The nominations were already made public and Oscar buzz is surging through both the airwaves and the Internet. But while anticipation might be running high in the entertainment industry, students and faculty of NIU hold a very different view of the award show.

“The Oscars are traditionally a hype machine,” said Jeffrey Chown, communication professor and graduate director . “But I think this year they were self-conscious towards the artists.”

Oscar nominees for best picture include controversial films such as “Brokeback Mountain,” directed by Ang Lee and “Munich,” directed by Steven Spielberg, as well as independent films like “Good Night and Good Luck,” “Crash” and “Capote.”

“Oscar night is an annual cultural event that reflects a complex interaction of tensions in Hollywood film industry — an intersection between high art and low art, entertainment,” said assistant communication professor Gretchen Bisplinghoff. “This is a particularly interesting year for critics and scholars to examine the ways in which these tensions are playing and what they may or may not reflect and reinforce in the culture and industry.”

According to Chown, this year’s roster of best picture hopefuls are more interesting academically than past pictures. Chown cited Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain” and especially Paul Haggis’ “Crash” as examples of films which worked as well in the classroom as they did on the silver screen.

“It’s been noted that many of the Best Picture nominees — which represent the ‘best’ of Hollywood from last year — are movies that mainstream Hollywood didn’t want to make,” Bisplinghoff said.

Both Chown and Bisplinghoff have their favorites for Oscar gold.

“I think ‘Crash’ was interesting because it approached the subject matter without racial stereotypes,” Chown said. “It had something very interesting to say and it was a very challenging film.”

Bisplinghoff believes George Clooney’s McCarthy-era “Good Night and Good Luck” is noteworthy for its themes and filming.

“Concerning the nominees, I applaud [George] Clooney’s appropriate artistic choice to film ‘Good Night and Good Luck’ in lustrous black and white,” Bisplinghoff said. “His evocation of the concerns of those times was haunting and timely.”

Accountancy major Kimberly Nyberg finds the stars themselves more intriguing than the films nominated.

“I like to see the stars when they aren’t acting,” Nyberg said. “I guess you could also says it’s the latest fashion. I like to see the actors who deserve the awards win the awards, but that doesn’t always happen.”