I don’t know when I stopped watching the Oscars. No, I don’t mean the point at which I turned off the TV last night. I meant the number of years I have avoided watching that grand gala of excess, exhibitionism and pretense. Not that the show can’t be entertaining, in much the same way a telephone directory would be entertaining if you inserted two or three pages of comic strips.
Our society is often obsessed with celebrity and it’s hard to understand exactly why. I’ll admit, there have been times when I have been somewhat star-struck. I’ve found that when you actually meet a so-called celebrity you are often left with one of two impressions. If you are lucky, you discover they are humble, appreciative of a complement and not much different than yourself. In some cases however, you discover they are self-centered, uncaring and unwilling to mix with the lowly masses; unless said masses should happen to open their wallets. Regardless, all of my brushes with celebrity over the years have done nothing to make my life any better, other than having a good story to tell at a party.
The older I get the less I can tolerate the whole buzz around the Oscars. The mindless speculation of who will accompany who, who will be wearing which designer’s gown, which multi-gazillion dollar film will take home best-picture, best-supporting actress, best-credits, best-product-placement in a short film or animation. Ugh. Who gives a flying-freakin’-squirrel?
Don’t get me wrong, I love movies. I think film has an incredible power to capture our imagination, to take us to places we dream of, or perhaps places we might otherwise be reluctant to go; to anger, inspire, entertain and move us. Yes, movies can do all of that, but honestly, can we just call a spade a spade? When you look at the pay scale versus workload, being a movie actor is not that hard. I know some people who work behind-the-scenes in movie productions. Many get short shrift come Oscar time even though they put in way more hours than the pampered stars. So you were born with good looks and the ability to convince people that you are someone else, big deal.
The movie industry takes in huge profits from the box office, not to mention the various other licensing deals and residuals. In 2009 the movie industry made over ten billion dollars in box office profit alone, in a year when the economy had completely tanked. Ten billion! How does that compare to the single mom who’s working two jobs, barely making rent and trying to feed her two kids? Should I care about some actress starving herself to fit into a gown that equals that single mom’s yearly income?
As an artist who struggles everyday to make ends meet, often working on material that is neither inspiring or entertaining, I have a hard time taking the glam-fest Oscars very seriously. There is a wealth of exceedingly gifted, talented and hard-working musicians, artists and actors, some of whom I am fortunate to have as friends, who slog away at their craft with very little recognition or appreciation. We do it because we love it, and we don’t need a golden idol for validation (although if I got one, I could sell it on eBay to cover some of my bills).
I’ve got an idea, why not take that bejeweled, overindulgent, overdressed, botoxed mutual-appreciation extravaganza and put it on pay-per-view? The people that care about such drivel will surely pay for it. With ten billion dollars in profit we shouldn’t have to sit and watch the benefactors wallow in it. We already paid our ten bucks. Besides, I know some pretty talented people who could easily fill six hours of prime-time television with something significantly more entertaining and meaningful.
Brother can you spare a billion?
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