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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
Whoever wrote the letter below is a loser!
What do I Win?
The reason Cintra's commentary is not up to par this year is because the Oscars were SO DAMN BORING!
I watch faithfully every year and this time I couldn't even be bothered to sit through the last half.
Jon Stewart did what he could, but I'm really getting sick of Hollywood engaging in mutual masturbation/endless montages/comparing themselves to civil rights leaders for 3.5 hours. And if you're going to do that, at least bring in Tom Cruise and the Scientology baby host vessel to spice up the show.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the members of Three 6 Mafia chose not to say bitches, which ABC was fine with, because they thought it was early and kids might be watching. Sleaze doesn't need to be suppressed but it doesn't mean it has to be smeared all over the Oscars. Saying bitches wouldn't have made it any more interesting and this article leans a little too heavily on that idea.
-- Was anyone else mad at Paul Haggis for blubbering and stuttering his way through the Best Screenplay acceptance speech, preventing his partner from speaking before the orchestra cut him off? What a jerk. I hate when the first person talks and talks and talks; be courteous and brief so both people get to talk. Why is this so hard for these people to understand?
-- Dan
The jerks were the producers/orchestra... it must be incredibly hard to track how much time you've used up in a situation like that, and for them to play Cathy Schulman off when accepting the most important award of the night was monumentally boneheaded.
Having said that, Jon Stewart was a breath of fresh air. He did exactly what he is good at, skewering pomposity (after the self-congratulatory "issue films" montage he said gravely, "And none of those issues was ever a problem again". Later he said he couldn't wait for the montage ode to montages).
Is the a website for FoxNews?? What a stupid idiotic article on the Oscars? The reviewer is obviously too stupid to grasp the meaning of 'Crash'.
Also, what's not to love about Reese? The reviewer's commentson on her were cynical in the extreme.
Patrick
After reading Ms. Wilson's criticism and then proceeding to the letters, I have become even more assured of the post-awards comment I made to my wife last night. Allow me to set the stage:
At first I found it merely interesting that the fashion was so subdued this year. Then, presenter after presenter (I never watch the red carpet), I found it unspeakably refreshing. HOORAY! if there are no more "capital N narcissists" left in Hollywood. I thought the list of nominees for best picture was SOME sort of sign in this direction, but I never imagined it would come to pass. To me the nominees and the awards this year seemed to be about the message--about the role of art in our society--to a degree I couldn't have thought possible.
I haven't seen Brokeback yet, but I have seen Crash. I was certain that Brokeback would walk away with best picture. I was shocked, SHOCKED when Crash took the Oscar. And then, it all became clear, and the idea presented itself:
Someone, somewhere in Hollywood has figured out how to further the progressive agenda. Somehow, someway the Academy, the film makers, the actors decided to come together and risk offending their liberal commrades by reaching out to EVERYBODY in America.
This is unbelievably good news! While I was surprised that Brokeback didn't win, and certainly there will be those crying homophobia, I don't think that washes. There was no shortage of traditional liberal politics at this year's ceremony or in the best picture catagory. The underlying message of both Brokeback and Crash is that Love is a unifying force. It does not further the cause to be outrageous and shove the Right's prudishness in their faces. Let me repeat: OFENDING THE OTHER SIDE DOES NOT HELP THE CAUSE!
I found the awards this year to be more political than usual; I found them to be just as entertaining as always (the real point of watching in my book is seeing the pure expression of positive emotions--a pleasure rarely afforded by any other kind of television); and I found them to be above all RESPECTFUL. As is obvious from Ms. Wilson's column and many of these letters, respect is a trait sorely missing from the public discourse--and apparently perceived as a weakness by those who would condemn Ms. Reese because she's just so nice.
Hooray for Oscar!
In the old phrase, there's no arguing about taste. That said, I wonder why people who actively hate the Oscars bother watching them. And Wilson: you're getting paid to do this, get some perspective, take a deep breath, and think about it: the Oscars for the past few years have been restrained, entrenched, and really boring. I found this year to be a wonderful exercise in non-polarizing, taking-the-high-ground activism. That's right, activism. The clip from "Goodnight and Good Luck" spoke volumes to any open ear: Don't blame Bush, blame yourselves, America! How more gutsy do you need to be? The gay Western montage (I happen to love montages, and find them the highlights of the show) deconstructed male stereotypes better than any graduate thesis over the past 20 years. The Swift-boating of Dame Judi Dench was satire at is most sublime, and the riff between Lily Tomlin and Merle Streep was like listening to a Mozart concerto. And Perlman made me cry, only to turn to laughter at Stewart's claim that he was "finger synching." The rap number and its consequent anarchic acceptance blew a fresh breeze through the proceedings.
I thought the evening was bold, principaled and at the same time dignified (a word that you should look up, Cintra-- don't be afraid of it). If the Democratic party had its act so well together, we might yet turn this mess around. The complainers seem to me part of the circular firing squad that keeps us under the right's thumb. Jesus, you guys, look up from your ego for a change! And Cintra, maybe you should drink less vinegar or something.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
