The Oscars x Symbolic Capital
Material Girls24 Maalis

The Oscars x Symbolic Capital

Did you watch The Oscars? Did you formerly watch The Oscars but don't anymore? Do you only consume The Oscars via clips on social media? Well guess what? No matter how you answered, you're not alone! In this week's episode, Hannah and Marcelle talk about the changing zeitgeisty-ness of the Academy Awards through a deep dive on the awards' early days, its legacy and what we might make of the show's move to Youtube starting 2029.


Drawing on theorist Robert Boucault's new book, Oscar Bait: The Academy Awards & Cultural Prestige, Hannah helps us understand the complex ways the Oscars navigate various forms of capital in the field of filmmaking. We talk elitism, cultural capital, symbolic capital and capital intraconversion!


Happy listening!


Related Listening

Book 4, Episode 8: Magical Capital (from Witch, Please Reboot)

Dopamine x Health Capitalism with Jesse Meadows

Barbie x Petro-Capitalism


Works Cited

Baragona, Louis. “How the Oscars has changed over the past 92 years.” Business Insider 23 April 2021. https://www.businessinsider.com/oscars-over-the-years-2018-3.

Boucault, Robert. Oscar Bait: The Academy Awards & Cultural Prestige. New York: Routledge, 2026. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/10.4324/9781003597605.

Feinberg, Scott. “Oscars’ TV Ratings Headache Turns Into a Migraine.” The Hollywood Reporter 2 March 2022. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscars-tv-ratings-live-telecast-1235102498/.

Feinberg, Scott, and Alex Weprin. “Oscars Bolts From ABC to YouTube Starting in 2029.” The Hollywood Reporter 17 December 2025. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/oscars-bolt-from-abc-to-youtube-starting-in-2029-1236453188/.

Rao, Sonia. “Why do the Oscars Matter?” The Washington Post 16 April 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/04/16/oscars-academy-award-significance/

Richardson, Kalia. “A Decade After #OscarsSoWhite, Can Hollywood Do Better?” Rolling Stone 2 March 2025. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/oscars-so-white-10-years-1235276085/.

Thomson, David. “The House That Mr. Mayer Built: Inside the Union-Busting Birth of the Academy Awards.” Vanity Fair 21 February 2014. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/02/secret-oscar-history.


Support Material Girls

To learn more about the show, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca (you can also find transcripts here!). Want to support the podcast and our tiny, hard-working team? Check out all the content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. Bonus episodes, bloopers, merch, watch-alongs, and more! Need a last minute gift for a friend or family member? You can gift a Patreon subscription at this link: https://www.patreon.com/ohwitchplease/gift!


Music Credits:

“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020

Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jaksot(258)

Point-and-Shoot Cameras x The Punctum

Point-and-Shoot Cameras x The Punctum

To make sense of the recent resurgence in point-and-shoot cameras, we’re returning to French philosopher and cultural theorist Roland Barthes! We begin with a conversation about the major technologica...

24 Joulu 20251h 6min

Material Concerns: Robust Public Transit Anyone? Pt. I

Material Concerns: Robust Public Transit Anyone? Pt. I

We begin this week's Material Concerns with stressing out Marcelle through vulgarity — and then swiftly turn the conversation over to a nice and long check in. of course, it wouldn't be a Material Con...

16 Joulu 202534min

The Lord of the Rings x Arcadia with Text Me Back! With Lindy West and Meagan Hatcher-Mays

The Lord of the Rings x Arcadia with Text Me Back! With Lindy West and Meagan Hatcher-Mays

We always nerd out, but in this episode we're joined in our geek sesh by the incredibly charming, brilliant and funny Lindy West (she/her) and Meagan Hatcher-Mays (she/her) to discuss (drumroll!) The ...

9 Joulu 20251h 7min

Material Concerns: Bet On Us Pt. I

Material Concerns: Bet On Us Pt. I

Tune in for our off-week casual conversation! As always, Coach joins Hannah and Marcelle for this Material Concerns episode featuring a very long check-in (shocking!) and an Oops All Oops segment that...

2 Joulu 202532min

Wicked For Good x Femslash with Leena Norms

Wicked For Good x Femslash with Leena Norms

In today's episode, we jumped right back on the Emerald City Express with third-time guest, Leena Norms (she/her). Leena joined us for our episode Wonka x Antisemitism and Censorship in January 2024 a...

25 Marras 20251h 1min

Material Concerns: Costumes, Boundaries, and Voting Pt. I

Material Concerns: Costumes, Boundaries, and Voting Pt. I

In this Material Concerns episode, we debrief Halloween and an Okay, Hear Me Out segment quickly gets into a conversation abut boundaries and control. If you want more, head to Patreon.com/ohwitchplea...

18 Marras 202531min

Keanu Reeves x Celebrity Studies

Keanu Reeves x Celebrity Studies

Happy SWEET NOVEMBER! In this episode, we're talking about LOAD-BEARING MAN Keanu Reeves. What do we mean when we say load-bearing? You'll have to listen to the episode to find out! Tune in for a conv...

11 Marras 202558min

Material Concerns: Game of Thrones 2025 Pt. I

Material Concerns: Game of Thrones 2025 Pt. I

We recorded this Material Concerns on Halloween and BOY DOES IT SHOW! Enjoy a chaotic convo about costumes, dragons and Game of Thrones. Let us know what you think about the new segment in the comment...

4 Marras 202527min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
i-dont-like-mondays
sita
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
kaksi-aitia
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
uutiscast
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
kolme-kaannekohtaa
joku-tietaa-jotain-2
mamma-mia
aikalisa
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
rss-murhan-anatomia
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
rss-nikotellen
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-haudattu
loukussa