Oscar Impact

So as many of you well educated and well connected people know, last night was the Oscars.  I assume you are well educated and connected, but if not, then just know that the Oscars were on last night, and you have stumbled upon my blog on the brilliance of today's modern media, lucky you.  Anyway, there was a large amount of people watching the Oscars, about 39.3 million.  (For those who are mathematically impaired, that means a lot...) This number exceeded expectations for audience, but did it have a real impact on society as a whole?  I believe that it did, but I am a fan of movies and it is fair to say I am obviously biased.  The Oscars was watched world wide and people from all over the world were hoping for their homeland movies to win.  To say it did not have any real direct affect to anyone's life other than those directly involved is a fair statement, and it could only change lives through an adjustment in sleep schedule or the reason to have a party is also able to be justified.  HOWEVER, if such is the case, the same may be said about the Olympic games, and although I am not a fan of sports I know that the Olympics does have a great impact, and in a similar way, so does the Oscars.