Viewers who tune into the MTV Movie & TV Awards next month who have watched the award show in the past may notice something different about the different award categories. The music-centered network has made the decision to remove gender-specific categories from the award ceremony. Meaning, this will be the first year that both Actors And Actresses will be competing against each other for various titles such as best movie actor or best television show actor.
Best movie actor nominees
One example of this change comes in the form of this year’s best movie actor nominees.
The nominees include a blend of both actresses and actors such as Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Hailee Steinfeld, Taraji P. Henson, and Emma Watson.
The change followed a previous announcement
This change to the MTV’s Awards categories followed an announcement that both television shows and movies would be mixed together in certain categories. Examples of these categories included best tearjerker or best villain.
The argument and reasoning for putting actors and actresses into the same categories and putting movies and television shows into the same categories is more or less the same. Wouldn’t the title of “best actor” mean more if an actor or actress were to win because they received more votes than anyone else as opposed to just receiving more votes than anyone else of the same gender?
(This same logic being applied to movies and television shows). By making this change, the actor, actress, movie, or television show that actually wins in a specific category really can be considered the “best” instead of ultimately sharing the title with someone else which is what has happened in past years.
MTV president Chris McCarthy explains
McCarthy explained to Vulture that the MTV audience really doesn’t see a dividing line between male and female or television show and movie. So, what should there be a dividing line between the two when it comes to award categories? Chris goes on to explain that the MTV Awards is merely about celebrating “great content.”
What are your thoughts on MTV’s decision to get rid of gender-specific categories?
Is there a chance other award ceremonies and networks are going to follow in the footsteps of MTV? This year’s MTV Movie & TV Awards will air on Sunday May 7, 2017 on MTV with Adam DeVine from “Workaholics” as the host. Will you be tuning in to watch the MTV Awards this year?
