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Pop Culture Fandom, memes, franchises and the way films spill into everyday life.

People’s Choice Awards: Meaning & Definition in Film

The People's Choice Awards is a multi-genre awards show that honors the best in pop culture, with winners determined solely by online public voting.

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The Ultimate Fan-Voted Honor

The People’s Choice Awards stands apart from nearly every other major awards show for one simple reason: the winners are chosen not by critics, industry insiders, or an academy, but entirely by the general public. It is a pure popularity contest where anyone with an internet connection can vote for their favorites. This makes the awards a direct reflection of mainstream public taste and a celebration of the power of fan communities. The show is less concerned with artistic merit or technical craft and more focused on honoring the movies, shows, music, and celebrities that captured the popular imagination in a given year.

A Celebration of All Things Pop Culture

The scope of the People’s Choice Awards is immense, covering nearly every corner of the modern entertainment landscape. The ceremony features a vast number of categories that go far beyond just film, making it a comprehensive snapshot of what’s trending in pop culture.

The categories are broadly grouped into four main pillars:

  1. Movies: Including genre awards like The Action Movie and The Comedy Movie, as well as star-focused awards like The Male/Female Movie Star of the year.
  2. TV: Honoring everything from The Show and The Drama Show to The Reality Show and The Bingeworthy Show.
  3. Music: Featuring categories for top artists, songs, albums, and collaborations across various genres.
  4. Pop Culture: A diverse and modern category that includes awards for The Social Star, The Comedy Act, and The Pop Podcast.

A Social Media Phenomenon

In its modern form, the People’s Choice Awards is fundamentally a social media-driven event. The voting period sees artists and studios launching massive online campaigns, encouraging their fan bases to vote daily using specific hashtags. The level of success a nominee has is often directly tied to the size and dedication of their online following. The ceremony itself is an informal, high-energy affair, designed to generate viral moments and celebrate the direct connection between stars and their fans. It’s less an industry honor and more a large-scale marketing event that recognizes and leverages the power of modern fandom.

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More Pop Culture & Fandom Terms

Entries filed on the same shelf as People’s Choice Awards, each with the one-line answer first. They are the words that usually come up in the same conversation.

All 281 terms

  • Patch Notes

    A document outlining updates, fixes and improvements to digital film services or companion apps.

  • Simping

    "Simping" is internet slang for showing excessive admiration, devotion, or thirst for another person, often a celebrity or fictional character, in a way that is seen as subservient.

  • Streamer Donation

    A streamer donation is a direct monetary tip given by a viewer to a live-streamer during their broadcast, often accompanied by a public on-screen alert.

  • Community Translation

    Community translation is the crowdsourced effort of volunteer fans to create subtitles for a film in a language that lacks an official release.

  • Viral Prank

    A viral prank is a staged, elaborate practical joke, filmed and shared online with the goal of achieving viral status, often as a form of guerilla marketing for a film.

  • Subculture

    A subculture is a social group differentiated by distinctive norms, values, and practices within a larger cultural context.