I watched the Oscars last night, more out of obligation than desire. I had to fill in on the Morning Show at work today, so I knew if I wanted to be able to intelligently talk about the awards show, I’d have to stay up and way them. Were it not for that, the Oscars would’ve come and gone from my life without even so much as a second thought.
All in all, I will confess, it wasn’t a bad show. Hugh Jackman, I thought, did a fantastic job as the host. He had moments when it almost reminded me of the Billy Crystal golden years of Oscar. Keep in mind I say almost. It wasn’t on the same level, but it was certainly a step in the right direction for a show that has hemorrhaged viewers at an alarming rate over the past few years.
There is a lot of pomp and circumstance surrounding the event. I suppose that is one of the reasons I am uninterested. Do I really care which celebrity is wearing which gown, or which star has accented their ensemble with a million dollars worth of jewelry from the latest designer flavor of the week? No, no I don’t!
There are a couple of issues that I have with the Academy Awards, and, perhaps it is only I whom feels this way, but then again, perhaps it’s part of the reason why audiences have abandoned the show.
First, who picks the nominees? I mean, can somebody explain to me how a movie like The Dark Knight, which is now the highest grossing movie of all time can be virtually ignored by the Academy? Yet, on the other end of the spectrum, Slumdog Milionaire, the Best Picture winner, has earned around $100 million. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not denying the quality of the movie. All I’m saying is, how can you ignore one picture that is so huge, and honor a picture that isn’t even in the same realm, and then still wonder why the masses have lost interest in your show? It seems obvious to me. If you aren’t listening to the very people who go and watch your movies, then why would they give you 4 hours of their time on a Sunday night?
Secondly, the Oscars are supposed to be about winning an award. It’s a time to be acknowledged for your great achievement in film, by your peers. It’s an opportunity to stand in front of a worldwide audience and say thank you for recognizing my work, my skill, my devotion, my passion. It is NOT, however, a platform to stand upon and force your personal political agenda’s down our throats! It infuriates me when stars do this. It’s also, I suspect, another reason why so many have given up on the Oscars. If I want to watch political diatribes and soapbox speeches… I’ll watch CPAC. It is certainly not why I watch the Academy Awards.
Finally, and this one is perhaps new this year, is the recession and the Oscars. Celebrities were playing everything down this year. The parties weren’t as extravagant. The outfits weren’t so bold. Nobody arrived wearing diamond encrusted shoes, as they have in the past. The stars, quite openly, admitted that they felt it was their responsibility to hold back in these tough economic times, as they didn’t want to offend anybody. The problem is, by doing so, they offended me.
Just because nobody wore $14 million dollars worth of jewelry, as they have in previous years, doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s going on. You still collected a 10 or 15 or $20 million dollar payday for each of the movies you starred in last year. You’re still living in a mansion, driving fancy cars, spending more money on shoes in a single shopping trip than most of us will make in our entire lives. So when you try and go “recession chic”, as they’ve dubbed it, the only thing you’re really doing is insulting my intelligence.
If you want to earn my respect in these tough economic times, then work for half your regular salary so that the movie studio can afford to hire 10 or 15 or 40 people that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to. Then I’ll believe your sincerity in relating to the rest of the world during this financial crisis. But not wearing the $5 million dollar diamond necklace, knowing full well you’ve still got it, is not going to make you look better. It’s going to make you look stupid.
There are many good things about the Oscars. I will be the first to admit that there were parts of the show that I enjoyed last night. But as I watched the Academy and the show producers try to figure out what’s wrong, I can’t help but think that until they come down off their high horse and start thinking like the common man, they may continue to struggle with winning our loyalty back and restoring the Oscars to the worldwide television juggernaut that it used to be.
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