I don’t usually watch the Academy Awards presentation program but last night I tuned in just to catch Chris Rock’s opening monologue. Which, unfortunately, exceeded my expectations.
He had a point to make; he could have made it in 30 seconds; he stretched it out to the entire length of his monologue.
Tavis Smiley had a much better take in his commentary on the CBS Sunday Morning program: they should quit their belly-achin’.
In the case of the Oscar nominations for best actor and actress there are a bunch of multi-millionaires boycotting the industry responsible for their wealth and fame because they’re not getting enough recognition. A certain lack of self-awareness is practically a prerequisite to be an actor or actress but for me that takes the cake.
Most people don’t get much if any recognition for the jobs they do whether they do a good job or a bad one. Deal with it.
The Academy Awards are promotional devices. They were conceived as promotional devices for movies when they began almost 90 years ago and they’re still marketing tools. Want to get more recognition? Put more butts in seats. That’s what the Oscars are about.
We watched Rock’s opening remarks only because we were seated in a public place with the TV turned on to the academy awards. IMO, he was cheekily funny, walking a fine line of controversy with humor rather than off-putting stridency. Nonetheless, the issue surrounding this year’s awards, regarding the lack of ethic representation, has focused such awards more on whining than on merit or talent. This, IMO, tends to dilute competitive creativity, not motivate or augment it.
I watched the show thinking, “Well, there’s another 50,000 votes for Trump.”
I think Rock is a very smart guy, an original and independent thinker, and my problem was not with his monologue but with the way the rest of the night played out. It was one liberal cause after another. I mean, I agree with most of what I heard, but even I was rolling my eyes and thinking, Jesus Christ, enough! Enough lecturing and hectoring and scolding. There’s being right, and then there’s being a tiresome nag.
A good, succinct expression of my reaction.
After the monologue I watched The Walking Dead while my wife continued watching the presentation of the Oscars.
There’s actually a better question to ask. Why are so few Americans nominated for the performance awards? For Best Actor there was a Brit, a German, and two Americans (both from California). For Best Actress there was an Aussie, a Brit, and two Americans. That’s a pretty typical year. If you want more blacks and Hispanics you’ve practically got to nominate more Americans (yeah, I know about Idris Elba. Still.).
My theory is that the members of the Academy don’t like method actors.
My theory is they want international promotion. Anyway, how dies nominating black actors and actresses make them more money? Don’t really see the point in it.
Steve
I found it interesting that Spike Lee who made such a big deal about lack of diversity and then boycotted the event while winning a governors award.