; leave that to the People's Choice Awards. And second, there's something craven about choosing mass consumption over quality. Back in 1942, Academy voters might have used this logic to give the Best Picture Oscar to the popular How Green Was My Valley instead of that artsy indie film (and box-office flop) Citizen Kane. Under the auspice of history, box-office failures like The Wizard of Oz and It's a Wonderful Life outshine some of their era's biggest hits. The Motion Picture Academy, even more than the HFPA, considers itself élite, and it should vote its actual preferences, regardless of whether the films made money.

It's just that, this year, there are some excellent, popular films deserving of awards. And by Oscar night, my final answer is that one of those may well be Slumdog Millionaire.

See pictures of Hollywood's most-loved costumes.

Read TIME's review of Slumdog Millionaire.