Awards Season: Stan Twitter's Super Bowl

Everything has become stan twitter, and stan twitter has become sports fandom. Here’s how it’s affecting awards season. 

The 2025 awards season has finally come to an end. From discourse around Timotheé Chalamet’s Marty Supreme marketing campaign (and everything else about him), to stan wars erupting from the results of every major awards program, social media has become a hostile hellscape. But since when did social media have this much of an impact on major awards ceremonies? Why does the prestigious nature that these events seem to have had in the past no longer exist? 

Simply put, everything has become stan culture. While this may be a broad statement, it seems that the notion of shows like the Grammys and the Emmys have become hubs for fans of every individual nominee to fight and compare why their favorite nominee has to win and why any other nominee cannot. The Grammys in particular have become saturated with categories, leaving room for more nominees. It has become more embarrassing for your fave to not receive a nomination than it has for it to be an honor. 

Musicians such as Sabrina Carpenter and Billie Eilish have developed intense fanbases that tend to believe in awards supremacy. Eilish, who holds 10 wins with 34 nominations with her career being less than a decade old, has slightly stirred the pot within the past few years of the awards. Evidently, becoming a darling of the Recording Academy rarely goes home empty-handed. In the 2025 awards, Beyoncé won Album of the Year, arguably the highest honor of the night, and stans of the 24-year-old musician were incredibly displeased. Arguments of who had more streams and track virality piled against Cowboy Carter, the winner of the award. Fandoms began to point fingers at one another, the Beyhive alleging racism against fans of Eilish for the outrage of her win, Eilish fans concluding that the award was paid for by Roc Nation. What neither seems to consider is that experts and knowledgeable members of the Recording Academy simply saw Cowboy Carter as the album of the year, plain and simple. However, fans could find some sense of peace after the 2026 ceremony, after Eilish re-released the track “Wildflower” as a single, well after its initial May 2024 release on the album. To have qualified for the 2026 Grammy Awards, music had to have been released between August 31, 2024, and August 30, 2025. Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft " was only eligible to be nominated for the 2025 Grammys, and she released “Wildflower” as a single on March 4, 2025, nearly ten months after it had already been released with the rest of the album. There are no rules against this per se, but the song won the “Song of the Year” award for the 2026 Grammys, which left some viewers upset with the snub of other songs in the category, such as “DtMF” by Bad Bunny and “Luther” by SZA and Kendrick Lamar. 

Alas, Eilish has now won a Grammy for the previously “snubbed” 2024 album. This culture of stans demanding higher numbers, more wins, and better statistics is highly reminiscent of sports culture. Variety reported that for the 2026 Oscars, betting on the awards has become a $100 million business, with bets wagered on who will win. Kalshi and Polymarket ads are difficult to ignore, with the amount of commercial time betting platforms had during the broadcast of the Super Bowl and when the latter partnered with the Golden Globes to integrate live odds into the ceremony. While online betting forums have been around for years, they gained massive popularity right before the U.S. 2024 Presidential Election. Once players bet correctly on Trump’s win, sites such as Kalshi and Polymarket have entered the mainstream for various events. Online predictions do not necessarily count as gambling (which is regulated by a few states in the U.S.), which is why these sites are able to promote their platforms as heavily as they do. 

Stan culture and betting are intertwined has turned the awards season into a gamified event. Press and publicity have been around for as long as Hollywood has, but now more than ever can a potential smear campaign or just saying an ill-worded statement on ballet and opera can change the public’s perception of “deserving” the award. Chalamet’s Best Actor campaign for Marty Supreme was nothing short of interesting, to say the least. From standing on top of the Las Vegas Sphere as an orange ping-pong ball to tapping slightly into method press, becoming Marty, embodying greatness, and desiring to be at the top. Many have been turned off by his behavior as it drastically opposes his previously indie-darling persona from the late 2010’s/ early 2020s. Recently, he has found himself in hot water with his comments about ballet in opera while in conversation with former Interstellar costar, Matthew McConaughey. Major ballets and operas across the world have given their two cents on the matter, dissing Chalamet in any way they can. This event has caused a major setback in the public’s view of who should win Best Actor, leading many to one: root for and two: bet on Michael B. Jordan to win. Ultimately, the award went to Jordan, not without some ballet and opera jokes thrown Chalamet’s way during the ceremony. 

The prestige of the award remains partly in its title and the doors it may open for performers and filmmakers. However, the run and the “competition,” so to speak, is no longer a test of the “best performance,” it's a game of numbers. This is where I believe stans across the board would do well in sports fan culture. Once awards and streams became a commodity within stan culture, the direct correlation became blatantly evident. The awards season has now become an amalgamation of stan wars and morality olympics. Does Chalamet deserve an Oscar ever because of his comments? Should movies with bad characters playing antagonists win Best Picture? Can Beyoncé or Taylor Swift win another Grammy? They’ve already won plenty! 

Numbers have no place in the space of honoring art. If you want to bet on winners or compare stats, watch a sport.

Re-Visiting Andrea Arnold’s 2011 Filmed Adaptation of Wuthering Heights: A Conversation About Adaptations

Emily Brontë’s sole published work, Wuthering Heights, is not a beautiful story. It’s barely even a love story, much less “the greatest love story of all time” as the tagline for Emerald Fennell's upcoming adaptation goes. Brontë wrote this story to showcase the brutal ugliness of humanity by exploring the devastating fallout of generational abuse, racism, and classism. As Peter Bradshaw writes for The Guardian: “Director Andrea Arnold and cinematographer Robbie Ryan strip the story ruthlessly down to its bare essentials: pain, anger and love.” 

Arnold’s greatest strength in this film is her decided lack of romance. The Earnshaw family home is not a picturesque country house, but a grimy farmhouse smack dab in the middle of nowhere, bombarded by brutal rainstorms. According to Jeannette Catsoulis for NPR: “Captured with ravishing naturalism–from eye-straining candlelight to painfully harsh daylight…the film has a melancholy, sinister atmosphere only partly explained by its lashings of rain and banks of gray fog.” Catherine (Shannon Beer as an adolescent, and Kaya Scodelario as a young adult) and Heathcliff (Solomon Glave as an adolescent, later James Howson as a young adult) do not go on Bridgerton-style promenades across a flowery, green landscape, but hike their way through harsh, windy, grassy terrains that leave them caked in dirt. 

Arnold’s aesthetic may not be the most conventionally attractive, but it shows a clear understanding of the text’s Gothic nature and immerses the viewer in the world that Brontë herself was drawing from. The Earnshaws themselves are portrayed as rough, middle-class farmers, especially in comparison to the wealthy, upper-class Lintons. There is meant to be a clear class divide between Wuthering Heights and the neighboring estate of Thrushcross Grange, as shown in scenes of Catherine and Heathcliff sneaking across the moors to peek into the Lintons’ windows. Where the Lintons are well-dressed, educated, and sophisticated, the Earnshaws must work in fields and can only afford to send one person–Hindley (Lee Shaw)--to university. 

Another highlight of Arnold’s film is the attention paid to Catherine and Heathcliff’s shared childhood. When Heathcliff is first brought to the Earnshaws, he is around six or seven years old, while Catherine is five and Hindley is fourteen. Their connection is one that is innocent of the societal divides that await them in adulthood. It may surprise newcomers to know that Catherine’s narrative action is confined to the first half of the novel until her death halfway through. Consequently, Kaya Scodelario is not given as much screen time as audiences may have expected from such a well-established actor. However, part of Wuthering Heights’ tragedy comes from the juvenile naivete of its characters. By the time Edgar Linton (Jonny Powell when younger and James Northcote when older) proposes to Catherine, she is fifteen while he is only a few years older (but likely still a teenager). Catherine’s life is cut tragically short before she ever truly gets a chance to grow up. 

Of course, the most standout choice that Arnold makes in her film is the decision to cast Black actors in the role of Heathcliff. Despite Heathcliff’s explicit description as “dark-skinned” along with numerous assumptions about his race which strongly imply that he was not white, almost every adaptation before the 2011 version–and including the upcoming movie–has cast a white actor in the role. Racism in Wuthering Heights was not an afterthought, but a prominent part of the story, especially where Heathcliff was concerned. Characters such as Nelly Dean and even Catherine herself constantly refer to his darker complexion and features, while Hindley calls him Romani slurs. Bradshaw writes that this casting choice leads to Heathcliff being “confronted with overt and brutal racism from those of his new family who resent the outsider, and are determined to treat him like any farm animal.” Heathcliff’s race is part of the overall theme of “othering” that is present throughout the story; he is not like these white people, and he is mistreated because of it.  

A major criticism of Fennell’s film is her decision to cast Australian actor Jacob Elordi in the role of Heathcliff. This backlash was further fueled by her casting director, Kharmel Cochrane, defending the choice, remarking that “you really don’t need to be accurate. It’s just a book. That is not based on real life”.  However, this book is meant to reflect real life, and that includes England–and Yorkshire’s–complicated history of racial prejudice that is a catalyst for the abuse that Heathcliff suffers as a child. Frankly, it is frustrating how many filmmakers have chosen to simply ignore the explicit references to Heathcliff being non-white, considering that it is made very clear in the text. There are only so many times a filmmaker can say it’s an “interpretation” when one of the first things readers learn about Heathcliff is that he is “dark-skinned.” 

Unfortunately, for all the things that Arnold gets right in her adaptation, there are several areas in which she falls short. As Roger Ebert points out in his November 2012 review: “What she hasn’t done is make a terrifically entertaining film. Although this version dumps many of the novel’s passages, particularly from the later chapters, it’s dreary and slow-paced, heavy on atmosphere, introverted.” Like many past iterations, Arnold cuts out the narrative framing device of Nelly Dean telling the story to Mr. Lockwood, along with the second half of the story, which follows the children of Catherine and Edgar and Heathcliff and Isabella. Additionally, dialogue is incredibly sparse in this film, which quickly wears out as the film goes on, which creates confusion rather than intrigue. 

Arnold’s film is far from perfect, and to an extent, it is unfair to pass harsh judgment on Fennell’s film before it comes out. However, if future filmmakers wish to adapt the challenging Gothic text, they should look to Arnold’s gritty, naturalistic version for a blueprint. Frankly, a movie that bluntly showcases the wildness of the moorlands and the intense connection between Catherine and Heathcliff is what Brontë herself would have wanted.

Bring Back My Girls: RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 11 Promo Looks Ranked by K. Pereira with Collin Killoran

The RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 11 promo just dropped this past Wednesday, and it’s already shaping up to be a sickening season. We’re excited to see Mystique Summers, an OG queen who has left a permanent impression on the franchise, return for their first time in years. Veteran queens like Silky Nutmeg Ganache, Morgan McMichaels, A’keria C. Davenport, and Kennedy Davenport are coming back to All Stars with a vengeance and an opportunity to finally receive a crown. However, they are up against some heavy hitters, All-Star first-timers like Morphine Love Dion, Crystal Methyd, and Sam Star. With all this anticipation, you definitely do not want to miss the season of All Stars, which premieres on May 8th.  

18. Silky Nutmeg Ganache: 

The Reverend Doctor herself is back to compete for the crown for the fourth time. This two-time finalist and lip-sync assassin has proved why she is a massive threat for the crown. The crowning jewel of her look is the way she accessorized it with brass knuckles that read “rubirth” and “crunch,” the former referencing her recent weight loss and the latter referencing her iconic catch phrase “munch munch crunch crunch.” Unfortunately, the simplicity of her pink bodysuit does not allow her look to stand out as much as the other queens, therefore earning her last place on our list. 

17. Mystique Summers:

Sixteen years after her first and only appearance on the show, Mystique Summers is back to snatch the crown. Mystique’s drag evolution is evident in her promo look, which showcases her elevated makeup skills and a wig that gradients from black to orange. However, the biggest gripe is the distraction caused by the strings going across her dress and the tie detailing, which is what caused her to place so low on our list.

16. Morgan McMichaels: With this being her third time competing on the show, will Morgan prove that the third time is the charm? This L.A. legend and recent Entertainer of the Year winner has proven that she is a major threat for the crown. The flame motif in her outfit was the perfect choice for the orange promo theme. We placed Morgan lower because the garment's material lacked a certain wow factor. 

15. Sam Star: With Sam returning so soon after her first season, in which she placed in the top four, we can only assume she is hungry for the crown. This drag daughter of All Stars 4 winner Trinity The Tuck always showcases the polish and glamour of pageant drag in her looks. The star motif throughout her outfit, a reference to her last name and her position as an all-star, was a standout factor of her look. However, the lack of purple in her dress is what kept her from placing higher on this list. 

14. Shuga Cain: After Shuga’s highly-disputed exit on Season 11, fans have been begging for her return, and that wish has finally been granted. Shuga’s dress design is simple, but her flair comes out with these dramatic ribbons that she has coming from her wrists and a fierce set of purple nails. 

13. Joey Jay: This fan-favorite, meme-queen is back, and this time she’s wearing wigs. Upon going home in the ball challenge, Joey has developed a reputation for subpar looks. However, this structured promo look demonstrates promise with these sickening details of the spikes and these heels that were made for stomping on necks. However, her wig clashes with the garment, which caused her to place lower on our list.

12. Crystal Methyd: Crystal’s conceptual clown perspective brought her all the way to the finale on Season 12. Now she’s back on All Stars, following in the footsteps of her drag sister Daya Betty, who was a finalist on the previous All Stars season. Her look is nothing short of pure camp, with a highlight of the garment being the star-covered fabric in reference to All-Stars. However, the unflattering shape of the outfit landed our season 12 queen in 12th place.

11. Jasmine Kennedie: Just outside of our top ten, we have Season 14’s Jasmine Kennedie. After coming out as a trans woman during the filming of her original season, Jasmine has blossomed into her true self, and now she’s back to compete for the crown. Her look is strong and sleek, with the highlights being the material, the cutout design, and the shoes. 

10. Hershii LiqCour Jete: The first queen in our top ten is Season 16’s first out, Hershii. Being the drag sister of the legendary Kornbread Jete, Hershii has big heels to fill and a shot at RUdemption. This chocolate bar diva came in hot with a fierce cape and bejeweled body suit that extended down her legs with a matching headpiece as a finishing touch. The outfit, being a leotard, pulled Hershii down from ranking any higher. 

9. Kennedy Davenport: The three-time finalist Kennedy Davenport is back on our screens for the fourth time and has proven time and time again that she is a major threat for the crown. The dancing diva of Texas is a drag legend and one of the biggest names on the cast. This promo look is incredibly opulent and reminiscent of Prince. It's fair to say this is her best promo look yet. 

8. April Carrion: During the Season 6 finale, April promised that she would be back for All Stars 2 to win the crown. Upon not being cast on All Stars 2, fans have been waiting for her return, and she’s finally back to compete for the crown. Her elevated mug and highly detailed bikini with multiple shades of pink stood out to us, earning her eighth on our list. 

7. Dawn: A fan favorite on Season 16, Dawn has been a highly anticipated queen to return to All Stars. With her promo look featuring a breast plate, her first time wearing one on the show, we can assume that Dawn has elevated her drag to the All Stars level, making her a top contender for the crown. Her high-concept tiger-print look, complete with elf ears and a tail, stood out to us, earning her seventh on our list. 

6. Morphine Love Dion: Deemed the Lipsync-Assassin of Season 16, Morphine has been a big name in drag since her season first aired. A consistent stand-out in Morphine’s looks is her makeup, which is always flawless. Fan her off because Morphine comes in hot, hot, hot, and ready with these flame details, with the shining piece being the flame mask. 

5. Vivacious: Twelve years after her first season aired, Drag Race legend Vivacious is finally back to compete for the crown. Vivacious is consistently referenced on the show for her iconic entrance look, and her promo look continues this trend as her headpiece is the elevated version of the headpiece she wore for said entrance look. Additionally, the pink trench coat is complete with a structural fanned back-piece. We appreciate her mix of drama and self-references, which earned her fifth on our list.

4. Aura Mayari: Known as “The Trade of the Season,” Aura consistently looks beautiful in and out of drag, and this look is no exception. She struts in with this warrior-inspired look, complete with a staff and crown, which stands out among the numerous gowns and bodysuits. The metallic gold and pink detailing is absolutely captivating. Her beautiful crescent moon headpiece is a great nod as she is the self-proclaimed “Filipina moon goddess.” 

3. Salina Estitties: On Season 15, Salina was known for her subpar looks and was even awarded the Golden Boot, an award for the worst look of the season. However, this promo look is an indication that she has stepped up her game. This gown, reminiscent of a quinceañera dress, stands out due to its ruffles and structural shoulders. The polish and elegance of this look has earned her third place on our list. 

2. A’Keria C Davenport: After two prior seasons, one of which she made top four, A’Keria has proven to be fierce competition for the crown. She absolutely stuns in this fabulous pageant gown, which she made herself. The drama and detailing of the look, accompanied by her always-perfect makeup and body, have earned her runner-up on our list. 

1. Lucky Starzzz: After Lucky Starzzz was eliminated first on Season 17, shocking the world, it’s no surprise that she was brought back to compete on All Stars so soon. Her high-concept, outside-the-box drag style is truly unique in the Drag Race world, making her one to watch out for. With her promo look, she took the orange theme and aimed for the stars and hit the sun. She earned the top spot because this conceptual and detailed look that reminds us of magma says everything about her and what she has to bring to the All Stars stage. Her makeup is the best out of all of the promo looks, and we just had to hand it to her, and it’s a big hand at that. 

All photos are sourced from World of Wonder and RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 11. All credit and copyrights to World of Wonder Entertainment.

Article written and looks ranked by K. Pereira with Collin Killoran in association with 47Magazine.