When choosing books or movies to see do you ever look for awards won?

[Locut0s]

We all have our favourite authors and directors but when looking for something new to read or watch what do you use as a guide? Aside from sticking to certain genres I know I like and staying away from those that I don't, everyone does this, I find that I often look for awards to help narrow down my choices. If it's a book I find myself looking for the bookers, Pulitzers and Nobel prize winners or runners up. If it's a film I look for the wheat stalk symbol (not sure what this is called) signaling the film was a finalist or runner up for a prize in film festivals. That or Oscar winners and candidates. Of course I read and see other material besides these but I find them to be good indicators of quality.

Edit: If it's an upcoming film I will often read the reviews but if I'm just browsing the isles looking for something to rent I don't usually go back home to look up reviews. And for books I don't find most reviews to be all that helpful as they are either reader reviews on something like Amazon which 99% of the time seem to completely miss the point of the book, or they are professional reviews which don't help much either. For me the style of the pros in a book is very important. I'm looking for language and style that will really sweep me off my feat and engross me. It's really hard to capture this in a review without using works like "ground breaking" "breathtaking" "beautiful" etc etc... which apply to all the great works but don't really tell you much.

[gmoney]

1. Not usually...

I've generally felt the Golden Globes and Emmy's and maybe even the Oscars to some point are pretty much bought and paid for by the producers.

So-called "people's choice" awards are even worse. (Artist of the year (choose one): Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, or William Hung)

[Locut0s]

3. Yeah I tend not to look at the Oscars that much. Having said that most of the pictures of the year..

are usually at least worth watching if not good. I rely more on film festival awards.

[azmouse]

2. If I notice a book has won a Pulitzer

I may be slightly more inclined to read it. Depends on the book and the author.

[david13]

4. Absolutely not. I make my own decisions. Just like advertising.

I never look at the ads. Usually, I buy the un-advertised product. Usually cheaper and better quality. Less money goes to ads, more to product.
dc

[Locut0s]

8. Yeah but books and movies aren't quite the same....

Sure they are products and advertising money is pored into them just like any other product but usually if a book or movie has won numerous prestigious awards there's something to it. Sure awards are sometimes given out for "political" reasons which is why it's good to know your awards and take them with a grain of salt (particularly ones like the Oscars), but by and large a book for example that has won the Pulitzer prize and has been short listed for many others has something going for it. That doesn't mean that I will like it but more often than not there will be something noteworthy about the book. The same can not usually be said for picking books just by subject matter and going by a hunch (at least not for me usually). And like I said for books more so than for films I find reviews to be of little help. Basically I use awards to help create a short list of books and films of interest. Actually choosing what to read from said list comes down to good old fashioned reasoning. I'm not saying that one should blindly read anything that has been highly awarded, I'm just saying it's a useful tool to narrow down the field sometimes.

[david13]

11. I don't agree. But I think it's because I don't think like other people.

"Everybody" is watching the football game. I am not. "Everybody" is watching he world series. I am not.
So "Everybody" read and liked such and such a book means nothing to me. That is their taste. Mine is usually something completely different.
For many reasons, one of which is, I don't follow the herd. I have no 'herd mentality', that everyone is going one way, I go too? No, I usually like to go the other way. Less crowded that way.
Like posts. If I see a thread that "everybody" has posted on, or is posting on, I don't post. I like the threads where few have posted, or none. Then I post, if I have a response, and if I like the thread.
Now, in conversation, if someone tells me about a book, and gives me a synopsis, then I may read it.
But if it falls flat to me after some pages, I quit.
I have to make my own decision.
dc

[Iggo]

13. I, too, subscribe to the anti-herd mentality.

If "everyone" likes it, my default position is "I don't like it."

Probably goes back to Mom asking me "If everybody jumped off a cliff, would you jump off a cliff, too?"

Dammit, Mom. You were right again!

[david13]

17. My mother said that too. Good lesson, don't just follow the crowd,

and do what everyone else does.
She used to say 'Far, Far from the Maddening Crowd', also, which was a film title. And a goal for me.
dc

[UTUSN]

5. Never. n/t

[Biker13]

6. I Do

*Biker's Old Lady*

We both read a lot! There are so many books, and so little time, so I do depend on reviews and awards. We're heavy library users, and are careful about what we buy. Usually we only buy what we have already read!

Movies? Not so much. We both know what we're most likely to enjoy, but are open minded to different types of films. We depend more on friends for recommendations.

[pitohui]

7. no yrs ago i was involved in a novels award process (its fixed)

if you allow "it won such and such award" to make yr decision yr pocket was picked -- i dont wanna get into it, because even today naive people think the novel that won the award is somehow a great novel even tho if you judged it w.out preconcept you would know it to be shit if you were literate -- it's a game, it's part of the salesmanship, the award does not come based on merit

i decide based on i pick up the book and read a random page

people who never worked in the publishing industry would shit if they knew the truth abt awards

[Locut0s]

9. I do the same (read a random page) but....

I have found awards to be helpful to narrow down the list so to speak. One has to be careful which awards to pick which is why I mentioned for example the Pulitzer prize and the Booker prize. I don't put much is any weight in most other awards. Ultimately my final decision comes down to the same reasoning you use, pick a page and read and see if you like the style. I'm not advocating blindly following awards.

[peacefreak]

10. Not as much awards as well as where it was shown,

If I see Sundance, Toronto Film Festival or Berlin Film Festival I will give it a shot. I tend to like things that are a little off the mainstream.

[Iggo]

12. Never.

[hippywife]

14. No.

I haven't seen a movie in a long time. It seems we are no longer in that demographic that movies are made for these days, well maybe with the exception of Pirate Radio.

[sakabatou]

15. No

[applegrove]

16. I rarely buy a book that hasn't been recommended by the MSM or

hasn't won an award or been recommended by Oprah. I always look at the back cover. If nothing is on the back cover I don't buy it.