If the academy could only have gotten past its intense hatred of the Faith, in this corner The Passion, in the other corner, Million Dollar Baby, they might have netted a couple million more viewers interested in seeing whether Mel would win. They shot themselves, but good. Serves 'em right.
And second, if people tune in for the songs, what songs are there. Color of the Wind? Annie Lennox singing from LOTR? Heck, theme from Titanic? What stars are there? Eastwood, maybe. But in the past, it was as they say - a cavalcade of stars. Now you've got posers and gifted character actors. But the PC has driven out, or prevented the rise of major box office stars for the latest generation. As for films - forget it. Go back and look over the nominees in the 50s and 60s, never mind the 30s and 40s - every gosh darned year. It's a best of all time roster, practically. Then look at those over the last decade. Some good films, yes. But not like then.
And lastly, of course, there's the 'freeper' factor. FR, in my opinion, tends to represent the majority American opinion. And American feel utterly betrayed by their institutions, including the entertainment business (or parts of it). They see the writers and directors, the actors personal opinions, as practically treasonous. And they don't want to be a part of that. They would rather defend the country, and take the snide insults dished out by Hollywood types, Dems, and libs of all stripes, if that's how it must be.