Hoorah! Today the talk of the news shows is not only the spectacle in New Hampshire, but something even more important: Academy Award nominations.
For many people in this country it is a momentous event. Not for me. It doesn’t matter to me any more than the award of “Top Salesman for 2003” at any company you could name. As one of the lists of names was recited, I realized how little I know or care. Most of the names didn’t even ring a bell.
My daughter works in the TV and film business in California. I’m sure it is of interest to her. One of my sons always gets together with friends to watch the awards show. I hear conversations about “Can you believe so-and-so got the ‘Best Whatever’?” at work.
What makes all of this ridiculous is that it matters only to people in the industry. Yet those folks all believe it should matter to everyone, because they are stars. My “Company Grade Officer of the Year” award a few years ago was against much broader and stiffer competition. And it addressed what I did for an entire year, not just the results of a couple of months worth of effort. I don’t remember whether Billy Crystal was the emcee or not!
I remember all the talk when Halle Berry won her Oscar. She was the first “female African-American” to win one. The talk was of racism. Everyone in Hollywood was supportive of her and her struggle to make it in the industry. Racism in this country had to be the reason. But nobody made the most important point about it: To find the racism they were talking about, all they had to do was look at the attendees.
The average American doesn’t vote on the Oscars. It is an industry award. The industry must be racist. The very people who, almost daily, chide the rest of us about diversity.
The American public has no problem with black actors and actresses. We vote by buying tickets. Ever heard of Denzell Washington? Sidney Portier? Bill Cosby? James Earl Jones? Halle Berry?
These same hypocrites are the ones who will berate anyone who doesn’t support their pet concerns. I listen to none of them. After all, most of them are operating with a high school education and life experiences in a world of make-believe.
Well, in response to this part:
“What makes all of this ridiculous is that it matters only to people in the industry. Yet those folks all believe it should matter to everyone, because they are stars.”
I’m not saying I disagree with you here (I rarely watch much or any of the awards show), but we should probably keep in mind that the estimated audience is (seriously) about a BILLION people. People the world over still like movies. A lot.
Comment by Bogey Mulligan — January 27, 2004 @ 9:28 pm
Exactly my point. The voting and awards are all internal, yet many people pay attention to them as if they were personally affected by the results.
Comment by Bunker — January 28, 2004 @ 6:07 am