Which author, associated with the Modernist movement, is kno...

Who votes for the Academy Awards?

        After the glitzy red-carpet arrivals, the feel-good montages, and the host’s opening roast, the Oscars ceremony switches to its raison d’être: revealing the previous year’s highest achievers in cinema. One after another, the presenters list the nominees, open a lavish envelope, and reveal the winner in each category. The champions breathlessly accept their awards and, over and over, effusively thank their mothers, God, and the academy... What is this obscure body? The academy—that is, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences—is the organization that votes for the Oscar winners.

        The academy is an exclusive Hollywood institution that has its own governing body, 17 separate branches, and a thorough rule book on membership eligibility and voting processes. Since 2016, when the board announced that it would diversify its membership, the academy has grown to about 8,000 members. It doesn’t publicize the names of all those members, but each spring it releases a list of the individuals it has invited to join its ranks.

        The rest of the academy members are not listed, but we can guess who a few are by looking at some of the requirements to join the institution. To qualify, an individual must work in the film industry. This means that neither individuals who work exclusively in television nor members of the press may join. Oscar nominees are often considered for membership automatically, while other candidates must be sponsored by two active members of the branch they wish to join. Each branch also has its own specific requirements.